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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Peggy in Toyland, by Archibald
+Marshall
+
+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: Peggy in Toyland
+
+Author: Archibald Marshall
+
+Illustrator: Helen M. Barton
+
+Release Date: August 14, 2022 [eBook #68749]
+
+Language: English
+
+Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Amber Black and the Online Distributed
+             Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+             produced from images generously made available by The
+             Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEGGY IN TOYLAND ***
+
+
+
+  PEGGY IN TOYLAND
+
+  BY
+  ARCHIBALD MARSHALL
+
+  Author of “Exton Manor,”
+  “Sir Harry,” etc.
+
+  _ILLUSTRATED BY
+  HELEN M. BARTON_
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  NEW YORK
+  DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
+  1920
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1920,
+  BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC.
+
+
+
+
+  TO
+
+  KATHLEEN ANN
+
+  I DEDICATE THIS STORY
+  WHICH WAS BEGUN FOR HER MOTHER
+  KATHLEEN NOEL
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                           PAGE
+
+      I INTRODUCES PEGGY AND SOME OF HER FRIENDS       1
+
+     II PEGGY’S SURPRISING ADVENTURE BEGINS           16
+
+    III THE ROYAL ARK AND THE BAD BEHAVIOUR OF
+          WOODEN’S AUNT                               31
+
+     IV MOMENTOUS NEWS IS BROUGHT BY A DUTCH DOLL     46
+
+      V ARRIVAL AT THE ROYAL PALACE OF DOLLTOWN       59
+
+     VI KING SELIM HOLDS AN AUDIENCE                  74
+
+    VII THEY ALL GO TO PRISON                         90
+
+   VIII PEGGY BATHES A BABY AND HAS A SURPRISE       107
+
+     IX THEY DISCUSS A PLAN OF ESCAPE                124
+
+      X PEGGY TALKS TO A ROYAL PRISONER              137
+
+     XI THE RELEASE OF PEGGY AND WOODEN              151
+
+    XII PEGGY STAYS IN A REAL DOLLS’ HOUSE           165
+
+   XIII THE DOLLS TALK IT ALL OVER                   176
+
+    XIV THE ESCAPE                                   190
+
+     XV THE PURSUIT                                  203
+
+    XVI COLONEL JIM ATTEMPTS A RESCUE                216
+
+   XVII THE BATTLE                                   227
+
+  XVIII THE SIEGE                                    238
+
+    XIX SELIM IS CAPTURED                            252
+
+     XX THE LAST                                     264
+
+
+
+
+PEGGY IN TOYLAND
+
+
+
+
+PEGGY IN TOYLAND
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+INTRODUCES PEGGY AND SOME OF HER FRIENDS
+
+
+Peggy was just eight years old. She had very long rather straight hair,
+blue eyes, a dear little pudgy nose, and a small mouth. She lived with
+her father and mother in a nice house in the country with a big garden
+round it. It was about five miles from the sea, and she was sometimes
+taken there in the motor-car, to paddle and to play on the sands.
+
+The place she used to go to had only one house near it. This was a
+large bungalow belonging to some friends of Peggy’s father and mother.
+It was built right on the beach, but there was a little lawn beside it,
+and on the edge of the lawn were two wooden figures that had been once
+figure-heads of ships. They were both ladies, and it was difficult to
+tell whether they were old or young, because one of them had had her
+nose broken off, and the other had lost every bit of paint off her
+face. But there was something agreeable in the appearance of both of
+them, and Peggy used to think she would have liked to know them when
+they were leading a more active life, perched up in the very front of
+the ships to which they belonged, and travelling over the sea to all
+sorts of strange places. But they still looked over the sea, which was
+better than being broken up and burnt, with the rest of the ships; and
+of course they always looked in one direction, straight across the
+water to the big Island on the other side of it.
+
+Peggy had never been to the Island, and when she was playing on the
+sands she would sometimes look at it, and wonder what it was like
+there. She could see a little town and a little church, and a few
+houses scattered about among the hills; and she wondered what sort of
+people lived in them.
+
+Well, when she was eight years old she found out, and she also got to
+know a good deal more about the two wooden ladies of the bungalow. What
+she found out was so remarkable that it is doubtful if any little girl
+has ever seen anything like it before, and I am going to tell you the
+story of it.
+
+But before I begin I must say this: that if Peggy had not had a kind
+heart she would never have found out anything. I do not mean to say
+that she was never naughty; but she was never naughty in that most
+horrid of all ways, by being cruel or unkind. She had several pets--two
+rabbits and four guinea-pigs, a bantam cock and hen, two white pigeons,
+and a kitten, which she liked best of them all. If she had once been
+cruel to any of these pets, just to see what they would do, it is quite
+certain that she would never have been taken to the Island. And if she
+had made fun of old people or poor people, she would never have gone
+either, because that is an extremely unkind and horrid thing to do.
+But Peggy had never done any of these things, because she was a really
+kind little girl, and if something horrid inside her whispered: “Now,
+just be a little bit cruel,” she was almost as much ashamed of it as if
+she had really been cruel, and she never listened to the whisper for a
+moment. So when she was eight years old she was taken to the Island in
+the extraordinary way I am going to tell you about.
+
+Peggy had a good number of toys, and amongst them two dolls, which will
+now engage our attention.
+
+The elder of the two was a wooden doll, which she had had for some
+time, and the story of this doll is rather interesting.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When Peggy was five years old she had a doll given her called Rose.
+Rose was well-dressed, in clothes that would come on and off; and
+rather a nice hat came with her. But somehow Peggy could not get
+to like her much. She took her about everywhere for quite a week,
+undressed her every night and dressed her again every morning, and
+sometimes gave her a bath, but not with water in it, because her body
+was stuffed, although her head was composition. She also took her out
+in the new pram that had been given to her at the same time, and put up
+the hood if it was sunny. In fact she did everything that a nice little
+girl could to make Rose feel that she had come to a kind and loving
+home.
+
+But at the end of a week she didn’t feel that Rose really loved her.
+Most little girls know dolls like that. You may do all you can for
+them, and they don’t seem to appreciate it at all. Well, Rose was one
+of those dolls.
+
+One morning Peggy went out with her nurse, and took Rose with her
+in the pram. They went down through the village, and along the road
+on the other side, and presently they came to a cottage where a lot
+of children lived. Their mother was not very kind to them, and so
+they were not very kind to each other, but were always fighting and
+squabbling.
+
+One of these children was a girl a year older than Peggy, called Mabel,
+and just as Peggy and her nurse came up to the cottage they saw Mabel
+banging the head of an old wooden doll on the hard road.
+
+Now children and dolls are sometimes naughty, and must be corrected,
+but their heads should never be banged against anything hard. There
+are plenty of ways of correcting them without doing that, and every
+nice mother knows it. Peggy knew it as well as anybody, although she
+was a year younger than Mabel; so directly she saw what was being done
+she cried out to her nurse how cruel it was.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Mabel stopped beating the wooden doll’s head against the road, and
+stared at Peggy, and at Rose, who was sitting in the pram; and she must
+have fallen in love with Rose at first sight, because her face became
+quite different when she looked at her.
+
+While Mabel was looking at Rose, Peggy was looking at the wooden doll;
+and the more she looked the more her heart went out to her. She was
+not what you would call a beautiful doll, and perhaps never had been.
+One of her legs had been amputated at the knee, one of her arms at the
+shoulder, and the other at the elbow. Her face was round and open; so
+were her eyes. Her nose was gone. The less said about her hair the
+better; she would never need another shampoo. She was dressed in a
+loose frock of spotted red flannel, tied round the waist with an old
+piece of black hair-ribbon.
+
+Such was this doll, who was destined to play so large a part in Peggy’s
+life, as she first saw her; and it may seem odd to some people that she
+should instantly have loved her. Perhaps being such a kind little girl,
+and feeling so dreadfully sorry to see the doll so badly treated, had
+something to do with it; but it could not have been only that. No,
+there was something about this wooden doll which made Peggy love her at
+once, and when you have read this story, perhaps you will be able to
+understand what it was.
+
+Peggy told Mabel that she ought not to knock her doll’s head on the
+road, and Mabel pointed at Rose, and said: “If I had a doll like that,
+I wouldn’t want to knock ’er ’ead on the road.”
+
+It was then that the idea first came to Peggy that she would much
+rather have the wooden doll than Rose; and she asked her nurse if she
+might give Rose to Mabel, and ask Mabel to give her the wooden doll
+instead.
+
+Nurse said: “The idea of such a thing!” and told Peggy to come on. Of
+course she was right not to let Peggy exchange dolls there and then,
+because she didn’t know whether Peggy’s mother would like it. But
+where she was wrong was when she said, “Fancy wanting to exchange a
+beautiful doll like Rose for an ugly old wooden thing like that!” She
+didn’t understand that what she called beauty had nothing to do with it
+at all. You don’t love a person for their looks, but just because you
+can’t help loving them. And Peggy was quite right to love the wooden
+doll more than Rose, as afterwards turned out.
+
+Fortunately, Peggy’s mother understood these things better than the
+nurse. The end of it was that Peggy was allowed to give Rose to Mabel,
+with all her clothes except the hat, which had come on the same
+birthday as she had, but had not belonged especially to her. And Mabel
+gave Peggy the wooden doll, but without its red flannel dress, which
+Peggy’s mother thought might contain germs.
+
+Now that the wooden doll belonged to Peggy she had to give her a name.
+She called her Daffodil, because the daffodils were out in the garden
+when she came. But the name never stuck to her. She was always called
+Wooden in the family circle; and presently it was forgotten that she
+had ever had any other name.
+
+The first thing that happened to her was that she underwent an
+operation for restoring the limbs that were lost. It was a serious
+operation, and she was under chloroform for about a week. The
+chauffeur, whose name was Herbert, performed the operation, and when
+it was over Wooden had two arms and two legs just like everybody else.
+One of the legs sometimes came off at the knee, and both arms at the
+elbows. But Herbert, accustomed to making quick repairs, was always
+ready to perform other minor operations, and Wooden was seldom without
+her full number of limbs for long together.
+
+Wooden went through the usual illnesses, and was carefully nursed by
+Peggy. Perhaps she suffered rather more than most dolls, but Peggy’s
+father was a doctor, and there was always help at hand if anything
+serious happened. And of course Peggy knew more about cases, and
+nursing, than other little girls whose fathers were not doctors. Wooden
+had whooping-cough, croup, mumps, scarlet-fever, chicken-pox, measles,
+German-measles, swollen glands, general debility, bronchitis, typhoid,
+and lung trouble, all in the ordinary way. For some little time she
+was a spinal case, and had to be kept on her back. But she was always
+good and uncomplaining through her ailments, and Peggy loved her more
+because she was a trifle delicate than if she had always been in robust
+health.
+
+In fact, the longer Peggy had Wooden the more she loved her. She played
+with her more than with her other dolls, and Wooden was always the one
+she took to bed with her. Peggy had a large Teddy bear, which she also
+loved and took to bed with her. But there could be no jealousy between
+Wooden and Teddy, because they were so different. If Peggy sometimes
+dressed Teddy up in a jacket and skirt belonging to Wooden, it was
+always treated as a joke. As a rule he went about with nothing on but
+his own thick fur.
+
+[Illustration: Peggy had a large Teddy bear]
+
+Wooden had all the clothes of Peggy’s dolls’ wardrobe to wear, if they
+fitted her, and was better dressed than most dolls. And as everybody
+liked her when they once came to know her, she had plenty of things
+given her as time went on. When Miss Clay came to the house for a week
+or two to sew, she would generally make something for Wooden out of
+the material left over. Once she made her a purple velvet jacket, and
+once a tailor-made skirt. As for nightgowns, and petticoats, and things
+like that, trimmed with lace, and sometimes with pink and blue ribbon,
+Wooden was so well supplied that Peggy’s father said her laundry bill
+was becoming quite a serious item. So it will be seen that Wooden was
+very much better off than when she had belonged to Mabel, and had only
+had one red flannel dress.
+
+We now come to the other doll of Peggy’s, of whom mention has been made.
+
+Her name was Lady Grace. She came on Peggy’s eighth birthday, and was
+really a beautiful doll, as everybody who saw her bore witness. She had
+been born in France, although she herself was English, and the clothes
+that came with her were finer than any of Wooden’s. Her face was wax,
+and she had beautiful hair. Her eyes opened and shut, and she had the
+sweetest little hands and feet, with pink toes and fingertips.
+
+Peggy loved her at once. This was not altogether because of her beauty,
+for Rose had been beautiful--though not so beautiful as Lady Grace--and
+Peggy had never been able to love Rose at all. There was something
+about Lady Grace which made Peggy feel that she must look after her and
+pet her. And she never felt, as she had felt with Rose, that all her
+petting was of no use. Lady Grace might not say much, but she showed
+that she was grateful to Peggy for all the care she took of her by
+being always sweet and good; though she was, as I have said, rather
+helpless.
+
+Now, although Peggy loved Lady Grace from the first, it must not be
+supposed that she loved Wooden any the less. It was just as it is with
+children. When a new baby comes, the mother adores it, but she loves
+her other children just as much as she did before.
+
+But, just at first, it must be confessed that Wooden had rather less
+attention; and if she had not been so sensible she might have felt
+jealous. I don’t think she did, or she would have told Peggy so
+afterwards. She probably knew exactly how things were, and that, when
+Lady Grace had been made to feel quite at home, her turn would come
+again.
+
+Well, one night when Peggy went to bed, she took Lady Grace and Teddy
+with her, and left Wooden on the top of a chest of drawers with all her
+clothes on. And then Wooden might have felt a little sad, because it
+was the first time that such a thing had ever happened to her; and she
+might have begun to wonder whether, after all, Peggy loved her quite as
+much as she had done before.
+
+But fortunately for this story, which might not otherwise have been
+written, as you will presently see, soon after Peggy had been tucked
+up and left to go to sleep, she remembered that she had not undressed
+Wooden. So she called her nurse, who was in the next room with the door
+a little open, and asked her to give Wooden to her.
+
+The nurse would not let her have two dolls in bed with her. Teddy
+didn’t matter because he was so soft. So Peggy asked her to put
+Lady Grace in the dolls’ cot, and give her Wooden instead. She felt
+dreadfully sorry that she had forgotten about Wooden, and wanted to
+make it up to her. Lady Grace would have to get used to sleeping in the
+cot some time or other, and Peggy thought she might just as well begin
+now.
+
+So Peggy went to sleep hugging Wooden in her arms; and Teddy lay on his
+back on the pillow on the other side of her, with one paw stuck up in
+the air and the rest of him under the bedclothes.
+
+By-and-by the nurse came in to look at her, and then went to bed in the
+next room. Then her father and mother came in and kissed her, but she
+did not wake up. Then the house became quiet and dark, and everybody in
+it was fast asleep.
+
+And then things began to happen.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+PEGGY’S SURPRISING ADVENTURE BEGINS
+
+
+Peggy was awakened by the noise of a motor outside. It sometimes
+happened that her father had to go out at night, and she heard the car
+start off. But she generally went to sleep again as soon as ever the
+noise had died away.
+
+But this time the car, instead of standing throbbing for a few minutes
+before the door, and then starting off down the drive and leaving
+everything as quiet and still as before, seemed to be coming nearer
+and nearer. In fact, it seemed as if it was being driven right into
+the room, and made such a noise that Peggy opened her eyes. And when
+she did open them, she opened them very wide indeed, for the car _was_
+in the room, standing right at the foot of the bed. And who should be
+driving it but Teddy, whom she had last seen lying on the pillow by her
+side?
+
+And that was not nearly all, for everything was changing all
+around her. The apple-blossoms on the wall-paper had become real
+apple-blossoms, and were dancing in a bright spring breeze; the ceiling
+had melted away into blue sky; and suddenly the little birds that had
+been sitting in a long row on the bough which ran round the top of the
+paper flew up all together and filled the air with their singing.
+
+[Illustration: The apple-blossoms on the wall-paper had become real
+apple-blossoms]
+
+Peggy sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. When she looked again there
+was Wooden standing by the side of the bed, smiling at her.
+
+“Get up, dear,” said Wooden in the kind and gentle voice that Peggy had
+known she would speak in if she ever spoke at all. “I am going to take
+you to Toyland.”
+
+Teddy spoke at the same moment. He waved a paw in the air and said,
+“What ho! What larks!” and sounded his motor-horn.
+
+Now the moment that Wooden and Teddy spoke, Peggy left off being
+surprised altogether. Everything seemed quite natural, and she jumped
+up full of pleasure at the idea of an adventure.
+
+The moment her feet had touched the floor, lo and behold! she was fully
+dressed, in a clean blue over-all, with her outdoor shoes and her big
+straw hat trimmed with daisies. Her face and hands were washed, her
+nails scrubbed, and her teeth cleaned; and her long hair, which was
+always plaited for the night, was brushed and tied up with her blue
+ribbon.
+
+“Come along, dear,” said Wooden, taking her hand. “We must start at
+once. Are you quite ready, Lady Grace?”
+
+“Yes,” said a soft, musical voice. Peggy looked towards the
+dressing-table, and there was Lady Grace pinning on her hat. She came
+and kissed Peggy. “I am sure you will like Toyland, dear,” she said,
+“and it is a great honour to be taken there.”
+
+Both Wooden and Lady Grace seemed to be grown up all of a sudden, and
+ready to take care of Peggy, instead of her taking care of them. Lady
+Grace had on the beautiful French clothes in which she had come, and
+Wooden was dressed in her purple velvet jacket and her grey tailor-made
+skirt. She wore the straw hat that had come at the same time as Rose,
+and looked very nice altogether, but a little different, because her
+nose was now perfect, and her face and eyes and hair had got all their
+colour back. She had a wonderfully kind and simple expression of face,
+and Peggy felt that it would be quite safe to go anywhere with her.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Teddy was also life-size. Peggy had always known that he was of a very
+cheerful nature, for his face had always seemed to be laughing at some
+joke. But he seemed to be rather forward in his manners, for as Lady
+Grace kissed Peggy he said with a sort of crow, “What ho, girls! You
+jump up and sit alongside me, my lady, and we’ll have a nice little
+chat as we go along.”
+
+“Be careful, Teddy,” said Wooden in a warning voice.
+
+“Oh, I’ll be careful all right,” said Teddy encouragingly. “Oh, what
+larks we’re going to have!”
+
+Lady Grace got up in front of the car, and Peggy and Wooden behind. It
+was not Peggy’s father’s car, but a toy one which had been given to
+her. But it was now big enough to hold all four of them comfortably.
+
+Teddy sounded his horn and gave a whoop of joy, and the car drove
+straight out of the bedroom into the garden, though how it got there
+from her nursery on the first floor Peggy could never remember.
+
+Now, although it had been winter when Peggy went to bed, and the
+thermometer on the pergola outside had registered two degrees of frost,
+it had suddenly become the most delicious spring and summer weather
+combined. When Peggy saw the garden she clapped her hands with delight.
+Never was seen such a blaze of colour. Everything was out at once--all
+the trees, and all the shrubs, and all the flowers. The house was
+smothered in roses and honeysuckle and clematis. The daffodils were
+dancing in the grass. The rhododendrons and azaleas flamed against
+the green of the darker shrubs. Every flower in the long border was
+in full bloom, from the scarlet anemones of the early spring to the
+yellow sunflowers and Michaelmas daisies of the late autumn; and so
+were the lilacs, white and purple, the guelder roses, the syringas,
+the may-trees and laburnums, the pink almond, and the Pyrus Malus
+Floribunda, which was Peggy’s favourite tree, though she never quite
+got its name right. There were thousands of blooms in the rose garden;
+the climbing roses trained over the pergola were as gay as gay could
+be; and even the newly-planted nut-walk had grown twelve feet in a few
+hours, and made a shady green tunnel through which you could see the
+park beyond.
+
+But there was not much time to take in all the wonders of the garden,
+for Teddy whirled them through it in no time, out into the road and
+down to the village. The car seemed to be going faster than Peggy’s
+father’s big new one, but it travelled so easily and so smoothly that
+Peggy, who was a little nervous of motors going very fast, said, “What
+a nice drive we’re having!” As they passed the clock over the Abbey
+gateway the hands were pointing to twelve o’clock, and Peggy, who
+could of course tell the time, knew somehow that it was really twelve
+o’clock at night, and not twelve o’clock in the daytime, although the
+sun was shining with all its might. And as they turned and drove up
+the village street all the windows had their blinds down, and there
+were no people about.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+“Where are we going?” Peggy asked.
+
+“We are going to Toyland,” said Wooden. “We all go there every night
+when people are asleep, and it is a lovely place; I am sure you will
+like it, dear. And I must tell you that it is very seldom we are
+allowed to take little girls there. When you were so kind to me, and
+rescued me from Mabel, I told the Queen about it, and asked if I could
+bring you. And she said that if you went on being kind to me for three
+years and a week I might bring you; but if you once grew tired of me
+and neglected me, the three years and a week would have to begin all
+over again. You can’t think how I have been looking forward to it,
+dear. Yesterday I was able to tell the Queen that you had never once
+neglected me, and Lady Grace said the same. She is one of the Queen’s
+ladies-in-waiting, and she thinks a deal of her. So the Queen said, ‘I
+shall be very glad to see such a nice little girl. Bring her tomorrow.’”
+
+When Wooden told her this Peggy remembered that she had not been
+_quite_ so attentive to Wooden since Lady Grace had come, and wondered
+what would have happened if she had left her to sleep on the chest of
+drawers with all her clothes on that very night. It would have been
+too awful if she had had to begin the three years and a week all over
+again, after so nearly getting through it once.
+
+But Wooden did not refer to that at all, and Peggy felt grateful to
+her, and took hold of her hand and squeezed it. And Wooden squeezed
+Peggy’s hand in return, and smiled at her and said again, “Toyland is a
+wonderful place. I am sure you will like it.”
+
+When they had passed through the village Teddy took the road towards
+the sea. He drove very well, and talked all the time to Lady Grace,
+sometimes leaning towards her and saying something in his gruff, hearty
+voice, and sometimes throwing his head back and laughing loudly.
+Lady Grace seemed to be receiving his attentions kindly, but Wooden
+looked a little anxious, and leant forward sometimes and joined in the
+conversation.
+
+“Lady Grace is engaged to Colonel Jim of the Lifeguards,” she explained
+to Peggy. “The Queen takes a great interest in the young couple, and I
+promised her that I would give an eye to Lady Grace. The Queen trusts
+me, you know, dear.”
+
+“Shall I see the Queen?” asked Peggy. “What is she like?”
+
+“She is not very well,” said Wooden sadly. “I don’t know whether you
+will be able to see her, but I hope so.”
+
+“What is the matter with her?” asked Peggy.
+
+“Well they told me last night at the Palace that they were afraid she
+had a mump.”
+
+“What is that?”
+
+“Why, you know all about that, don’t you? You have had mumps
+yourself--several of them. If a doll has more than one it is generally
+fatal. But I quite hope that the Queen has not got any; and if she is
+better I am sure she would like to see you. You asked what she was
+like. Well, she is wax, of course, and she is about a hundred years
+old, or perhaps a thousand, or a million, but quite as beautiful as
+ever. She was one of the first wax dolls ever born, and they made her
+Queen because they admired her so.”
+
+“Is there an elective monarchy in Toyland?” asked Peggy, who had got on
+quite a long way in history.
+
+Wooden did not seem to understand the question fully, but she answered
+in her soothing voice, “No, dear, all the animals are tame; you need
+not be afraid of any of them.”
+
+They drove on towards the sea, and when they got within sight of it
+Peggy cried out, and clapped her hands with pleasure.
+
+For the sea was full of boats crowded with dolls all going to the
+Island. It was the prettiest sight. There were hundreds of toy yachts
+with their white sails, steam-boats and motor-boats and clockwork boats
+and rowing boats, and even boats made of paper, and walnut shells. The
+sun was shining brightly on this gay scene, and the water was as calm
+as possible, so that there was no chance of anybody being seasick.
+
+“Why, they are all going over to the Island!” said Peggy. “Are we going
+there, too?”
+
+“Oh, yes,” said Wooden. “The Island is Toyland; I forgot that you
+didn’t know that. That is where all the dolls live. Those who are
+finished with your world live there always, and the others go there
+every night. At least it is night with you, but of course it is day
+with us. And when it is day with you it is night with us.”
+
+“Like Australia,” suggested Peggy.
+
+“Yes, dear,” said Wooden. “I like it very much.”
+
+“But if you go to Toyland every night, and it is day there, you never
+have any real night at all,” said Peggy.
+
+“No, dear,” said Wooden reflectively. “I suppose not.”
+
+When they reached the shore Teddy turned to the right. “Are we going to
+the Bungalow?” asked Peggy.
+
+“That is where we shall set sail for Toyland,” said Wooden. “And, you
+know, I have two relations there.”
+
+Peggy could not think what she meant for the moment. Then she
+remembered the two wooden figure-heads, and asked Wooden if they were
+her relations. Wooden said they were. One was her mother and one was
+her aunt. “I’m sure you will like mother, dear,” she said. “Aunt has
+wonderful high spirits, and doesn’t always behave as she ought, through
+picking up sailors’ ways. But she says herself she never did no harm to
+nobody, so we must overlook it.”
+
+It was well that Wooden had given Peggy this warning about her aunt, or
+Peggy might have been rather surprised at her behaviour when the car
+drew up before the grass-plot by the Bungalow. The two figure-heads,
+now full length and moving about freely, were waiting for them, and
+when she saw them coming Wooden’s aunt gave a loud screech and rushed
+forward to meet them, but caught her foot on a root of gorse and fell
+full length in front of the car.
+
+Teddy very cleverly stopped the car at once, or he might have run over
+her. Then he jumped down and lifted up Wooden’s aunt, who was not hurt
+at all, but screeched with laughter again. Teddy seized her round the
+waist and waltzed up and down the grass with her, kicking up his legs
+and being very silly. Peggy was surprised to see him going on like
+that, but Wooden’s aunt seemed to enjoy it thoroughly, and when he had
+finished she sat plump down on the grass, with her legs sticking out in
+front of her, and simply roared with laughter, and said, “Lawks! you
+_are_ a one!”
+
+In the meantime Wooden had introduced Peggy to her mother, who was as
+fresh as paint could make her, but had a weather-beaten look, too, and
+a husky voice, owing to her having taken so many sea voyages that the
+fog had got into her throat. She said that she was very pleased to see
+Peggy, because she had heard a lot about her, and when they got on to
+the boat they must have a nice long talk.
+
+“Aunt seems in very good spirits today, mother,” said Wooden, looking
+at her doubtfully as she was being danced about the grass by Teddy.
+Wooden’s aunt was really being rather common, and Wooden would not
+like Peggy to think that her relations were common.
+
+Just at that moment Wooden’s aunt sat down on the grass in the rather
+vulgar way already described, and Wooden’s mother said to her sharply,
+“Now, Polly, do adone now, and remember what company you’re in. Get up,
+and come and be introduced to the little lady.”
+
+So Wooden’s aunt came and shook hands with Peggy, and gave her a
+smacking kiss, which tasted of salt. “Dear little precious! Bless her!”
+she said in quite a kind voice, which made Peggy like her a little
+better. “Lawks, Maria! _She_ ain’t one to mind a body having a bit o’
+fun.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE ROYAL ARK AND THE BAD BEHAVIOUR OF WOODEN’S AUNT
+
+
+Lying tied to one of the groins, which seemed to have widened out into
+a sort of pier, was a rakish-looking clockwork steamer, with a red hull
+and a broad white line above it, all very smart and clean.
+
+“Why, it’s my very own steamer,” cried Peggy, “just as it was when it
+was new, only much bigger.”
+
+“Yes, dear,” said Wooden. “We use it every night to take us across to
+Toyland. You didn’t know that. You will see all your other toys when we
+get across, and some of them are coming with us.”
+
+“Is the man who shoots pennies into my money-box coming?” asked Peggy.
+
+“Yes,” replied Wooden. “He is the Queen’s head game-keeper. He shot the
+three china hares that stand on the nursery mantelpiece. He shot them
+with the sixpences you got out of the Christmas pudding.”
+
+The steamer and the pier beside it were now crowded with doll sailors
+and doll passengers preparing to take the journey across the water
+to Toyland, and the road along the beach in both directions was full
+of dolls hurrying to the various starting-places. Every row of piles
+along the shore had turned into a pier, and scores of boats were moored
+alongside them, in which dolls were embarking.
+
+But still they came, from north, east, and west. Many of them were in
+motor-cars, others were packed into wooden carts, the babies were being
+wheeled in prams, and many were walking. Some way off Peggy saw a troop
+of lead soldiers riding down to the shore on black horses, and they
+looked very fine with the sun shining on their helmets and breastplates.
+
+Lady Grace shaded her eyes and looked at them, too, and Wooden said to
+her, “Lady Grace, I believe that is Colonel Jim’s regiment.”
+
+Teddy turned round and grinned at them, and said, “What ho, girls!”
+
+Wooden said sharply, “Now behave, Teddy, and don’t let’s have any
+byplay.”
+
+They all embarked in the toy steamer, and Peggy was pleased to find
+her own sailor doll acting as captain of it. Very well he did it, too,
+standing on the bridge and shouting his orders down a tube, while the
+steamer was loosed from the quay and started off at a splendid pace,
+making a hundred knots an hour across the blue calm water.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It was a delightful voyage, pleasanter even than the motor drive had
+been. The sun was shining so brightly, and every one seemed so pleased
+to be going to Toyland. They could hear the dolls laughing and singing
+from the other boats, which were all round them. On one of them was
+a toy piano with five notes, on which a gentleman doll with long hair
+was playing a tune so difficult that you would never have thought it
+possible if you had not heard him.
+
+Wooden’s mother and aunt went forward and stood in the bows of the boat
+as she drove across the sea. They sniffed the salt breeze with rapture,
+and their brightly-coloured faces glistened in the sunshine. “This,”
+said Wooden’s mother, “is Life!” And Wooden’s aunt enjoyed it so much
+that until they came to the other side she said nothing vulgar or
+common.
+
+But the moment the steamer began to move, although the water was as
+smooth as it could possibly be, Teddy became as green as pea soup and
+rushed downstairs to the cabin.
+
+“He’s always like that, poor fellow,” said Wooden. “I suppose it comes
+from being a bear. He will be all right when we get to the other side.”
+
+Very soon the voyage was over, and the toy steamer came alongside a
+quay carpeted with red felt. There were many other landing stages
+all along the shore, at which other boats were landing their doll
+passengers; but the steamer was the only one which came alongside this
+special quay. It was decorated with flowers and flags, and round it
+stood a row of wooden soldiers, with shiny black bearskins, red coats,
+and spotless white trousers. They lined three sides of the square, and
+looked very smart, all of exactly the same height, and all standing at
+attention.
+
+Wooden seemed to be rather embarrassed as the steamer made fast
+alongside this gaily decorated quay. “This is the royal quay,” she said
+to Peggy. “Only the Queen uses it. There must be some mistake.” And she
+asked the captain why they were landing there.
+
+“Orders, ma’am, orders,” said the captain briefly, touching his cap.
+
+“I expect,” said Lady Grace, “that it is to do honour to our little
+visitor.” She put her hand on Peggy’s shoulder and smiled at her.
+
+Wooden’s honest face beamed with pleasure. “Now, I do call that kind of
+Her Majesty,” she said, “very kind indeed.”
+
+The wooden soldiers all presented arms as Peggy stepped off the steamer
+between Lady Grace and Wooden, while Wooden’s mother and aunt followed
+them, and Teddy came up from below no longer looking green, but quite
+cheerful again and grinning all over. One of the soldiers let off
+his gun by mistake. He had only lately joined the regiment, and did
+not quite understand the words of command. The captain of the wooden
+soldiers boxed his ears soundly, and nobody took any further notice
+of the episode, which, however, had far-reaching effects, as will
+presently appear.
+
+Directly the party had landed, a band struck up and led the way along
+a broad carpeted passage, which was also lined on one side by wooden
+soldiers. On the other side was the water, for the royal quay was at
+the mouth of a broad river, and a little farther on was another quay
+towards which they were going. And here Peggy saw an extraordinary and
+pleasing sight.
+
+There was a large, gaily decorated Noah’s Ark lying at the second quay.
+At each end of the house on the Ark was a big platform. The one in
+front was shaded by a gaily striped awning. There was also a carpet on
+it, and big pots of flowers, and comfortable chairs and little tables.
+On the platform at the back stood Mr. Noah in a long yellow robe, and
+Mrs. Noah in a blue robe. Mr. Noah had taken off his black shiny hat,
+and was bowing low, as Wooden and her party approached the Ark.
+
+But the most curious thing of all was the long line of animals that
+were standing two and two along the towing-path by the river. They were
+all in charge of the rest of Mr. Noah’s family, and were harnessed
+to the Ark, which they were evidently going to pull. There were two
+elephants and two camels, giraffes, zebras, cows, hyenas, leopards, and
+a lot more, all much the same size; and at the head of the procession
+were two antelopes. Hovering round the Ark were a great number of
+birds--wild geese, and rooks and parrots and peacocks and canaries and
+budgeree-gars and others, all flying in pairs.
+
+[Illustration: On the platform at the back stood Mr. Noah and Mrs. Noah]
+
+“The Queen’s own Ark,” said Lady Grace. “It must have been sent down
+for somebody. I wonder who.”
+
+“Do you think it could be for a specialist?” Peggy asked. “They do send
+for them, you know, if anybody is ill.”
+
+“Oh, I do hope her mump isn’t worse,” said Wooden.
+
+“I expect it’s sent down for me,” said Wooden’s aunt, with her vulgar
+laugh. “She knowed I was coming all right.”
+
+“Now, Polly, behave,” said Wooden’s mother. “Mr. and Mrs. Noah are
+looking at us.”
+
+Mr. Noah advanced to the side of the Ark and bowed to Wooden. “I have
+been ordered to bring the Ark down for you and your party,” he said. “I
+hope we shall have a nice trip up the river.”
+
+Wooden turned to Peggy with a pleased smile on her face. “Now that is
+an honour,” she said. “I am so pleased, dear. It is a most lovely ark
+inside.”
+
+Then she asked Mr. Noah how the Queen was, and he shook his head and
+was just going to tell her how the Queen was when Wooden’s aunt gave a
+wild whoop, and picking up her skirts ran along the quay, kicking her
+feet out in front of her, and shouting, “Come on, girls! Here’s larks!”
+
+And I am sorry to say that Teddy joined her, and they danced up the
+quay together and rushed down the bridge from the bank to the ark,
+jostling each other and quite spoiling everything by their behaviour.
+
+“Oh dear, oh dear!” said Wooden’s mother in a vexed voice, “Really,
+Polly does carry on something awful.”
+
+But Mr. Noah only laughed and said, “I like a little fun sometimes.”
+
+Then he led the way to the platform in the front of the ark, and Mrs.
+Noah walked by Peggy and said to her, “I like your face very much. I am
+sure we shall be friends.”
+
+The captain of the wooden soldiers now gave some words of command, and
+all his troops fell into their places ready to march alongside the
+ark. Mr. Noah blew a whistle, and his sons made themselves very busy
+unfastening ropes, pushing the ark out into the river, and getting
+ready to start the animals. Mr. Noah blew his whistle again when the
+ark was clear of the shore, and with a great deal of shouting and
+cheering, the procession of animals started off, and pulled the ark at
+a good pace up the river.
+
+It was a very pleasant journey. The air was warm and the sky was
+blue. All the different animals that were pulling the ark were very
+interesting to look at, and the birds that flew in couples overhead
+were very pretty, too, and sang most melodiously.
+
+They had not travelled very far before a smart servant doll in cap and
+apron came out of the house in the ark, and said, “Would you like to
+take a little light refreshment?”
+
+Wooden’s aunt instantly jumped up from her chair and said, “I’m always
+ready for my grub.” Then she pushed in front of all the others and
+rushed into the house in the most vulgar and objectionable manner. And
+again, I am sorry to say, Teddy followed her.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Wooden blushed with annoyance at the behaviour of her relative, and
+Wooden’s mother said in an angry voice, “It is really too much. But
+please don’t think because she is my daughter’s aunt that she is
+my sister. Quite the reverse. I wouldn’t own her. My poor brother
+married much beneath him. He was a wooden Scotchman of irreproachable
+character, outside a tobacconist’s shop, and a perfect gentleman in
+every way.”
+
+Peggy smoothed the wounded feelings of Wooden and her mother, and said
+it didn’t matter. “I think I had better say a word to Teddy,” she said.
+“He is not behaving nicely.”
+
+“Oh, she leads him on,” said Wooden’s mother, who was still very much
+annoyed.
+
+“Teddy has always been flighty, for a bear,” said Wooden. “I haven’t
+liked to say anything, dear, but I think it would be a good thing if
+you were to speak to him. He would pay attention to you.”
+
+When they got inside the house of the ark they found a most beautifully
+furnished apartment, with big windows on either side, through which the
+scenery on the banks of the river could be observed as they went along.
+
+On the table was spread a most sumptuous repast. There was a dish of
+chicken, consisting entirely of wishing-bones; there was a pudding made
+of one gigantic chocolate cream; there were little baby bananas growing
+on a live tree in the middle of the table; there were sandwiches of
+toast and butter and watercress and blackberry jam and potted prawns,
+all mixed up together in the most ingenious manner, and very seductive
+to the palate; there was a birthday cake and a wedding cake; there was
+a jelly that tasted of violets and another that tasted of carnations;
+there were delicious drinks, from the sweet and comforting chocolate
+of the cold north to the iced sherbet of the burning south; there were
+dozens of crackers, and every one of them contained a beautiful toy,
+a motto, a cap of coloured paper decorated with gold and silver, and
+a small but valuable piece of jewellery. In short, there was every
+delicacy of the season, and all in the utmost profusion.
+
+Wooden’s aunt was already deep in the repast when they got inside. She
+was purple in the face, and beginning to breathe heavily.
+
+“Such greed I never saw,” said Wooden’s mother, eyeing her severely.
+“She has not even washed her hands.”
+
+Teddy, however, was nowhere to be seen, and the servant-doll said that
+he had gone out by another door into Mr. Noah’s cabin. Mr. Noah had
+invited him to have a steak and onions with him. Peggy was rather glad
+not to have to rebuke him before company, for she was fond of Teddy.
+She thought that if he were kept away from Wooden’s aunt he would
+probably behave all right.
+
+The servant-doll had led them into a nice airy bedroom, which opened
+out of the main saloon, and Peggy washed her hands, and then put on a
+very pretty pinafore made of lace and chiffon, which the servant-doll
+gave her. When they were all ready they went into the saloon and sat
+down at the table, and much enjoyed their repast, while the ark was
+drawn rapidly along the winding river.
+
+Unfortunately their enjoyment was marred by the continued bad behaviour
+of Wooden’s aunt, who went on as if she had really never been in
+respectable company before. When she could eat no more--and that was
+not for a long time--Wooden’s mother gave her a dose of Gregory powder,
+which she always carried about with her for such emergencies, or she
+would probably have died. As it was she felt very ill, and said so in a
+thoroughly vulgar manner.
+
+Wooden was most distressed at her behaviour, but she was so
+kind-hearted that she could not help making excuses for her.
+“Greediness and vulgarity and vanity are her only failings, poor
+thing,” she said. “Otherwise she has a very charming character. We all
+have our little weaknesses, and we must not think too much of them.”
+
+“I’m ashamed of her,” said Wooden’s mother. “And I shall tell her so
+to her face directly she regains consciousness.”
+
+For Wooden’s aunt was now stretched on one of the luxurious sofas of
+the saloon in a state of complete collapse.
+
+“Let us leave her there,” said Lady Grace. “She will be better when we
+arrive at Dolltown.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+MOMENTOUS NEWS IS BROUGHT BY A DUTCH DOLL
+
+
+They left Wooden’s aunt in the saloon and went on deck again, and
+seated themselves in the comfortable chairs under the awning, from
+which they could observe the scenery. This was very beautiful.
+
+They were now going through a mountain gorge. The river was narrow
+here, but deep. The mountains came steeply down into the water, and
+on one side of the river was a road cut in the rock, along which all
+the animals were walking two by two, pulling the ark at a smart pace.
+Perched up on the mountains here and there were pretty wooden Swiss
+chalets, large and small; and numberless clean wooden cows, with bells
+round their necks, were browsing in the mountain pastures, which were
+gay with flowers. The wooden peasants who were looking after them
+showed great interest in the progress of the ark. They came running
+down the steep paths to see who was on board, and shouted and waved
+their hats in their excitement.
+
+[Illustration: On the mountains here and there were pretty wooden Swiss
+chalets]
+
+By-and-by they had passed through the mountains, and had come to a
+perfectly flat country, planted with wooden poplars of a vivid green.
+Here and there were farms--dear little wooden houses with doll-farmers
+living in them, and taking care of more wooden animals, cows and
+horses, and sheep and pigs. After a time they came to a small town
+consisting of streets of dolls’ houses, with a church built of toy
+bricks.
+
+“Oh, I would like to go into one of those dear little houses,” said
+Peggy. “Can’t we stop here, Wooden?”
+
+“We shall see much better dolls’ houses than those when we get to
+Dolltown,” said Wooden. “I have got a very nice dolls’ house myself,
+bigger than any of those. I shall take you there, dear, and you will
+occupy the spare room. And I will show you the Queen’s Palace, which is
+finer than any of them.”
+
+At this moment Mrs. Noah came forward, and stood by them smiling, as if
+she would like a little conversation.
+
+“Won’t you sit down, Mrs. Noah?” said Lady Grace politely; and Mrs.
+Noah thanked her and sat down.
+
+Mrs. Noah was a large smiling woman who liked to make friends. She
+smiled at Lady Grace, and Wooden, and Wooden’s mother, and Peggy, and
+then said suddenly, “I thought you’d like to know how it all was.”
+
+Of course they would like to know how it all was, though they didn’t
+quite know what she meant. So they smiled back at her, and then she
+began.
+
+“Of course he is wood,” she said, “begging your pardon, Lady Grace, and
+I ought to like him on that account. But the truth is that I don’t, and
+can’t.”
+
+There was a little pause, and then Wooden’s mother said, nodding her
+head wisely, “Ah, I know who you mean, and I don’t much like him
+either. I suppose because he’s a foreigner.”
+
+Wooden shook her head, but said nothing. Lady Grace said, “I hate him;
+but then I’m wax, you see.”
+
+Peggy wondered who they were talking about, but just as she was going
+to ask Wooden, Mrs. Noah looked at her, and said, “Why, bless me! the
+little lady must be thinking that we’re talking in riddles.”
+
+And then she told the following story:--
+
+Some time before, a ship had been wrecked on the coast of Toyland, and
+all its passengers drowned except King Selim. He had been brought to
+Dolltown, and, because he was a king, Queen Rosebud had given him a set
+of rooms in her palace, where he had lived very comfortably ever since.
+
+“What was he King of?” asked Peggy.
+
+Mrs. Noah hesitated. “I really don’t know, dear,” she said. “Do you
+know, Wooden?”
+
+“No,” said Wooden. “I never thought of asking.”
+
+It seemed that nobody else had ever thought of asking either. They knew
+he must be a king because he said he was. Besides, he wore a crown.
+Everybody was very sorry for him, because his Queen had been drowned
+when the ship had been wrecked, but when some time had passed and he
+had got over that, he had become rather interfering, and he was not so
+much liked now as he had been, especially by the Waxes. For although
+all the dolls in Toyland generally lived happily together, still
+there was always apt to be a little feeling between the Waxes and the
+Woodens. The Waxes thought the Woodens were rather common, and the
+Woodens thought the Waxes were rather stuck up.
+
+“Of course, speaking for myself,” said Mrs. Noah, “I’ve never had no
+quarrel with a Wax in my life, and, if I may say so, have as many
+friends among the Waxes as I have among the Woodens.”
+
+She looked at Lady Grace, who said, “The Queen has always disliked
+having anything said against the Woodens, and has often told me that if
+she had not been born Wax she would have liked to be born Wood.”
+
+There were murmurs of approbation at this speech, and Wooden’s mother
+said, “Wax is as wax does, I always say. If all was as polite as the
+Queen, there wouldn’t be no trouble at all. But you haven’t told us
+about the Queen’s health yet, Mrs. Noah.”
+
+“Well,” said Mrs. Noah, “it’s my belief that the Queen is dead.”
+
+“Dear, dear!” said Wooden’s mother. “And such a nice lady as she was,
+too.”
+
+“What makes you think that, Mrs. Noah?” asked Lady Grace. “Surely I
+should have heard of it if it had been true.”
+
+“Well, perhaps you would, Lady Grace,” said Mrs. Noah. “Anyhow, she
+is alarmingly ill, and has appointed King Selim regent, to act in her
+place until she gets better. And if she dies, King Selim is to reign in
+her place. You see, the Queen having no children, naturally the only
+other royal person in Toyland has to reign instead of her.”
+
+“Is that the law in Toyland?” asked Peggy.
+
+Mrs. Noah looked at her affectionately. “Bless your pretty face, what
+questions you do ask, dear,” she said. “I don’t know nothing about the
+law, but it’s what King Selim says, and of course he knows, or else he
+wouldn’t say it.”
+
+“Oh, no,” said Wooden decisively. “Some people don’t like him, but he
+isn’t as bad as that. Was it him that ordered the royal barge to meet
+us, Mrs. Noah?”
+
+“Yes, it was,” said Mrs. Noah. “Now I must be getting back to my old
+man. He says there ain’t no flavour in his pipe unless I fill it for
+him.”
+
+“I hope the Queen isn’t really dead,” said Wooden, when Mrs. Noah had
+left them. “That would indeed be a sad pity. Look, dear, you can see
+Dolltown now. It won’t be long before we are there now.”
+
+The ark had turned a bend in the river, and Peggy could see across the
+flat plains a large town with an enormous tower standing in the middle
+of it.
+
+“That is the House of Cards,” said Wooden, in answer to her question.
+“It stands in the middle of the market-place, and is thirteen stories
+high.”
+
+“What is it used for?” asked Peggy.
+
+“It is used for going to the top of, dear,” replied Wooden. “You get a
+magnificent view of the surrounding country, and when you have looked
+at it you come down again.”
+
+It was not long before they reached the outskirts of Dolltown. On
+either side of the river were rows of houses in which the poorer
+dolls, mostly wooden and rag, lived. The weather was warm, and many of
+the fronts of the houses stood wide open, showing the inside of the
+four rooms into which each of them was divided. There were generally
+a kitchen and a dining-room on the ground floor, and a drawing-room
+and a bedroom above. None of these houses had staircases, and it was
+puzzling to think how the dolls could get into the upstairs rooms.
+Wooden explained, when Peggy asked her, that the dolls either climbed
+in through the windows, or, if the house-front was open, put a kitchen
+chair on the kitchen table, and scrambled up somehow. Those who were
+not strong enough to do so had to spend the night sitting on chairs in
+the kitchen or dining-room.
+
+“Isn’t that rather uncomfortable for them?” asked Peggy.
+
+“Well, dear, perhaps it is rather,” said Wooden. “But, you see, we’re
+not so particular as you are, so we don’t feel it so much.”
+
+“But didn’t you say there wasn’t any night in Toyland?” asked Peggy.
+
+“Perhaps, I did, dear. I say so many things in the course of time that
+I can’t possibly remember all of them. But there is one thing I should
+never do, and that is tell a lie.”
+
+Peggy looked at her quickly, fearing that she might be offended, but
+her face still wore its amiable sweet-tempered expression, and when
+Peggy gave her a kiss, just in _case_ she might have said something to
+hurt her, she kissed her back, and called her a precious lamb.
+
+Some of the dolls’ houses that they were passing were quite well
+furnished. Others had furniture a good deal too large for the rooms,
+but the dolls seemed all to be of one size, and Wooden told Peggy that,
+however large or small a doll might be in the nursery, when it got home
+to Toyland it became as large as life.
+
+All the inhabitants of these small houses came thronging down to the
+banks of the river to see the procession of animals, and to cheer
+the royal ark as it passed along. Peggy noticed that the wooden
+dolls cheered more heartily than the wax dolls and china dolls and
+composition dolls. In fact one party of Dutch dolls became so excited
+as the ark passed that they all fell into the river, and had to be
+rescued by Mr. Noah’s youngest son, who was attending to the elephants.
+All were got safely to land, except the father of the Dutch doll
+family, who swam out and clung to the ark, and was dragged on board by
+Mr. Noah himself.
+
+Just at the moment when this was happening Wooden’s aunt came out of
+the saloon, and seemed highly delighted at the scene. She bent down
+and slapped her knees with both her hands, and then threw her head
+back and roared with laughter.
+
+“Lawks! I wouldn’t have missed that for anything,” she said, when the
+Dutch doll had been led below. “Well, I’ve had a nice little nap,
+girls, and now I’ve come to cheer you all up a bit.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+“Then behave yourself, do, Polly,” said Wooden’s mother severely, “and
+don’t let’s have any more of your carryings on.”
+
+When the Dutch doll was quite dry he insisted upon being led into the
+presence of “the company.” Mr. Noah had lent him his second-best yellow
+robe, in which he looked rather funny, as it was too long for him. He
+came up the steps from the saloon, and, tripping over the skirt of the
+robe, fell flat at the feet of Wooden’s aunt, who roared with laughter
+at him again.
+
+So far from getting up again as quickly as possible, the Dutch doll
+remained where he was, rubbing his forehead on the deck of the ark.
+
+“Get up, man,” said Wooden’s mother sharply, “and don’t stop lying
+there like a silly.”
+
+The Dutch doll got up, looking foolish, and bowed low to Wooden’s aunt.
+“I hope your Majesty is quite well,” he said. “I am very pleased to see
+your Majesty.”
+
+“Lawks! he calls me ‘your Majesty!’” said Wooden’s aunt. “Well, I
+never! I shall die of laughing if this goes on.” And indeed it seemed
+likely that she would.
+
+“The man’s silly,” said Wooden’s mother. “His ducking has turned his
+head. The Queen isn’t here. We’re only the party that the royal ark has
+been sent down for.”
+
+But still the Dutch doll kept on bowing to Wooden’s aunt, and calling
+her your Majesty; and Wooden’s aunt enjoyed it.
+
+Lady Grace intervened in her polite and aristocratic manner. “Don’t you
+know Queen Rosebud by sight?” she asked. “In calling this lady your
+Majesty you are coming very near to telling a story.”
+
+“Oh, I wouldn’t do that, my lady,” said the Dutch doll, much shocked.
+“Queen Rosebud is dead, you know.”
+
+“I feared it,” said Wooden. “It is very sad.”
+
+Lady Grace turned pale. “She was a loving mistress and a great Queen,”
+she said.
+
+Wooden’s mother said, “Yes, she was. But crying out about it won’t
+bring her to life again, poor thing!” And Wooden’s aunt had the grace
+to leave off with her nonsense, and say, “I’m sure I’m sorry to hear
+the news. Then who is going to be Queen now?”
+
+“You are, your Majesty,” said the Dutch doll, bowing to her again.
+“King Selim is going to marry you.”
+
+“What, marry me!” exclaimed Wooden’s aunt, forgetting to be vulgar
+for once, in her surprise. “Well, I never! Why, I hardly know the
+gentleman.”
+
+“Surely you are making some mistake,” said Lady Grace.
+
+The Dutch doll looked offended. “Do you think I’d tell you a lie?” he
+asked.
+
+“Oh, no, of course he wouldn’t do that,” said Wooden hastily. “If he
+says so, of course it is so. But you’re not Queen yet, aunt.”
+
+“No, nor never will be, if you don’t learn to behave proper,” said
+Wooden’s mother. “If I was you I should keep quiet till the wedding
+ceremony.”
+
+Wooden’s aunt seemed to think this was good advice, for she gave no
+more trouble till the ark drew up at the royal quay in the middle of
+Dolltown.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+ARRIVAL AT THE ROYAL PALACE OF DOLLTOWN
+
+
+The Royal Quay was a great open space carpeted with red felt, and
+decorated with palms and flowers. Wooden soldiers were standing all
+round the square, and inside it was a royal carriage with six wooden
+horses, and servants in scarlet liveries. A little troop of lead
+soldiers on black horses was drawn up by the carriage, and looked very
+gallant with their scarlet tunics, silver breastplates and helmets and
+waving plumes. Lady Grace blushed when she saw that the head of the
+troop was Colonel Jim, and said to Peggy, “The rather nice-looking
+officer is a friend of mine, dear. I will introduce him to you when I
+get an opportunity.”
+
+Behind the wooden soldiers was a great crowd of dolls, all cheering
+themselves hoarse as the royal ark was being tied up by the quay, and
+the bridge was being run out. Peggy noticed that there were no wax
+dolls among them, and rather wondered at this, but had not time to ask
+about it in the excitement of the moment.
+
+Just by the landing stage was a little group of gentlemen dolls. The
+most important person in it was an old gentleman doll of patriarchal
+aspect. He had no beard, but his head was completely bald, and he was
+dressed in a long gown of black velvet. As soon as the bridge between
+the quay and the ark was put into position, he came forward with his
+party on to the platform of the ark, and bowed low before Wooden, who
+happened to be standing a little in front of the rest.
+
+[Illustration: He had no beard, but his head was completely bald]
+
+“Welcome, your Majesty,” he said, “to the Capital of your kingdom of
+Toyland. I will explain why I thus address you later.”
+
+Wooden was quite taken back, and could only stammer out, “But
+Mr.--Mr.--I don’t know your name, but----”
+
+“My name is Norval,” said the old gentleman doll. “And I am the Lord
+Chancellor of your Majesty’s kingdom.”
+
+“But why do you call me your Majesty, Mr. Norval?” asked Wooden.
+
+“_Lord_ Norval, at your Majesty’s pleasure,” corrected the Lord
+Chancellor. “I address you as a Queen because King Selim, successor
+to our late lamented Queen Rosebud, has intimated his intention of
+marrying you, and in these matters I feel that one cannot begin too
+soon. Besides, it is his Majesty’s pleasure that you should be paid
+every possible honour, as his highly respected bride to be.”
+
+“But Lord Noodle!” stammered Wooden, getting his name a little wrong in
+her perplexity, “this gentleman said that it was my aunt here that the
+king wanted to marry.”
+
+She indicated the Dutch doll, and the Lord Chancellor looked at him in
+anger. “Did you say that?” he asked.
+
+Wooden’s aunt broke in before the Dutch doll could speak. “Yes, he did
+say it,” she said. “And I ain’t going to give up my Selim for nobody.
+Him and me has always been friendly like, and I wasn’t a bit surprised
+to hear he wanted to marry me. Why should he want to marry a young
+thing like Wooden, I should like to know? Why she’s like a kid beside
+of him! It’s me that’s going to be Queen, not her.”
+
+“Captain Cook,” said the Lord Chancellor to a lead soldier of his
+party, “arrest this Dutchman for telling a lie, and arrest this woman
+for telling another.”
+
+“What, me!” cried Wooden’s aunt. “How dare you accuse me of telling a
+lie, you old creature with a head like an egg? How dare you? What lie
+have I told?”
+
+“Arrest her again for insulting the Lord Chancellor,” said Lord Norval.
+“You said you were going to be Queen, and that’s a lie. King Selim
+wouldn’t look at you. He has confided to me that he has been in love
+with--with--I suppose I had better say _Princess_ Wooden, for some
+time, and has reason to believe that she is not indifferent to him.”
+
+“Well, he has looked at me sometimes,” said Wooden, “but I’m sure I
+never gave him any encouragement. I don’t like him very much, Lord
+Noodle. He’s a foreigner, you see, and I don’t like foreigners.
+Couldn’t it be arranged for him to marry my aunt, as she’s ready for
+him! I’d rather it was her than me.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor looked muddled. “I couldn’t say anything without
+consulting his Majesty,” he said. “He _might_ consent; but then again
+he might not. The best way will be for us all to go up to the Palace,
+as already ordered, and ask him. I am sorry your aunt will have to
+appear there under arrest, but as she has committed a crime, or rather
+two crimes, that can’t be helped.”
+
+The situation was certainly awkward. Nobody quite seemed to know what
+to do about it. But Peggy, who had been listening with great interest
+to what had been said, ventured to make a suggestion. “If Wooden’s
+aunt _does_ marry the King,” she said, “then she wouldn’t have told a
+story, would she?”
+
+Everybody brightened up, and the Lord Chancellor said, “That is one of
+the cleverest things I ever heard said. But who is this ingenious and
+attractive-looking young lady, may I ask?”
+
+Wooden explained to him who Peggy was, and he bowed low to her, and
+said he was proud to make her acquaintance. “Well, after what you have
+pointed out,” he said, “I have no difficulty in unarresting this lady
+for telling a lie. But she has also insulted a high official. She said
+that my head was like an egg. It may be or it may not be, but nobody
+could say that it was a polite thing to point out.”
+
+He looked at Peggy as if he expected her to make another suggestion,
+and would not be sorry if she made it.
+
+Peggy could think of nothing better to say than, “I like eggs myself,
+especially if they are new-laid.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor caught at this instantly. “Did you have a new-laid
+egg in your mind when you referred to my head, Madam?” he asked of
+Wooden’s aunt.
+
+Wooden’s aunt, who was looking much more subdued than usual, standing
+by the officer who had arrested her, said, “Well, there’s one thing I
+never would do, and that’s tell a lie. I can’t rightly say that I had
+a new-laid egg in my mind, because I won’t deceive you, I don’t know
+where my mind is. I went to sea early, and never had much schooling,
+and never learnt no physiognomy. There may be a new-laid egg in my
+mind, or there may not. I wouldn’t like to say.”
+
+“What I would suggest to you, madam,” said the Lord Chancellor, “is
+that in likening my head to an egg you didn’t mean an old-laid egg, or
+an addled egg, or a bad egg, or anything of that sort. If it is like an
+egg at all, it was a fresh egg you meant.”
+
+“Oh, lawks, yes,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I’d never be one for insulting a
+gentleman. I know what’s due to myself and my family better.”
+
+“Then that is quite enough for me,” said the Lord Chancellor, evidently
+greatly relieved. “Captain Cook, unarrest this lady completely.”
+
+“And the Dutch doll, too,” said Peggy, pleased at having succeeded so
+well.
+
+“And the Dutch doll, too, of course, Captain Cook,” said the Lord
+Chancellor. “And my advice to you, sir, is to make yourself scarce. You
+have had a narrow escape, and let it be a lesson to you.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Dutch doll, whose knees had been knocking together with fright,
+picked up the skirts of Mr. Noah’s second-best yellow robe, and ran
+away as fast as he could. He poked in between two of the wooden
+soldiers guarding the quay, and was lost in the crowd. But he was
+an honest doll, for the next morning Mr. Noah received back his
+second-best robe by parcel’s post, with a note of thanks, which he
+could not read, as it was written in double-Dutch.
+
+The party was now ready to land and get into the royal carriage, but
+just as they had stepped off on to the red carpet on the quay, the Lord
+Chancellor’s eyes fell upon Lady Grace, whom he seemed not to have
+noticed before.
+
+His face darkened, and he said, “Why, what is this? A wax doll
+at large, after the royal proclamation that all Waxes are to be
+imprisoned! Captain Cook, do your duty instantly.”
+
+Captain Cook stepped forward to arrest Lady Grace, who shrank away from
+him, while Wooden and her mother and aunt began to protest volubly
+against such an outrage, for they were all friendly to Lady Grace, who
+had always treated them with perfect politeness.
+
+Peggy felt dreadfully frightened at the moment at all the hubbub, and
+at the idea of poor Lady Grace being taken off to prison; but just
+as she was trying to think what she could do to stop it there was
+an unexpected diversion. Colonel Jim, the officer in charge of the
+Lifeguards standing by the royal carriage, rode forward with a clatter
+of harness and accoutrements, and said in a loud voice, “Unhand that
+lady!”
+
+There was a moment’s pause. Then the Lord Chancellor said, “Colonel
+Jim, you are taking a great deal upon yourself. You know what the royal
+proclamation was. All Waxes are to be arrested and sent to prison.”
+
+“What for?” asked Colonel Jim, with soldierly brevity.
+
+“The general charge against them,” said the Lord Chancellor, “is giving
+themselves airs.”
+
+“Has Lady Grace ever given herself airs?” asked Colonel Jim.
+
+“No, that she never has,” said Wooden’s mother indignantly. “I will say
+this for her, Wax or no Wax, that a nicer-spoken or nicer-behaved lady
+never stept.”
+
+“And she was a great favourite of Queen Rosebud’s, besides,” said
+Wooden. “She thought the world of her.”
+
+And even Wooden’s aunt showed up well in the emergency. “If I’m to be
+Queen,” she said, “I shall have Lady Grace as my own lady-in-waiting.
+She shall put in my hairpins for me, which I never could do rightly
+myself. And how’s she to do that if she’s in prison?”
+
+Colonel Jim rode back to his troop without saying another word. But
+his interference had been successful, for the Lord Chancellor said,
+“Under the circumstances, I will not have Lady Grace arrested now. She
+can come with us to the Palace, and we will see what the King has to
+say about it.”
+
+Then Wooden and her mother and aunt, and Lady Grace and Peggy got into
+the royal carriage, and the Lord Chancellor and his suite got into two
+other carriages. Colonel Jim and his Life Guardsmen formed themselves
+on either side, and with a clash and a glitter, the little procession
+started. The wooden soldiers all presented arms, and made a way through
+for them, and they drove off the quay and into the streets of Dolltown.
+
+Peggy had been rather surprised that the dolls had not shown more grief
+at the sudden death of the Queen, though all of them had certainly
+spoken very nicely about it when the news had first come to them, and
+were evidently sorry that she had died. But she now began to understand
+that dolls do not take things in quite the same way as human beings.
+For one thing, there were no signs of mourning in the streets, but on
+the other hand there were flags on some of the houses, and all the
+people seemed to be out of doors watching for the royal procession,
+and when it appeared they cheered heartily, and seemed as happy and
+pleased as possible. This was all the more remarkable because, if what
+the Lord Chancellor had said was true, which of course it was, as he
+would never have told a lie, all the wax dolls in the place had already
+been sent off to prison, and you might have thought that that would
+have sobered the rest. But even the four dolls in the carriage seemed
+to have forgotten it, and also the unpleasant episode of Lady Grace
+nearly being taken off to prison, too. They were all anxious to point
+out to Peggy the interesting sights to be seen on either side of them,
+and had nothing to say about anything else, not even about what might
+happen when they arrived at the royal palace. And as they seemed able
+to forget everything but the pleasure and interest of the moment, Peggy
+was able to do so, too.
+
+What she saw of Dolltown enchanted her. It was like all the toys
+she had ever had, and her friends had had, and she had seen in
+shop-windows, all become real, and not only that, but of a size to
+be used. All little girls know what it is to wish that they could
+sometimes live in their own dolls’ houses, especially in the big
+ones, where there are staircases that they could go up and down if
+only they were of the right size, and all sorts of nice furniture,
+and dinner-sets and tea-sets, and other things which they would like
+to use themselves and not always be making believe with. Well, in
+Dolltown, and in fact in the whole of Toyland, there was no making
+believe. Everything was as real as real, even the smallest things for
+the smallest dolls. Peggy could have used everything she saw herself,
+and it was really quite thrilling and delightful to feel that she could
+pretend to be a doll if she wanted to, and have all the fun for herself
+that little girls give to their dolls.
+
+Just outside the royal quay was a large station, with platforms and
+signal boxes and bridges and lines of rails all complete, and a train
+waiting there with a bright green clockwork engine, ready to go off
+into the country. One of Peggy’s boy cousins had collected a splendid
+railway plant--his relations always gave him things for it at Christmas
+and on his birthdays--and Peggy had often wished she could go for a
+ride in it all round his playroom floor, and be shunted and go under
+the little tunnels, and stop at the stations, just as the tin soldiers
+he put into the carriages did. Well, it would be just as much fun going
+in this railway system, and she could get into the toy carriages just
+as easily as her cousin’s tin soldiers.
+
+They crossed over the river on one of those suspension bridges that
+you see in shop-windows, and then climbed a hill into the town. At the
+beginning of the hill was a large toy fort, crammed with tin soldiers,
+who were looking over the parapet and cheering them as they passed.
+
+Then they went through a street of shops, and the joints of meat
+hanging in the butchers’ shops, and the fish lying on the slabs of the
+fishmongers’ shops, and the stores in the grocery shops were all real;
+and specially attractive were the highly-coloured fruits.
+
+As for the shops where they sold the baby-clothes, they were too
+delightful. But the first one they passed brought a most disturbing
+thought to Peggy. She turned to Wooden and said, “Oh, Wooden, dear,
+where are all the long-clothes babies! Surely they haven’t been cruel
+enough to send them to prison, too!”
+
+“Oh, no, dear,” said Wooden decidedly. “Nobody is cruel in Toyland.”
+
+Peggy did not feel quite so sure of that, considering that Lady Grace
+had nearly been sent to prison already for being wax; and of course
+most long-clothes babies are wax, or composition. “Then where are
+they!” she asked.
+
+“They are all having their morning sleep, dear,” said Wooden’s mother,
+and Peggy had to be content.
+
+When they reached the more important streets of Dolltown, most of
+the houses were built of wooden or terra-cotta bricks, and very fine
+some of them were. But this part of the town _was_ rather silent and
+deserted, for the owners of most of the fine houses were wax, and they
+had all been taken off to prison.
+
+At last they reached the royal palace. It was a most gorgeous building,
+built of ivory, with windows made of enormous diamonds and rubies and
+emeralds and sapphires, all glittering in the sun.
+
+The carriages drew up underneath an ivory porch. The Lord Chancellor
+was at the door of the royal one as soon as it was opened. “I will
+conduct you straight to his Majesty,” he said.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+KING SELIM HOLDS AN AUDIENCE
+
+
+They were led through several magnificent ivory halls, with a great
+many looking-glasses in them but scarcely any furniture, and into the
+great Hall of Audience, where there was a lovely ivory throne on a daïs
+at one end, and on either side of the Hall a row of ivory chairs.
+
+Here Peggy had two great surprises.
+
+The first surprise was the new King, who was sitting on the throne.
+Directly she saw him, Peggy exclaimed, “Why, he’s a White Chess King!”
+
+[Illustration: “He’s a White Chess King!”]
+
+And so he was, though none of the dolls seemed to know it. His crown
+was on his head, and he had a face underneath it, which chess kings
+don’t have, and, although he was wood himself, his robes did not appear
+to be. But there was no doubt about his being a chess king, in spite
+of these differences, and the moment she saw him Peggy had the feeling
+that he ought not to be King of Toyland, for he wasn’t a real doll that
+children play with, but only part of a game for grown-ups.
+
+The King was sitting on his throne when they came into the Hall, and
+standing by his side on the daïs was a lady doll. And this was Peggy’s
+second surprise. For the lady doll was no other than Rose, who had
+once been her own doll--the one she had given to Mabel in exchange for
+Wooden.
+
+Now, as we know, Peggy had never really loved Rose; she had tried to,
+but had not succeeded. But she had not come to _dis_like her in any
+way, and had kissed her affectionately when she had given her up to
+Mabel, and told her that she would come to see her sometimes. And she
+had done this now and then, until Mabel’s father had left the village
+shortly afterwards, and taken Mabel and Rose with him.
+
+But now, directly she set eyes on Rose again, and recognized her, Peggy
+felt that she did dislike her. She looked very proud, for one thing,
+and pride is not a quality that becomes anybody, least of all dolls,
+who are generally free from it. She also looked bad-tempered, and that
+again is a fault from which dolls are usually free. The only point to
+admire about her was her good looks, but as Peggy had never been able
+to love her because of them when she had been her own doll they did
+not recommend her now. Peggy felt once for all that she had been quite
+right in not liking Rose, and also felt that it would be impossible
+ever to like her.
+
+But we must get on. Directly the party introduced by the Lord
+Chamberlain made its appearance at the door of the Hall of Audience,
+the King rose from his throne. As they advanced up the Hall, he
+stepped down from the daïs, and approaching Wooden, bowed to her in a
+stately but somewhat foreign fashion, and took her hand. Then he said
+with great respect, “Madame, our wedding will take place in half an
+hour, and our coronation half an hour after that. I wish to get both
+ceremonies over before tea-time.”
+
+He spoke in an imperious way, and although there was a sort of smile on
+his face as he looked at Wooden, showing that she was dear to him, it
+was not altogether a pleasant smile; nor did King Selim seem to Peggy
+an agreeable person. He was tall and fat and ugly, and looked as if he
+ate and drank too much.
+
+Wooden was taken aback by the suddenness of the proposal. And no
+wonder! It must be remembered that she hardly knew King Selim, and had
+had no idea until half an hour before of anything in the nature of
+a marriage with him. And, although he had smiled at her, he had not
+uttered a word of love, nor even asked if she wanted to marry him or
+not. No lady would like a gentleman simply to tell her that he was
+going to marry her in half an hour, even if the gentleman _was_ a King.
+
+“I don’t know, your Majesty,” she said hesitatingly. “Of course it’s a
+great honour you’re doing me. But I haven’t thought of such a thing,
+and--and----”
+
+The Lord Chancellor stepped forward and bowed to the King. “Your
+Majesty,” he said. “I am empowered by this lady to make a suggestion
+to you. Would it be the same to your Majesty if you were to marry the
+lady’s aunt instead of her? She has the advantage of being wood, and
+of possessing considerable personal attractions. Wooden’s Aunt, kindly
+step forward, and display those attractions to his Majesty.”
+
+Wooden’s aunt stepped forward, dropped a curtsy to the King, and
+smirked.
+
+The King’s face darkened, and he was about to speak, when Rose, who was
+still standing by the throne on the daïs, interrupted. “Your Majesty,”
+she said, “this woman is not at all suitable for the purpose that has
+been suggested. She lives in the same part of the country over there
+as I used to, and I know all about her. She is quite a common woman--I
+believe she was once a sort of stewardess on a ship--and, if I may
+so express myself, it is like her impudence to think of marrying your
+Majesty.”
+
+Wooden’s aunt bridled. “And who are you, I should like to know,” she
+burst out, “to call me common? Common yourself! I dare say you think
+yourself very grand now, talking to a Majesty, but I’ve seen you
+dressed in dirty pink flannelette, and held head-downwards by one foot,
+over there. So there now, Miss Superior! Common, indeed! _I_’ll learn
+you!”
+
+From these two speeches, Peggy understood that when dolls in Toyland
+talked about the world of real people they called it “over there.”
+
+“Peace, woman!” ordered the King in an angry voice. “How dare you make
+a brawl in my royal palace?”
+
+Wooden’s aunt was affected by the majesty of his demeanour, which
+was certainly that of a King, though not perhaps of a good king. She
+shrank back, and Selim went on: “I have no idea of marrying this woman,
+Norval, and I wonder at your suggesting such a thing. But before we
+talk about that I should like to know how it comes about that a wax
+doll is brought into my presence, when I have given orders that all
+Waxes are to be imprisoned. And I should also like to know who this
+human child is, and how _she_ comes here. It looks to me very much like
+prying.”
+
+King Selim had very bushy eyebrows, and he bent them with a terrific
+frown upon Peggy and Lady Grace, as he spoke.
+
+Lady Grace shrank back, evidently frightened by Selim’s anger. But
+Peggy wasn’t frightened at all. She knew somehow that she had nothing
+to fear from a chess king, however angrily he might look at her. She
+even thought that she might be able to do something to save Lady Grace,
+if the King tried to punish her for being wax. But at present she
+thought she had better keep quiet, and see what happened.
+
+The Lord Chancellor did not seem to be frightened of the new King
+either. He said, in a chatty sort of way, “Now those are both very
+interesting questions, your Majesty, and I shall be delighted to
+discuss them with you. Then there’s the question of your marriage to be
+decided, and several other little matters, which will give us quite an
+agreeable discussion, if we take them one by one. What I say is, let’s
+have an Audience.”
+
+The King stepped back on to the daïs and whispered to Rose, who
+shrugged her shoulders and looked disagreeable, but did not seem to be
+able to object to the proposal.
+
+“Very well,” said the King, seating himself on his throne. “We’ll have
+an Audience.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor seemed pleased at the idea of an Audience. “Bring
+in the Woolsack,” he said to the royal servant dolls, who were standing
+round the daïs; and two of them went out, and came back with a large
+sack of wool, which they placed in the middle of the Hall. The Lord
+Chancellor took his seat on it, facing the throne, but it was so soft
+that he fell back into it, and it covered him up so completely that
+only two little thin legs could be seen sticking into the air. But
+the two royal servants quickly rescued him, and sat him in the middle
+of the sack, which bulged up all round him. He laughed in a very
+good-humoured way at his mishap, and said, “Now the rest of you take
+your seats, please, and then we’ll begin.”
+
+All the company sat down on the ivory chairs on either side of the
+Hall, except Rose, who still stood at the right of the King on his
+throne.
+
+“Now we must have everything quite in order,” said the Lord Chancellor
+cheerfully. “I don’t know who the lady is standing by his Majesty. I’ve
+nothing to say against her whatever. In fact, I’m sure she will be of
+great assistance to us in our important deliberations. But I should
+like her to take her place with the rest, please.”
+
+“I am advising his Majesty on behalf of the Composition dolls,” said
+Rose hastily. “It is his Majesty’s wish that I should keep by him.
+Please get on with the Audience, and don’t fuss.”
+
+“Oh, if it’s his Majesty’s wish, I’ve nothing more to say,” said the
+Lord Chancellor genially. “I only thought you would be more comfortable
+sitting down. Now the first thing to be done is to announce what steps
+have been taken by your Majesty for the welfare of the Kingdom of
+Toyland. Let’s have it all, please, from the time you received the last
+wishes of our dear lamented Queen Rosebud.”
+
+The King frowned. “I don’t want to have to go into all that again,” he
+said. “I want my questions answered.”
+
+“All in good time, your Majesty,” said the Lord Chancellor. “But let’s
+have your statement first, please.”
+
+Peggy quite expected that the King would refuse, and might even do
+something to the Lord Chancellor for giving him an order in that sort
+of way. But it seemed as if it was difficult for a doll to refuse to
+obey any order, if it was given with enough firmness. At any rate, the
+King obeyed this one, although he frowned and looked very disagreeable
+about it.
+
+“Well, if you must have it,” he said, “when the late lamented Queen
+Rosebud was nearing her end she told me that she wished me to reign
+over Toyland in her place.”
+
+“Will you kindly make a note of this?” said the Lord Chancellor to his
+secretary, who was standing beside him. “Take it all down in shorthand;
+then we shall know where we are. Go on, please, your Majesty.”
+
+“That’s all,” said the King. “Queen Rosebud said I was to reign, and
+I’m reigning.”
+
+“Did his Majesty say it was raining?” asked the secretary.
+
+“No, no,” said the Lord Chancellor testily. “The King said _he_ was
+reigning--with a ‘g.’ Keep your ears open, please. Well, that’s all in
+order, then. Now what about the imprisonment of all wax dolls, your
+Majesty? Let’s have that explained, please.”
+
+The King frowned again. “Have I got to explain everything I do, when
+I’m already King?” he asked.
+
+“Yes, please, your Majesty,” said the Lord Chancellor firmly.
+
+“Well, then,” said the King, “I was given reason to believe that there
+would be a revolution among the Waxes, when it was known that a wooden
+King was to succeed a wax Queen, and I took steps to prevent it, that’s
+all.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+“Who gave your Majesty reason to believe such a thing?” asked the
+Lord Chancellor. “I am China myself, but I have always lived on good
+terms with Waxes and Woodens alike--Compositions and Rags, too, for
+the matter of that--and I believe I may say the same of most of the
+inhabitants of this happy country. I see no reason to believe that
+there would have been a revolution of any sort, when it was given out
+that Queen Rosebud had nominated you as her successor.”
+
+“Did you say that she abominated her professor?” asked the secretary.
+“You talk so very fast.”
+
+The King broke in before the Lord Chancellor could reply. “Are you
+giving me a lecture?” he asked angrily.
+
+“Yes,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Will your Majesty kindly answer my
+question?”
+
+“No, I won’t,” said the King. “It is enough to say that I gave orders
+that if there was any trouble among the dolls landing from over there,
+a gun was to be fired. The gun _was_ fired, and I ordered the Waxes to
+be locked up at once.”
+
+“The gun was fired by mistake,” said Wooden’s mother sensibly. “I saw
+the soldier’s ears boxed for firing it with my own eyes.”
+
+“Did she say she fired it with her own eyes?” asked the secretary. “She
+does mumble so.”
+
+“Mistake or no mistake,” said the King, “the gun was fired, and the
+Waxes were locked up. And now we’ve finished all that, I should like
+to know what this lady is doing here, when she ought to be in prison.”
+
+He frowned terrifically at Lady Grace, who was sitting between Peggy
+and Wooden. Peggy took hold of her hand. Although Lady Grace was grown
+up, and she was only a little girl, she felt that she must protect her.
+For after all she was her own dearly loved doll, and Peggy was not
+going to have her bullied by a chess king, if she could help it.
+
+It was Wooden who answered, in her calm, kind voice. “Lady Grace was a
+favourite lady-in-waiting of dear Queen Rosebud,” she said. “I think it
+would be a great pity to send her to prison, and I hope you won’t do
+it, your Majesty.”
+
+King Selim’s face grew softer as Wooden spoke. Her voice was evidently
+music in his ears. Perhaps he would have given way at once, but before
+he could say anything, Rose, who was still standing by the side of the
+throne, spoke. “It isn’t safe to leave any wax dolls free to go about,”
+she said. “They will only stir up trouble. Compositions are quite as
+good as Waxes, and anything that Waxes could do, such as acting as
+ladies-in-waiting to royalty, Compositions can do.”
+
+“_You_’re not even Composition,” broke in Wooden’s aunt, who had been
+glowering at Rose all along, and seemed to have forgotten her own
+fright. “You’re Composition down to the neck, and your hands and feet
+and the rest of you is stuffed rag. Yes, _stuffed rag_! So there,
+Sawdust!”
+
+The Lord Chancellor held up his hand. “That is a very serious
+accusation to bring against a lady,” he said. “I understood the lady to
+claim that she was Composition. Do you mean to accuse her of telling a
+lie, madam?”
+
+“I’ve seen her held upside down by the leg,” said Wooden’s aunt.
+“Composition below, sawdust above. Deny it if you can.”
+
+Rose did not deny it. She looked as if she were going to, but her eyes
+rested on Peggy, and she knew that Peggy knew all the truth about her.
+She burst into angry tears. “It is most offensive to be addressed in
+that way by a vulgar creature like that,” she said. “Before gentlemen,
+too! She hasn’t got any legs at all, herself, over there. Nor a nose
+either. She’s a regular figure of fun.”
+
+The King put out his hand to soothe her. “The first law I shall make,”
+he said, “will be that no doll in my dominions shall ever refer to the
+deficiencies of another doll over there, under pain of imprisonment.
+I feel very strongly on the subject. That is why I object to human
+children being brought over here to pry, and perhaps to tell tales. I
+shall make a law forbidding that, too.”
+
+“I think it would be a pity to do away with the good feeling that
+exists between us and human children,” said the Lord Chancellor.
+“Allowing one of them occasionally to visit us here is the only return
+we can make for special kindness. I shouldn’t make that law if I were
+you, your Majesty.”
+
+“When I was at the head of my Pieces over there,” said the King, “there
+was a horrible child who used to put my head in her mouth. She had at
+the time only one tooth, but I bear the marks of that tooth upon me to
+this day.”
+
+Directly he had spoken, a sudden memory came back to Peggy. A year or
+so before, her father had wanted to play a game of chess with a friend.
+The chess-men had been brought out, but it had been found that the
+white king was missing. Then it had come out that Peggy had had him to
+play with when she had been a baby, and he had not been seen since. Of
+course she had been too young to remember playing with him, but she
+felt almost certain that King Selim was the very same piece, especially
+as he was exactly the same in pattern as the black king, who still
+remained.
+
+“Why, I do believe you’re our white chess king!” she cried out. “Father
+_will_ be glad that you are found again.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THEY ALL GO TO PRISON
+
+
+It would be impossible to describe the consternation that Peggy’s
+remark caused in the Hall of Audience. King Selim grew purple in the
+face with passion, and cried out in a terrible voice, “Arrest this
+Human instantly, and take her off to prison. She has spoken the truth,
+and it shall be her own undoing.”
+
+Some royal guards stepped forward to do his bidding, and there was a
+great commotion among the other dolls in the Hall.
+
+But before the soldiers could reach Peggy, the Lord Chancellor made
+his voice heard above the hubbub. “Half a moment! Half a moment! Half
+a moment!” he kept on calling out, louder and louder, and quicker and
+quicker, until the words sounded like “Ar-mo! Ar-mo!” The soldiers
+paused, and the noise died down, until he could make himself heard.
+
+“It is rather a serious thing to arrest a Human, your Majesty,” he
+said. “I don’t think it has ever been done before, and it may make a
+deal of trouble. We ought to be careful how we go.”
+
+The King was still almost beside himself with rage. “Do you think I am
+going to let my enemy go, now I have got her in my power at last?” he
+cried. “Yes, that’s the odious child who made these scars.”
+
+Since his face had become so red, a lot of little white marks had come
+out all over it. They were the marks of Peggy’s dear little first
+tooth, and she couldn’t help laughing as she looked at them, which made
+the King angrier still.
+
+“How dare you laugh?” he cried passionately. “I’ll send you to prison,
+and keep you on bread and water and mustard. I’ll execute you. I’ll
+have your ears boxed three times a day, an hour before meals and half
+an hour after. If my mouth was big enough I’d bite _your_ head, and
+see how _you_ liked it. Arrest her instantly and take that wax doll
+with her as well, and the woman who dared to think she was going to
+marry me. Do it at once, and don’t you dare to cross my royal will any
+longer, Norval, or I’ll have you arrested, too.”
+
+As the King had given way when the Lord Chancellor spoke firmly, so the
+Lord Chancellor now gave way when the King spoke firmly. He shrugged
+his shoulders, and said, “Well, I think you are making a mistake, your
+Majesty, but if you say it is to be done, of course it must be done.”
+
+Wooden rose from her seat as the officials prepared to carry out the
+King’s orders. “If they are to go to prison,” she said, “I shall go,
+too, and so will mother. Then we can all keep each other company. I
+expect they will take us to the House of Cards, dear,” she said in a
+lower voice to Peggy. “It is very nice there, and there is a lovely
+view.”
+
+Now it might have been thought that King Selim would have hesitated
+before letting Wooden go off to prison, considering he had just told
+her that he intended to marry her in half an hour. But he was so beside
+himself with rage that he hardly knew what he was doing or saying.
+“Take the whole lot of them off,” he ordered, “and don’t let me see
+their ugly faces again.” Then he gathered up his robes and stalked off
+the daïs and out of the Hall, by a door at the back, which he banged
+after him.
+
+The royal guards now approached the five prisoners, but did not take
+hold of them or put handcuffs on them, or anything of that sort. For
+the Lord Chancellor said to them, “Go easy, now! It’s only a little
+flash in the pan, ladies. The King is rather irritable by nature, and
+I don’t think his lunch has agreed with him. But he will think better
+of this by-and-by, and you will all be let out again.”
+
+“Not if I know it,” said a haughty, scornful voice.
+
+It was Rose, who still stood on the daïs, and was looking at them with
+a cruel joy, which she made no effort to disguise.
+
+Her contemptuous gaze fell upon each of them in turn, but when she came
+to Peggy it turned into one of absolute ferocity. She stretched out her
+forefinger, and pointed at her. “Base human,” she addressed her. “I
+never thought to get you into my power, but now I have you you will rue
+the day when you came across the path of Rose, who never forgets and
+never forgives.”
+
+“Tut! tut!” said the Lord Chancellor. “These are hard words, madam, and
+quite out of order.”
+
+“Silence!” cried Rose, in a terrible voice, and flashing a terrible
+look at him from her dark and flaming eyes. And the Lord Chancellor
+shrugged his shoulders again, and kept silence, until she had finished
+her oration.
+
+“Was it not enough,” she said, “that I should be born into the world
+over there as the property of a human child whom I despised and hated,
+but I must be treated by her with the grossest indignity?”
+
+Peggy thought this was a little too much. She was not in the least
+frightened of Rose, nor of the King, nor of all the palace guards put
+together, and thought it would be rather amusing to go to a dolls’
+prison, and see what it was like. But she was not going to be stormed
+at and told stories about by Rose.
+
+“Why did you hate me?” she asked. “I was always kind to you, and I
+would have loved you if you had let me.”
+
+Rose laughed her scornful laugh. “As if I wanted _your_ love!” she
+exclaimed. “Or the love of any human child! I hate the whole tribe of
+them, and wish I could have them _all_ over here, and tell them what I
+thought of them.”
+
+“Oh, this is quite out of order, quite out of order,” said the Lord
+Chancellor fussily. “I wish you would finish what you have to say,
+madam, and let us get on with our work. You are keeping us all waiting.”
+
+Rose took no notice of him, but went on. “You exchanged me,” she said,
+“for a battered wreck of a wooden doll, without a vestige of beauty
+such as mine, or indeed of any sort.”
+
+“Who are you talking about, Miss Imperence?” said Wooden’s aunt,
+suddenly breaking in. “This young lady exchanged you for my niece, who
+is going to be Queen when she comes out of prison. You’d better be a
+bit more careful of what you say; that’s my advice to _you_. And don’t
+forget that what we can’t see of you is stuffed with sawdust.”
+
+“Yes, I should leave off, if I were you,” said the Lord Chancellor.
+“You are not being polite, you know, and it is quite true what the lady
+says. It is the future Queen of Toyland that you seem to have been
+exchanged for, and his Majesty won’t like it if you call her names.”
+
+Rose laughed her scornful laugh again. “_She_ will never be Queen of
+Toyland,” she said. “I’ll see to that.” And with a toss of her head and
+a swish of her skirts she swept out of the Hall, by the door through
+which the King had already disappeared.
+
+The Lord Chancellor completely recovered his good humour the moment
+she was gone. “What a very talkative lady!” he said, with a laugh.
+“However, we needn’t worry our heads about her. We’ve got plenty to
+occupy ourselves about, haven’t we?”
+
+It really seemed as if they had. It is not every day that five ladies
+are taken off to prison, not knowing when they will be let out again;
+and the experience would naturally make them think. But the four dolls
+did not seem to be much cast down by the prospect, and Wooden kept on
+assuring Peggy that the House of Cards was a very nice prison, and
+there was a magnificent view from the upper stories.
+
+The Lord Chancellor proposed that they should walk to the prison, so
+that Peggy might see some of the life of Dolltown before she was shut
+up. “I should have liked to take you about myself,” he said politely,
+“and to show you some hospitality during your visit. It’s a pity you
+didn’t come when Queen Rosebud was alive. However, we must make the
+best of things, mustn’t we? I’ll see that you’re comfortable, and
+have plenty of pot-plants. We might buy a few as we go along. I like
+pot-plants.”
+
+They set out. The Lord Chancellor gave the palace guards instructions
+to walk behind. “The people will think they are just a guard of
+honour,” he explained kindly. “If they were to put handcuffs on you,
+it would be different. But I have always been one for making things
+comfortable all around. Live and let live is my motto.”
+
+He walked between Peggy and Wooden as they went through the streets,
+and turned out to be a pleasant, chatty old gentleman, with a
+well-stored mind, and a fund of varied information. He told Peggy a
+good deal that interested her about the conditions of life in Dolltown,
+and she found it difficult to believe that she was really being taken
+to prison, and quite enjoyed her walk.
+
+[Illustration: He walked between Peggy and Wooden]
+
+The streets were gay, and crowded with dolls of all sorts except
+those made of wax. A good deal of interest was aroused by the little
+procession, with the six palace guards bringing up the rear. Gradually
+a crowd of dolls gathered and walked with them, so that the streets
+became rather full, and the dolls who were driving the toy hansom cabs,
+and the toy motors, and the toy carts, had some difficulty in making
+their way along.
+
+The Lord Chancellor seemed to enjoy the attention that was being drawn
+to them, but also to be a little anxious about being recognized. He
+called his secretary to him, and said, “You might just tell some of the
+people that the elderly gentleman in the velvet gown, with a learned
+and amiable expression of face, is the Lord Chancellor. Then they
+will hand it on to the others. We will go into this shop and buy some
+pot-plants.”
+
+They went into a flower-shop, full of toy flowers in very bright red
+pots, and the Lord Chancellor made a handsome purchase, and paid for
+it with toy money, which Peggy thought most fascinating. She wished
+she had brought some of hers with her, for she had had a lot given to
+her for a Christmas present, and would have been quite rich with it
+in Toyland. The pots were given to the guards to carry, and they said
+good-bye to the nice pleasant woman doll who kept the shop, and set out
+again.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+While they had been in the shop, the Lord Chancellor’s secretary had
+been telling everybody who they were, and also that they were all on
+their way to prison. He had not been told to say this, but he was
+rather stupid. The only reason why he was kept on was that he was so
+willing. But this time he had been a little too willing, for a lot of
+the doll people were inclined to be angry at so much sending to prison,
+and some of them thought that the Lord Chancellor could have stopped it
+if he had liked.
+
+So when they all came out of the shop, there were not quite so many
+smiles for them as before, and there were even a few boos and hisses as
+they continued on their way.
+
+The Lord Chancellor looked surprised and pained. “Now I did think that
+when they were told who I was they would be pleased,” he said. “I
+must say that I do like people to like me, and it makes me positively
+miserable if they don’t. What can I have done? There isn’t a smut on my
+nose, or anything like that, is there?”
+
+“No,” said Wooden. “There is only a small pimple that people might
+mistake for a smut if they were a little short-sighted.”
+
+“Ah, then I expect that is it,” said the Lord Chancellor. “That pimple
+has been growing lately, and I always feared that it would bring me
+trouble.”
+
+Peggy now began to be a little frightened, for the crowd of dolls was
+pressing more closely round them, and the hisses and the booing were
+beginning to get louder. Many of the dolls looked angry, too, and she
+found that it was one thing to laugh at a single chess king being
+angry, and quite another to have several hundred dolls as large as life
+jostling round her in a crowd.
+
+You see, an angry doll is not what you are accustomed to, and you are
+always apt to be a little frightened at something that is quite strange.
+
+But just as it was beginning to be difficult to move forward, because
+of the crowd, Peggy suddenly caught sight of something that took her
+mind off what was happening. This was the shiny black hat and yellow
+robe of Mr. Noah on the edge of the crowd, and not only that, but
+the brown coat and merry face of her own old Teddy. She had been so
+occupied with all the curious and interesting things that had been
+happening since she had come off the ark that she had had no time to
+think about Teddy, or to wonder what he was doing. But evidently he
+had made great friends with Mr. and Mrs. Noah, and was going about with
+them.
+
+Well, Teddy was peering between the heads of the people to see what
+was happening, and directly he caught sight of Peggy he pushed his way
+through the crowd, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Noah. All of them were tall
+and strong, and although there were some complaints from the dolls they
+elbowed aside, such as, “Now then, where do you think you are going?”
+and “Mind who you’re shoving, can’t you?” the three of them quickly got
+through.
+
+“Now then, Mr. Man,” said Teddy to the Lord Chancellor, “where are you
+taking my young mistress off to?”
+
+“Why, they’re taking them off to prison!” said an indignant voice
+from the crowd, and it was repeated by several other voices, equally
+indignant. “They’re taking them off to prison.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor held up his hand. “Now then, my good people,” he
+said, “don’t disturb yourselves, I do pray and beg of you. It’s the
+King’s orders, you know, and you can really hardly call it going to
+prison. They are going to be his Majesty’s guests for a little time
+in the House of Cards. There’s a glorious view from there, and they
+will get very good food. You see, we’ve just been buying pot-plants to
+brighten up their apartments for them. Here they are. The guards are
+carrying them. You can see them for yourselves. Do please let us get
+on. The ladies want their tea.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor seemed to attach great importance to the
+pot-plants, and they did make some impression on the crowd, because
+they could all see them, and there was no doubt about them at all. They
+made way for the Lord Chancellor to go on for a few steps, followed by
+his charges.
+
+But Teddy wasn’t at all satisfied. “Here, wait a minute, Mister,” he
+said. “What are you taking my young mistress to prison _for_? That’s
+what I want to know. And, why bless me! here’s Wooden, too, and Lady
+Grace, and Wooden’s mother and aunt. I say, this won’t do at all, you
+know. Are they all going to prison?”
+
+“Oh, yes, but only--well, you might almost call it for a little fun,”
+said the Lord Chancellor. “It’s more like a first-class hotel than a
+prison, you know. And--and--well, look at the pot-plants! You can see
+for yourself!”
+
+“Oh, blow the pot-plants!” said Teddy; and Peggy did not object to the
+vulgarity of the expression, as he spoke as if he really meant to do
+something. “What are they going to prison _for_?”
+
+“Three wooden dolls, too!” said Mrs. Noah. “And one of them was going
+to be Queen, we were all told. It doesn’t seem to me as if the new King
+was acting quite right, it doesn’t.”
+
+There were murmurs among the crowd. Mrs. Noah seemed to have hit upon
+a feeling that they all shared, more or less. “No, it isn’t right.”
+“There was hardly any sending to prison in Queen Rosebud’s time.” “They
+don’t look as if they had done anything wrong either.” “Nice kind
+faces, all of them!” These were a few of the speeches that reached
+Peggy’s ears from among the dolls who were all round her.
+
+The Lord Chancellor still kept his good-natured expression of face, as
+if they were all making a great fuss about nothing, but he would put
+up with it for the sake of pleasing them. “Now, look here,” he said in
+a persuasive voice, “I think there’s a great deal in what you say, and
+I should be the last one to want to go against you. A more intelligent
+and intellectual-looking crowd I have seldom set eyes on, and it’s a
+real pleasure to address you.”
+
+There were murmurs of approval, and one smartly dressed lady doll
+standing near to Peggy, said, “Lord Norval can be trusted. I know all
+about him, and I once met him at a garden party.”
+
+“Now suppose we come to a compromise,” said the Lord Chancellor.
+
+There were more murmurs of approval. Another lady doll near to Peggy
+asked, “What is a compromise?”
+
+“Oh, don’t you know?” said the first lady doll. “It’s ‘If you give way,
+I’ll pretend to.’”
+
+“What I suggest is this,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Let us all take
+these ladies to the House of Cards--it isn’t really like a prison at
+all, you know--and when we have made them comfortable there, and got
+them off our minds, then we’ll talk about what can be done. Now that
+strikes me as eminently fair.”
+
+“Yes, that’s a compromise,” said the first lady doll, “and a very good
+one. But I knew that the Lord Chancellor could be trusted. A cook I
+once had had been kitchen maid to a great friend of his wife’s.”
+
+Peggy did not think much of the Lord Chancellor’s compromise, but
+it seemed to satisfy the crowd, who greeted it with enthusiasm, and
+immediately made a way through for them, and went along with them.
+Peggy thought that Teddy would have seen that if they were once all
+shut up in prison it would be much more difficult to get them out
+again than to prevent their going there. But he said no more. With an
+encouraging wave of the paw he took himself off, followed by Mr. and
+Mrs. Noah, and was lost to view. Peggy felt a little sad, but only for
+a moment, because she couldn’t help treating the whole business as a
+sort of game; and everybody knows that whatever dreadful things happen
+in dolls’ games, everything always comes right in the end.
+
+So on they all went, and by-and-by they came to the House of Cards.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+PEGGY BATHES A BABY AND HAS A SURPRISE
+
+
+The House of Cards was a noble structure, and one which interested
+Peggy extremely. She had once built one herself, up to five stories,
+and had nearly finished the sixth before it tumbled down. But the House
+of Cards in Dolltown was of no less than thirteen stories, and towered
+high above all the other buildings. Each story was as high as the shops
+round the market-place, and not even the Post-Office, which was an
+imposing edifice of terra-cotta bricks, reached higher than its second
+story. It was built up of gigantic cards, just as Peggy had built hers
+with ordinary sized ones, but it seemed quite strong, and as if it
+would last for ever. There were windows and doors in the cards, and the
+ones that were laid flat at each story formed platforms and balconies,
+on which you could go out to look about you.
+
+Just as the Lord Chancellor was ushering them in to the House of Cards,
+a lead Life Guardsman from the palace rode up on his black horse and
+handed him a note. “Now I am rather sorry for that,” he said, when
+he had read it. “I had intended to shut you all up in the top story,
+for the sake of the view. But the King doesn’t wish that. You are to
+be imprisoned on the first floor. Those are his very words. Well,
+you will be able to see the life of the market-place, which is very
+entertaining. As a distinguished doll once said, ‘There is no cloud
+without its silver lining.’ You couldn’t do that so conveniently from
+the top story. Perhaps the King thought of that. There is a good deal
+of thoughtfulness in his nature, though he is apt to be a little
+irritable after meals.”
+
+“It’s like his nastiness not to let us see the view,” said Wooden’s
+aunt. “I wouldn’t marry him now, not if he was to go down on his bended
+knees, I wouldn’t.”
+
+Peggy would have liked to go up to the top of the House of Cards, but
+it turned out very well for them all that they were not shut up there,
+as will presently appear.
+
+The cards of which the house was built were so enormous that each
+story had two floors of several rooms. They were taken upstairs by a
+policeman doll, and found themselves in a spacious apartment furnished
+with quite nice dolls’ furniture, and not like a prison at all. The
+Lord Chancellor rubbed his hands as he looked round him, and said,
+“Well, this isn’t so bad, is it? With the pot-plants it will look quite
+home-like, and I should think, when you are set free, you will hardly
+like to leave it. You can go out on this balcony, see? We might go out
+now, and look at the people. I’m sure they will be pleased to see us
+all, especially me. The people have a great love for me, and it is very
+gratifying. I often think about it when I am alone, and it sometimes
+brings tears to my eyes.”
+
+They went out on the balcony, and looked down at the crowd of dolls in
+the market-place. There were all sorts there except wax. Peggy looked
+to see if she could see Teddy or the Noahs among them. There were
+several Teddy bears, and one or two Noahs in the crowd, but although
+she might not have recognized the Noahs of the royal Ark, Peggy would
+have known her own Teddy anywhere. She was sure that he was not in the
+crowd, and wondered what had become of him.
+
+The crowd of dolls cheered when they appeared on the balcony. The Lord
+Chancellor put himself in front, and bowed repeatedly, but the dolls
+seemed to be cheering Wooden more than him. This was probably because
+they had been told that she was to be their Queen, and because any
+doll who knew her would have told their friends how nice and good
+she was. So the news would have spread, and Wooden would have become
+popular. At any rate the dolls kept on calling out, “Wooden! Wooden!
+Speech! Speech!”
+
+The platform was too high above the market-place to make it convenient
+for anybody to make a speech from it, even if they had wished to.
+Wooden did not wish to, not being accustomed to public speaking, but
+her aunt offered to dance a Highland fling, which her late husband had
+taught her. This offer was refused, and Wooden’s mother told her to
+behave herself, and remember where she was.
+
+“Now, I must leave you,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Good-bye, ladies,
+and a very pleasant imprisonment to you!”
+
+He shook hands affably with all of them, and bowed himself out. He
+seemed already to have forgotten the compromise he had come to with the
+people, and they seemed to have forgotten it, too; for Peggy watched
+him go off, followed by the palace guards, and bowing to right and
+left. The dolls in the market-place cheered heartily, but none of them
+stopped him to say anything, and he disappeared round the corner.
+
+“Dolls seem to have very short memories,” said Peggy to herself. She
+could not help feeling a little unhappy at being shut up in a prison,
+though it was only a dolls’ prison, and quite different from the stone
+cells she had read about. She did think that her own Teddy might have
+done something more to help them. She knew now that he was rather
+flighty, but surely he need not have gone off like that, and have left
+his mistress and her friends to be locked up, without trying to do
+anything to rescue them! She supposed he was amusing himself with his
+new friends, Mr. and Mrs. Noah, and had forgotten all about her.
+
+But she did Teddy an injustice there, as you will soon see.
+
+The policeman doll came up to see if they wanted anything directly
+the Lord Chancellor had gone, and brought his wife with him. He was
+a large, amiable-looking doll, and his wife was nice too. She was
+dressed as a Swiss peasant, and when she saw Peggy she said, “Bonjour,
+Mademoiselle! Comment ça va t’il?”
+
+Now Peggy knew a good deal of French already, because her father and
+mother took her to Etretat every summer for the holidays. So she said
+at once, “Merci, Madame, ça va bien. Et vous?”
+
+The policeman doll’s wife was delighted to hear her own language
+spoken, and asked Peggy if she might kiss her. The policeman doll
+beamed affectionately at them, and said, “Isn’t that clever now? I
+never could pick up her lingo.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+They said they would like some tea as soon as possible, and apricot jam
+with it. The policeman doll’s wife, whose name was Mrs. Emma, said that
+she would bring it up as soon as she had bathed her baby.
+
+“Oh, have you got a long-clothes baby?” asked Peggy, clasping her two
+hands together.
+
+Mrs. Emma said that she had, and Peggy begged her to let her go down
+and bathe it for her.
+
+The policeman doll said he didn’t think he could allow that without
+orders, but Mrs. Emma persuaded him, and he said that as the outer
+door of the house was locked, perhaps it wouldn’t much matter after
+all; only she wasn’t to tell anybody. Peggy would have promised almost
+anything for the sake of bathing a real live baby doll, and promised
+this readily enough. So she left the four dolls, promising to come back
+soon, and went downstairs with Mr. and Mrs. Emma.
+
+They lived in the basement, where they had a large and well furnished
+kitchen, spotlessly clean. In one corner of it was a pretty bassinette
+covered with muslin and ribbons, and inside it was the sweetest little
+baby doll, beautifully dressed in a hand-made robe of cambric and lace.
+Everything was so pretty and dainty that it might have belonged to
+a princess, and Mrs. Emma told Peggy that she took a great pride in
+having everything very nice for her baby.
+
+Peggy lost her heart to the baby doll at once. She would have loved
+it even if it had been just like other dolls, but when it smiled at
+her, and put out its little pudgy hands, and gurgled happily, she could
+almost have eaten it, it was so fascinating.
+
+[Illustration: Peggy lost her heart to the baby doll]
+
+Mrs. Emma put on her a large bath apron, and got out a white enamelled
+toy bath, with a gold rim round it, and a cake of pink soap, and filled
+the bath with hot water. And then Peggy lifted the baby doll carefully
+out of the cot and undressed it and put it into the bath, first putting
+her own hand in the water to see that it was not too hot.
+
+It was lovely, bathing that beautiful fat laughing baby doll. Mrs. Emma
+stood over the bath smiling at them both, but she soon saw that Peggy
+knew exactly what to do and how to do it, so she went away to her work
+in another part of the kitchen.
+
+Peggy was so busy with the baby doll, and so wrapped up in it, that
+she did not pay much attention to what Mr. and Mrs. Emma were talking
+about. But she heard some of the things they said, and, although she
+did not pay much attention to them at the time, as I have said, they
+turned out to be important afterwards, as you will see.
+
+When Peggy had bathed the baby doll, and dressed it and put it back
+into its cot, she was taken upstairs again. She found the Woodens and
+Lady Grace on the balcony, where something interesting was just about
+to happen.
+
+A Teddy bear had made its appearance in the market-place with an
+enormous pole, and just as Peggy went out on to the balcony he was
+balancing it on his head. Then he balanced it on different parts of his
+body, as he knelt or lay or stooped on the ground. The crowd of dolls
+who still filled the market-place was absolutely delighted with his
+performance, and when he shouted out that he would climb up to the top
+of the pole and balance himself on his head, if somebody would hold it
+for him, all the gentlemen dolls in the market-place wanted to have the
+honour of holding the pole for him.
+
+But the Teddy bear said he must choose who should hold the pole
+himself, and chose out of the crowd four tall wooden dolls with shiny
+black hats and different coloured robes. Then he looked up at Peggy and
+the four dolls standing on the balcony of the House of Cards, and waved
+his paw and made a low bow, and told his four assistants to hold up the
+pole near the House, so that the ladies could see. The crowd of dolls
+was pleased at this, for they were sorry for the prisoners, and wanted
+them to have all the amusement that they could get.
+
+Well, of course you have already understood that the Teddy bear who was
+so clever at his acrobatic feats was Peggy’s own old Teddy, who had not
+forgotten her at all, but had evidently chosen this means of getting
+at them. And the four tall wooden dolls who were helping him were Mr.
+Noah of the Royal Ark, and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet. It
+was rather clever of Teddy to have chosen them out of the crowd, as
+if he hadn’t known them before. But Teddy was clever, in spite of his
+flightiness, and faithful, too, as Peggy was very glad to see. She had
+recognized him at once, but the crowd had not. One Teddy bear is very
+much like another, unless he happens to be your own, and there were
+several of them in the crowd itself, as I have already said.
+
+Teddy climbed carefully up to the top of the pole, and when he got
+there he stood on one foot and waved his paws about, and then changed
+to the other foot, and kissed his paw to the crowd, and to Peggy and
+the dolls on the balcony. Peggy was afraid that he might tumble, and
+almost forgot to listen for anything that he might say when he got near
+to them. But he seemed quite at home on his pole, and as he turned
+towards them and kissed his paw, he said in a mysterious voice, “One of
+you go to the other side.”
+
+That was all he said, and the crowd down below could not have known
+that he was saying anything at all, he did it so cleverly. He was just
+on a level with the balcony, and could easily have jumped on to it if
+he had wanted to. Peggy had thought that perhaps he had meant to do
+that, so as to be with them, because he could not have got there in
+any other way. But he was too clever for that, for if he had stepped
+on to the balcony, all the dolls who had been watching him would have
+known at once that they had been deceived. And besides, he would only
+have been locked up with Peggy and the four dolls, and could have done
+nothing more to help them.
+
+When Teddy had said, “One of you go to the other side,” he turned round
+again, and then stood on his head on the top of the pole, as he had
+promised to do. The crowd of dolls was wild with delight, and none of
+them suspected that he had given a message to the prisoners.
+
+“What does he mean? What are we to go to the other side for?” asked
+Wooden.
+
+“I expect there is somebody there,” said Lady Grace. “Shall I go?”
+
+“No, I’ll go,” said Wooden’s aunt, who had largely recovered her
+spirits during Teddy’s performance, and had danced a few steps of a
+Highland fling on her own account, while he was posturing on the pole.
+
+“I think Peggy had better go,” said Wooden’s mother. “She has a
+slightly better head than any of us, because she is human.”
+
+“Oh, yes, let Peggy go,” said all the others at once. So Peggy went
+round the balcony to the other side of the house, feeling proud at the
+trust reposed in her, but a little alarmed also at what should happen.
+But she hid that from the dolls, and walked with a firm and confident
+step.
+
+There was as big a space in the market-place on the other side of the
+House of Cards as in the one in which Teddy was performing, but it was
+absolutely empty. Every doll was watching Teddy, and even the shops
+were deserted, as all the doll shopkeepers had gone round to the other
+side. A thief might have taken anything he liked from the shops, and
+nobody would have seen him. But dolls are never thieves, so it was
+quite safe.
+
+Perhaps I ought not to have said that that side of the market-place was
+absolutely empty. It looked so to Peggy when she got there, but when
+she looked over the edge of the platform she saw a solitary doll figure
+standing below her, looking up. It was rather a disappointment to
+her, for it was a gentleman doll wrapped up in a long black cloak, and
+he had his arms full of pot-plants, like the ones the Lord Chancellor
+had bought to brighten up their rooms. Peggy thought they had quite
+enough pot-plants to go on with, and, if the gentleman doll only wanted
+to sell them some more, it was hardly worth Teddy’s cleverness to get
+all the people round on the other side, so that he might do so without
+being observed.
+
+And that was apparently all that the gentleman doll did want, for
+directly he saw Peggy looking over the platform at him he called up to
+her, “Kind lady, buy a few pot-plants from a poor man. I’ve got some
+lovely ones here.”
+
+“No, thank you,” said Peggy. “We have plenty. Besides, I haven’t got
+any money; at least, not here.”
+
+“I don’t want any money for them,” said the gentleman doll. “Let me
+come up and show you my lovely pot-plants.”
+
+Now there was something in his voice that Peggy seemed to recognize.
+She thought she had heard it before, but she couldn’t remember where or
+when. However, she began to understand that the pot-plants were only an
+excuse for the gentleman doll to get into the House of Cards, and that
+if he did so he might have something interesting to say.
+
+“I should be glad if you could come up,” she said. “But the doors are
+locked, and I don’t suppose they will let you.”
+
+“Yes, they will, if you say the word ‘pot-plants,’” said the gentleman
+doll. “Say that somebody has come from the palace with some pot-plants
+for you. Go quickly, before anybody comes.”
+
+Peggy went back, and told Wooden and the others what had happened. “I
+don’t know who it was,” she said, “but I couldn’t help thinking that I
+had heard his voice before.”
+
+“Was it the Lord Chancellor?” asked Wooden’s mother. “Perhaps this is
+his compromise.”
+
+“I don’t think so,” said Peggy. “But hadn’t we better ask for him to be
+let in?”
+
+Teddy had finished his performance, and was climbing down the pole. It
+was time to do something, for soon the crowd of dolls would disperse,
+and some would go round to the other side of the House.
+
+“Yes, dear, we had better do that,” said Wooden. “It is a very good
+idea. Perhaps you had better go yourself, if you don’t mind, as it was
+you who heard what he said.”
+
+Peggy would have been quite willing to go down, but the door of their
+room was locked. So after a little more discussion they rang the bell,
+and presently Mr. Emma came up to see what they wanted.
+
+The dolls seemed to expect Peggy to speak, so she said, “There is a man
+outside who wants to come up and see us.”
+
+Mr. Emma beamed affectionately upon her. “Bless your dear little
+heart!” he said. “I’d do anything to please you, but I can’t let
+anybody up to see you without orders. It would be as much as my place
+is worth.”
+
+“He has come from the palace with some pot-plants,” said Peggy.
+
+Mr. Emma’s face underwent a complete change. “Come with what?” he asked.
+
+“With some pot-plants.”
+
+“Oh, well then, I’ll let him up at once,” said Mr. Emma. “Oh,
+certainly.”
+
+He went out quickly, but did not forget to lock the door behind him.
+
+Just as he had locked it, and they thought he was on his way
+downstairs, he unlocked it again, and put his head into the room. “What
+did you say the man had come with?” he asked.
+
+“With some pot-plants,” said Peggy again.
+
+“Ah, that’s the word,” he said. “I wasn’t quite certain I’d got it
+right.”
+
+Then he locked the door behind him again, and they heard his feet going
+heavily downstairs.
+
+In a few minutes he came back again, unlocked the door, and came into
+the room with the gentleman doll, who was wrapped in his long cloak,
+and carried his pots in his arms.
+
+“I’ll leave the gentleman with you for a bit,” said Mr. Emma, “as I’m
+just in the middle of my tea.”
+
+He went out and locked the door behind him once more. The gentleman
+doll, who had put the pots down on the floor, stood up and threw off
+his cloak, and revealed the stalwart form and handsome features of
+Colonel Jim, of the Lifeguards.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+THEY DISCUSS A PLAN OF ESCAPE
+
+
+The first thing Colonel Jim did when he had thrown off his disguise
+was to bow politely to all of them. But to Lady Grace he did more than
+that. He took her hand and kissed it respectfully, and then said,
+“Very sorry to see you here, my lady. Forming plans to get you out.
+Disgraceful affair altogether!”
+
+[Illustration: He took her hand and kissed it respectfully]
+
+Lady Grace looked pleased at the attention paid to her, and blushed.
+Peggy had not known before that dolls could fall in love, but it was
+quite plain that Lady Grace was in love with handsome Colonel Jim.
+It seemed plain also that he was in love with her. He spoke in short
+sharp sentences because he was a soldier, and loved deeds better than
+words. But there was a tenderness in his manner when he addressed Lady
+Grace which he did not show to anybody but her, though his manners were
+always courteous.
+
+Wooden’s aunt gave a screech of enjoyment when Colonel Jim kissed Lady
+Grace’s hand, and said, “Lawks! I wish I’d got a handsome beau like
+that.” But nobody took any notice of her, as there was so much to talk
+about. Wooden’s mother requested Colonel Jim to take a seat, which he
+did, and proceeded to explain himself.
+
+“Didn’t hear you were shut up till Teddy bear came and told me so,”
+he said. “Determined at once to use the pass-word for the day, which
+I knew, as commanding troops at palace. Pass-word ‘Pot-plants.’ So
+concocted plan with Teddy bear, and here I am.”
+
+Peggy wondered that she had not known who he was under his disguise.
+But he had not then spoken in the military way he used now, as he had,
+of course, been playing his part as well as he could.
+
+“And very pleased we are to see you, Colonel Jim,” said Wooden, in her
+nice gentle manner. “It’s a sad thing, this shutting up of Waxes and
+others. I’m sure dear Queen Rosebud would never have allowed it, if she
+had been alive.”
+
+“It’s my belief,” said Colonel Jim, “that Queen Rosebud _is_ alive.”
+
+All the dolls exclaimed, in surprise. And Wooden said, after the pause
+which followed, “But King Selim said that she was dead, Colonel Jim. We
+all heard him with our own ears.”
+
+“I know that,” said Colonel Jim shortly.
+
+There was another pause of consternation. “Do you mean that you think
+the King has told an untruth?” asked Lady Grace, in an awestruck voice.
+
+“Yes,” said Colonel Jim.
+
+Another pause. “It would be a dreadful thing if he had,” said Wooden.
+“He wouldn’t deserve to be King if he could do a thing like that, would
+he?”
+
+“He doesn’t deserve it,” said Colonel Jim.
+
+Nobody spoke. The matter was too serious to be treated in a light
+conversational way, and it was felt that Colonel Jim must have more to
+tell them, if he could only get it out.
+
+He seemed to feel, himself, that he owed them explanations, and must
+try to make them as clear as possible, for he spoke slowly, and in
+longer sentences than he usually employed. He could do this all right
+if he liked.
+
+“It was Rose who put him up to it all,” he said. “She’s mad all the
+time because she isn’t Wax.”
+
+“And only half Composition,” put in Wooden’s aunt.
+
+“Well, that’s as may be,” said Colonel Jim. “Anyhow, she got him to let
+her nurse the Queen, and told him to give out that she was dead. She
+wasn’t dead at all, but getting better all the time.”
+
+“Do you mean that _she_ told a story?” asked Wooden, in a voice of
+consternation.
+
+“Yes,” said Colonel Jim. “I do.”
+
+“Well,” said Wooden, “I never liked her; but I did not think she would
+go so far as that.”
+
+“It’s depravity,” said Wooden’s mother. “That’s what I call it;
+positive depravity.”
+
+“Well, that’s as may be,” said Colonel Jim again. “Anyhow, that’s what
+she did.”
+
+“How did you find out about Rose so cleverly?” asked Lady Grace.
+
+Colonel Jim looked pleased at being called clever, which he wasn’t
+very. “One of my troopers is going to be married to Rose’s maid,” he
+said. “She heard them talking--Rose and Selim--and told him about it.
+He came and told me. Very proper thing to do. Made him a lance-corporal
+on the spot. He marries the maid tomorrow. Shall give them a wedding
+present. Silver pepper-castor.”
+
+“Then, where is dear Queen Rosebud?” asked Wooden. “I am so glad she
+isn’t dead after all. I wish we could see her.”
+
+“This is my month to be in waiting,” said Lady Grace. “Could you take
+me to her, do you think?”
+
+“Afraid that’s impossible,” said Colonel Jim. “Don’t know where she
+is. She was taken out of the palace and hidden somewhere.”
+
+“How dreadful it all sounds,” said Wooden. “I shouldn’t have thought
+such things could have happened in Toyland. I do hope they give her
+enough to eat.”
+
+“I expect she’s having her tea now,” said Wooden’s aunt. “If I was a
+Queen, I’d have herrings every day.”
+
+It was a foolish remark, as many of Wooden’s aunt’s remarks were, but
+it turned out to be a lucky one, for it reminded Peggy of something she
+had heard downstairs, while she was bathing the baby doll.
+
+“I suppose she couldn’t be the lady in the top story!” she said.
+
+They stared at her. “What do you mean, dear? What lady?” asked Wooden.
+
+“When I was downstairs just now,” said Peggy, “Mrs. Emma was getting
+tea ready for the lady in the top story, and Mr. Emma said he was
+sorry for her being shut up there, and he wondered if she would like a
+herring for her tea.”
+
+“Did they give her one?” asked Wooden’s aunt.
+
+“No,” said Peggy. “Mrs. Emma said that as she was Wax she might not
+like herrings.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+“It’s the best fish out of the sea,” said Wooden’s aunt, smacking her
+lips. “Lawks! How I wish they’d bring me one!”
+
+“Adone, now!” said Wooden’s mother sharply. “We’re talking about the
+Queen in the top story, not about what you’d like to have for your
+tea.”
+
+“I don’t know that it is the Queen,” said Peggy. “But there is a lady
+on the top story, and she is Wax. I know as much as that.”
+
+“And it’s a good deal to know, dear,” said Wooden fondly. “It was very
+clever of you to find it out.”
+
+“Oh, it’s the Queen, right enough,” said Colonel Jim. “Wonder we never
+thought of her being here before. Question is now how to get at her. I
+wish that Teddy bear was here.”
+
+They all seemed at a loss what to do next, and the suggestions they
+made were not very helpful. Wooden thought that it would be a good
+thing if Teddy were to bring a very long pole and climb up to the top
+of the House of Cards. But it was quite certain that there wasn’t a
+pole long enough in the whole of Toyland, or anywhere else. Wooden’s
+mother suggested throwing the Queen a rope. But it was equally certain
+that nobody could have thrown it far enough. Wooden’s aunt said,
+why not telephone to her? But this was silly, because there was no
+telephone.
+
+By-and-by they all looked at Peggy, as if they expected her to suggest
+something sensible. She did not like to disappoint them, as it was
+flattering the way they seemed to believe in her. So she knitted her
+brows hard, to see if she could think of something.
+
+“We could do so much more if we weren’t locked up in prison,” she said
+at last.
+
+All the dolls looked at one another in admiration, and Wooden said,
+“Now, that’s one of the cleverest things I ever heard said, dear. How
+these things come into your head I can’t think.”
+
+Peggy didn’t think that what she had said was so clever as all that,
+though she had had something further in her mind when she had said it.
+But she was pleased at being praised; most of us are; and she wanted to
+be as helpful as she could.
+
+“Did you and Teddy make any plan for getting us out of prison?” she
+asked, turning to Colonel Jim.
+
+“Now, I wonder what made her think of that?” said Wooden’s mother.
+
+“Well, we did make a plan,” said Colonel Jim; “though how you guessed
+it I don’t know, as you couldn’t have heard us talking. Our plan was
+this: When I’m ready to go out, I say to Mr. Emma, ‘I should like to
+look at the view.’ He says, ‘With pleasure,’ and takes me up to the top
+story.”
+
+“But supposing he doesn’t say ‘With pleasure,’” suggested Wooden.
+
+Colonel Jim looked worried. “Teddy bear said he’d say ‘With
+pleasure,’” he said. “Never thought of asking what to do if he didn’t.”
+
+“If Teddy said he’d say ‘With pleasure,’ I should think he would,” said
+Wooden. “Teddy is flighty, but I have always found his word reliable.”
+
+Colonel Jim brightened. “Well, then, we go up to the top story,” he
+said. “Then I look at the view, and I say--let’s see, what is it I say?
+I’ve learnt it all up, but it’s difficult to remember. Oh, yes, I know.
+I say, ‘What’s that bird flying towards the sea?’ No, that’s wrong. I
+say, ‘What’s that bird over there?’ He says, ‘What bird? Where?’ I say,
+‘Over there!’ pointing towards the sea. He turns to where I point, you
+see, and----”
+
+“But are you sure there will be a bird to point at?” asked Lady Grace.
+“If not, won’t it be telling a story?”
+
+“Do you think it will?” asked Colonel Jim. “I shouldn’t like to do
+that.”
+
+There was a pause. “I like the plan,” said Wooden, “but that does
+rather interfere with it, doesn’t it?”
+
+They all looked at Peggy as if they expected her to find a way out of
+the difficulty; and she did so at once. “I think there are sure to be
+birds flying about,” she said, “and some of them will be flying towards
+the sea.”
+
+Their faces brightened, and Wooden’s aunt slapped her knee. “Now,
+doesn’t that beat all?” she said. “How she do think of things, to be
+sure! Well, go on, soldier.”
+
+“Directly he says, ‘What bird, where?’” proceeded Colonel Jim, “that’s
+my sign. I get behind him. I whip off my cloak. I throw it over his
+head. I tie the cord--it’s got a cord, you see--round his arms, so that
+he can’t move. Then I say to him, ‘Your keys, please.’ Then I come
+downstairs with the keys, unlock the doors, and off we go. Well, that’s
+the plan, and if it all goes right I don’t think a better plan was ever
+invented. It’s Teddy bear’s plan chiefly, but it was me who thought of
+saying, ‘Your keys, please,’ instead of ‘Hand over your keys.’ More
+polite.”
+
+The plan was not received with the pleasure that Colonel Jim seemed to
+expect. Wooden said doubtfully, “Mr. Emma is a very nice man. He might
+not like to have a cloak thrown over his head.”
+
+“Don’t you think he would?” asked Colonel Jim, in a disturbed way. “I
+never thought of that. What do you say, Peggy?”
+
+“If you were to treat him as gently as you could,” said Peggy, “and
+tell him that he might go downstairs to Mrs. Emma and the baby in five
+minutes, when we had all got away, he might not mind so much.”
+
+“He couldn’t do that,” said Colonel Jim. “His legs would be tied up
+too. I forgot to say that. Can’t keep everything in your head at once.”
+
+“Try again, dear,” said Wooden hopefully.
+
+“Well, supposing we told Mrs. Emma she could go up and untie him, as we
+went out!” suggested Peggy.
+
+“The very thing!” exclaimed Wooden’s mother. “I should never have
+thought of that if I had tried for a week.”
+
+They had no time to settle anything further, for at that moment the key
+was heard turning in the lock outside. Colonel Jim had just time to put
+on his long cloak again before Mr. Emma came into the room.
+
+He seemed not to be in quite such a good temper as before. Directly he
+came in, he said to Colonel Jim, “Now, then, my man, you’ve been here
+quite long enough. Pot-plants or no pot-plants, it’s time you cleared
+out.”
+
+Colonel Jim hesitated. Peggy was afraid for the moment that he had
+forgotten the words he had learned so carefully. But they seemed to
+come to him all of a sudden. He straightened himself up, and said in a
+firm voice, but rather as if he were repeating a lesson, “I should like
+to go up to the top story and look at the view.”
+
+Peggy heard Wooden say, “With pleasure,” under her breath, as if she
+were helping Mr. Emma to remember his part.
+
+But unfortunately Mr. Emma had not learnt his part. What he did say
+was, “Oh, you would, would you? Well, I’m afraid I can’t oblige you.
+I’m almost run off my legs with work as it is. Now you come along down
+with me.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+PEGGY TALKS TO A ROYAL PRISONER
+
+
+Colonel Jim threw a despairing look at Peggy; she could just see it
+under the hood that he had put over his head. His carefully arranged
+plan had gone wrong at the very beginning, and he hadn’t the least
+idea what to do next. Of course, he might just as well have thrown
+his cloak over Mr. Emma’s head there and then, as done it on the top
+of the House of Cards, after pointing to a bird which might not have
+been there. But perhaps he did not like to exercise violence before
+ladies, or perhaps it never occurred to him to alter the plan so as to
+suit the circumstances. At any rate, he prepared to follow Mr. Emma
+downstairs without any further ado. If Peggy had not suddenly thought
+of something, there would have been an end of any good he had done by
+making his way in to them.
+
+As they were going out, Peggy said to Mr. Emma, “If you and Mrs. Emma
+have got so much work to do, couldn’t I come down and help you?”
+
+Mr. Emma turned round and beamed at her. “Now, you _are_ a kind little
+lady!” he said. “And I don’t know as you can’t help us. Yes, you come
+along o’ me, dearie. My missus will be glad to see your pretty little
+face, anyhow, and you can talk to her a bit in her own lingo, which I
+never could fathom, nohow.”
+
+Peggy was very glad at that moment that she had paid attention to her
+French, which gave her this opportunity of helping her doll friends,
+though she had been far from thinking that she would ever make such
+extraordinary use of it when she had talked as much as she could to
+French people during her holidays. She followed Mr. Emma out of the
+room, and he locked the door carefully after him, and led the way
+downstairs.
+
+Now would have been Colonel Jim’s opportunity, either to throw his
+cloak over Mr. Emma, who was in front of him, or else to bolt upstairs
+instead of down. If he had done that, Mr. Emma would have had to follow
+him, and then they could have had it out together, and Colonel Jim
+would probably have won, as he was younger and stronger than Mr. Emma.
+But, though as brave as a lion, Colonel Jim had a brain that did not
+move very fast. All he could do, as they went downstairs, was to nudge
+Peggy with his elbow, and that did not take them very far, for when
+she whispered to him, “What is it?” he had nothing to say.
+
+So it rested with her to think of something, and she whispered to
+Colonel Jim, unheard by Mr. Emma, whose large feet were making a
+considerable noise, “I will try to get upstairs, and see if it is the
+Queen who is there; and you and Teddy must try to get in to us again.
+Then I will tell you what I have found out.”
+
+Colonel Jim nodded his head repeatedly, and Peggy could only hope that
+he had understood what she had said, and would remember it, for she had
+not time to say it over again, as they had now reached the ground floor.
+
+Mr. Emma unlocked the big door leading into the market-place, and
+Colonel Jim went out. Just as he was going down the steps, Peggy had
+another bright idea. She said to Mr. Emma, “We should like this man to
+bring us a few more pot-plants later on. I suppose you will let him in,
+if he comes.”
+
+But Mr. Emma spoilt that little plan at the beginning, for he said,
+“No, dearie, I can’t do that. When he once goes out he stays out.” Then
+he locked the door.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Mrs. Emma was pleased to see Peggy again. She and Mr. Emma had had
+their own tea, and she was preparing trays to take up to the prisoners.
+Peggy helped her to do this, while Mr. Emma sat by the cradle of his
+baby doll, of which he seemed to be very fond. Peggy couldn’t help
+going over to have a look at it sometimes, and see it smile and gurgle;
+and it delighted Mr. Emma to see her so taken up with his baby doll.
+This was a very good thing, for when Peggy said, “Now, I will take up
+the trays, if you like,” Mr. Emma replied, “I ought not to let you do
+it, I suppose, because I shall have to give you my keys. But I’ve been
+so rushed off my legs today that I shan’t be sorry to sit still for
+a bit; and you’re such a nice little lady that I really feel as if I
+could do anything for you.”
+
+“It is more like Mademoiselle doing something for _you_,” said Mrs.
+Emma, with a laugh. But if she had only known, she might not have said
+that.
+
+“I know you wouldn’t want to get me into trouble,” said Mr. Emma as he
+handed Peggy his keys. “You won’t tell the King now, will you? He’s
+Wood, and so am I; but he don’t seem above punishing Woods, if it suits
+him, any more than the rest.”
+
+Peggy promised not to tell the King, readily enough. She was not quite
+sure that Mr. Emma might not get into trouble, if anything came of her
+taking his keys; but she made up her mind to speak up for him when
+affairs in Toyland came to be righted, as she hoped they would be.
+Selim was only a usurping King, after all, and if Queen Rosebud was
+restored to her throne he would not be able to do any harm to Mr. Emma,
+or to anybody else.
+
+“First of all,” said Mrs. Emma, “you might take this tray up to the top
+story. There is a wax lady there who hasn’t been very well. I should
+like her to have her tea first.”
+
+Peggy was almost frightened at the easiness of it all. She had hardly
+taken any trouble to bring it about, and here she was with the key to
+the Queen’s prison, and her tea-tray in her hands. For she had little
+doubt now that it was the Queen who was shut up in the top story. Mrs.
+Emma had no idea who she was, but she said she had been ill, and Peggy
+knew that the Queen had been ill.
+
+Just as she was going out with the tea-tray, Mrs. Emma said, “Don’t
+stay very long, because there are the other trays to take up. But you
+might just talk to her a little. She is a nice lady, and it is lonely
+for her up there, all by herself.”
+
+This made it all the easier for Peggy, and she started upstairs,
+thinking how luckily it had all turned out.
+
+It took her quite a long time to reach the top story. There were four
+flights of stairs to each story, and each flight had ten steps. Four
+times ten times thirteen are five hundred and twenty all the world
+over, and if you ever try going up five hundred and twenty stairs with
+a rather heavy tea-tray in your hands you will find that it is no light
+matter. However, Peggy got to the top at last, with one or two rests
+on the way--But wait a minute. She did not have to go up the last two
+flights of stairs, which would have led to the roof, so that takes
+twenty off the total, and makes exactly five hundred steps, which is
+almost as serious as five hundred and twenty.
+
+She put the tray on the floor outside while she unlocked the door. Then
+she knocked at it, and a voice inside said, “Come in.”
+
+She opened the door a little, took up the tea-tray from the floor, and
+then pushed the door open with her elbow and went in.
+
+The room was much like the one downstairs, and was quite as comfortably
+furnished, but was without the pot-plants which made theirs so bright
+and gay. So that it did look rather bare, and not altogether unlike a
+prison, in spite of the large window, which showed a magnificent view
+of the country. But perhaps what gave it the air of being a prison was
+not that, but the sad figure of the lady doll that was sitting in a
+chair by the window.
+
+Peggy knew that it must be the Queen, directly she saw her. Indeed,
+it was surprising that neither Mr. nor Mrs. Emma had guessed who the
+prisoner on the top story really was.
+
+For she looked very royal. She was most delicately made of wax, and
+looked a little faded, which would have been accounted for by her great
+age. But she was beautiful, too, with young features; for, of course,
+dolls do not grow old like human beings, and when they are in Toyland
+even breakages do not count.
+
+[Illustration: She looked very royal]
+
+She wore a dress of rich brocade embroidered with seed pearls, rather
+like those that you see in pictures of Queen Elizabeth. It was quite
+possible that she might have been born about the same time as Queen
+Elizabeth, which would have made her very interesting, if she had had a
+good memory, and could have talked about all the changes she had seen.
+But dolls’ memories are short, and Peggy did not find out how old the
+Queen really was, and, indeed, it would not have been good manners to
+ask.
+
+When Peggy came in with the tea-tray, the Queen looked surprised, and
+said, in a sad but gentle voice, “Who are you? Have you come to take me
+home? Why am I kept locked up here?”
+
+Peggy put the tray down on the table, and said, “I am Peggy, your
+Majesty. Wooden brought me to Toyland. You said that she might.”
+
+“Why do you call me your Majesty?” asked the Queen. “They said that
+if anybody called me that, or I told anybody who I was, I should be
+locked up in a dungeon where I could not see the light.”
+
+Peggy felt desperately sorry for her. She had called her “Your Majesty”
+quite naturally, for she was very royal, both in appearance and manner,
+although she was only a doll. It seemed quite dreadful that she should
+be locked up there, and be threatened with still worse imprisonment,
+and for no fault of her own at all.
+
+“I know that you are the Queen,” Peggy said, “and I hope that you will
+soon be back in your beautiful palace again. They are making plans
+outside to rescue you.”
+
+“I can’t understand it,” said the poor Queen, passing her hand wearily
+over her brow. “I have always been as nice as I could to everybody. And
+yet they told me that the people hate me, because I am Wax, and don’t
+want me to be their Queen any longer.”
+
+“That isn’t true,” said Peggy. “That wicked Selim has told everybody
+that you are dead, and that you said that he was to be King after you.”
+
+“Oh, I never said that,” said the Queen indignantly. “How can he have
+said such a thing? I never said anything like it.”
+
+“That is what he has given out,” said Peggy. “It was Rose who made it
+up. She is as wicked as he is.”
+
+The Queen thought for a little time, looking out of the window at the
+beautiful view of her own kingdom. Then she looked at Peggy searchingly
+and said, “Isn’t it true that my people hate me because I am Wax, and
+want to have a Wooden King and Queen in my place? Rose told me that
+Selim was going to marry Wooden, who brought you here. I was very sorry
+to hear that, because I have always liked Wooden, and I didn’t think
+she would want to take my place.”
+
+“Oh, she doesn’t,” said Peggy, speaking as indignantly as the Queen
+had done. “Nobody will be more pleased to hear that you are really
+alive. And she doesn’t want to marry Selim. She hates him. Why, he has
+actually sent her to prison, because she said she didn’t want to marry
+him.”
+
+The Queen looked out of the window and did not speak for some time.
+Then she said, “I was kind to Selim. When he was brought to me after
+he had been wrecked, and had lost everything that he had, I gave him
+apartments in my own royal palace, and money every month from my
+treasury.”
+
+“He is bad and wicked,” said Peggy. “And Rose is bad, too. She used to
+be mine once, and I never liked her. Now I know why.”
+
+“I didn’t like her either,” said the Queen. “She wanted to be my
+lady-in-waiting. She said that I ought to have one Composition at
+least, and not all Waxes round me. But I said no. Perhaps I would have
+a Wood, so as to please the Woods. I chose Wooden herself, and I was
+going to appoint her when I fell ill. You are sure that it is not true
+that the Woods hate me?”
+
+Peggy assured her again that it was not true, and she seemed much
+relieved. “I will not say anything about Selim and Rose,” she said, in
+a stately kind of way that was more effective than if she had said how
+wicked she thought they were. “When I get back my throne, and put on my
+crown again, I shall know what to do. My people have always been good,
+and I will not have them taught to tell untruths and to deceive.” She
+smiled gently at Peggy. “Why, what would you think of us over there?”
+she asked, “if you could not trust us?”
+
+This made Peggy see how trustworthy dolls really were. If they are ever
+naughty, it is only because their mistresses like to make them pretend
+to be, just for fun. And they are never _really_ naughty, and soon get
+over whatever little trouble there may be with them, and are good and
+obedient again. Peggy wondered now whether all this might not be owing
+to the wise and temperate rule of Queen Rosebud. Perhaps if Selim were
+to go on ruling it might all be altered, and dolls might become as bad
+as some human beings.
+
+“I am sure when the people know you are alive,” she said, “they will
+very soon take you back to your palace. And they will be most awfully
+glad to have you reigning over them again.”
+
+“Well, you must tell them,” said the Queen. “I can wait here a little
+longer in patience, now that I know things are to be put right. And I
+am very pleased to see you here, my dear; but I wish you had come at a
+happier time.”
+
+Peggy had never before conversed with a Queen, or indeed with any
+royal person, though she had once seen her own King and Queen driving
+through London; but she knew somehow that she was being dismissed from
+the presence. She kissed the Doll-Queen’s hand, which she had read
+somewhere was the proper way to behave, and went out of the room,
+leaving Queen Rosebud sitting by the window.
+
+As she went down the five hundred steps, she thought it was rather
+extraordinary that the Queen had not said anything about the way in
+which she was to be rescued. She had seemed to take it for granted
+that when her people knew what had happened, everything would come
+right for her. She could leave the details to them.
+
+This seemed to Peggy rather royal, too, and also that she had not
+grumbled at all about her imprisonment. Though she was only a doll,
+Peggy had gained a great respect for Queen Rosebud.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE RELEASE OF PEGGY AND WOODEN
+
+
+Peggy went down to the kitchen. She had time as she went down the five
+hundred stairs, to make up her mind as to whether she should tell Mr.
+and Mrs. Emma that the Wax lady on the top floor was the Queen. She
+decided not to do so just yet, but to wait a little longer and see what
+happened. They might be very indignant at hearing what Selim and Rose
+had done, but on the other hand they might be frightened that they
+would be punished for having let Peggy see such an important prisoner;
+and in that case they would probably not let her see her again. And
+Peggy wanted to see Queen Rosebud again.
+
+When Peggy went into the kitchen Mrs. Emma said, “You have been a long
+time away, but I know it takes a long time to go up and down those
+stairs. How did you find the lady? I hope she liked the tea I sent her.
+I gave her some bread and honey instead of bread and butter.”
+
+Peggy thought this rather remarkable, as she remembered the nursery
+rhyme about the Queen being in her parlour eating bread and honey.
+She wondered whether Mrs. Emma had any suspicion of the prisoner being
+the Queen.
+
+Before she could reply Mrs. Emma went on, “I was just saying to my
+husband that she is very like what Queen Rosebud was, except for
+her crown. Queen Rosebud had no sisters, but I shouldn’t be at all
+surprised if she didn’t turn out to be a sort of cousin. If you think
+that is likely, I shall ask her to write her name in my birthday book.”
+
+[Illustration: Before she could reply Mrs. Emma went on]
+
+So she seemed to have no suspicion of the truth; but that seemed to be
+only because the Queen was not wearing her crown.
+
+“It would be nice to have her name in your book,” said Peggy. “Shall I
+take up the other tray now?”
+
+“Yes, dear,” said Mrs. Emma. “And then will you please bring the keys
+down? You have been very kind helping us, but of course we must not
+forget that you are a prisoner.”
+
+Peggy smiled to herself as she went upstairs again. If she took the
+keys down, their room would not be locked, and she would hardly be a
+prisoner. But she did not say anything, as she thought that if the door
+was left unlocked she might take Wooden or Lady Grace, or both of them,
+up to see the Queen.
+
+The dolls were interested in what she told them, but they were now
+quite used to the idea of Queen Rosebud being alive, and showed less
+excitement at her news than Peggy had expected. While she had been
+away, they seemed to have been talking about the failure of the plan
+concocted by Teddy and Colonel Jim, and to have agreed that Teddy had
+not behaved well in telling Colonel Jim that Mr. Emma would say, “With
+pleasure,” when he asked him if he could go up to the top story. For
+Mr. Emma had said quite the opposite.
+
+“I always knew Teddy was flighty,” said Wooden, “but I did not think
+that he would go so far as to tell a story.”
+
+“So many people seem to be telling them now,” said Lady Grace sadly.
+“It is very dreadful.”
+
+“But Teddy didn’t tell a story,” said Peggy. “He only thought that Mr.
+Emma would say that, and told Colonel Jim so.”
+
+Wooden’s aunt, who was already very busy with her tea, slapped her
+knee, and said, with a mouth full of bread and butter, “There now!
+Didn’t I say the very same thing? I was the only one as stuck up for
+Teddy. I said he wouldn’t tell a lie, because I knowed he wouldn’t.”
+
+“You didn’t say what Peggy says he told Colonel Jim,” said Wooden’s
+mother. “Are you sure he said that, dear?”
+
+“Yes,” said Peggy stoutly. “That is what he must have said.”
+
+“Well, I am sure I am very glad to hear it,” said Wooden, with a sigh
+of relief. “I know _you_ wouldn’t tell a story, dear, and if you say
+that is what Teddy said, of course he said it. I am _very_ glad he
+didn’t tell a story, as I shouldn’t like to think ill of him. I suppose
+you couldn’t tell us what Rose really said, could you? I have never
+liked her, but you did exchange her for me over there, and I have
+always felt sorry for her, because the exchange was such a good thing
+for me. I should like not to think badly of her, if I could.”
+
+“Rose has told nothing but stories,” said Peggy decisively. “She is
+really wicked, and when Queen Rosebud comes to the throne again I hope
+she will do something to her. I am very glad I did exchange her for
+you, dear Wooden, especially now I know what she is really like.”
+
+“Perhaps if she had stayed with you she might not have been so wicked,”
+said Wooden; and Peggy thought this was a great compliment from a doll,
+because in some ways they are better than human beings. Of course
+they have not so many temptations to be naughty, but I am not sure
+that they don’t resist the temptations that they do have better than
+a good many humans. Rose was quite an exception, and as for Selim, he
+wasn’t a proper doll at all, and had spent his active life in being so
+harried about a chess board, with hectoring Queens, and heavy Castles,
+and sliding Bishops, and hopping Knights, and perky little Pawns always
+giving him check, and he not able to move more than one square at a
+time, that perhaps it was no wonder that he would do anything to get
+into a position in which he could really act like a King. However, I
+am far from excusing his abominable behaviour at this particular time,
+and think that Peggy was quite right in hoping that he would come to be
+soundly punished for it.
+
+When they had nearly finished their tea, footsteps and voices were
+heard coming up the stairs, and to their surprise the Lord Chancellor
+came into the room, followed by Mr. Emma.
+
+The Lord Chancellor looked annoyed, and Mr. Emma looked frightened.
+Peggy guessed at once that this was because the Lord Chancellor had
+found out about Mr. Emma giving her his keys.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+She was right. As they came into the room, the Lord Chancellor said, “I
+dare say the young lady did want to see your baby. Nobody knows better
+than I do, from long experience of the law, that young ladies like to
+see babies, and you have nothing to teach me about that. But you had
+no right whatever to lend her your keys, and allow her to go in and out
+of this room as she pleases.”
+
+When he had said this he changed his expression of face completely, and
+smiled at Peggy and the four dolls. “Well, ladies,” he said, “I am glad
+to see you all looking so well, and I expect you are glad to see me
+looking well. I should say now that none of you have been in the least
+inconvenienced by your visit to this handsome building.”
+
+He said this as if he were inviting them to agree with him, and added,
+“Why, for part of the time you haven’t even had the door locked, which
+must have taken away the idea of a prison from your minds altogether.”
+
+Peggy thought this was rather cool, considering they had just heard
+him scolding Mr. Emma for letting them have the door unlocked. While
+the Lord Chancellor had been speaking, Mr. Emma had been making signs
+to her in a pathetic imploring sort of way, pointing up to the ceiling
+and at her and himself and the Lord Chancellor and the tea-tray on the
+table, and making words at her with his mouth, none of which she could
+understand. But suddenly she understood by his signs what he wanted to
+convey to her. He was begging her not to tell the Lord Chancellor that
+she had carried the tray up to the top story. So she nodded her head
+and put her finger on her mouth to assure him that she would keep his
+secret, for she did not want to get him into further trouble. He seemed
+a little soothed by this, but still very dejected, as he stood with his
+head on one side behind the Lord Chancellor.
+
+“If I had not made it a rule of life never to take tea twice on the
+same day,” said the Lord Chancellor, “I should feel inclined to ask you
+for a cup. I assure you that this is better tea than I drank at my own
+house half an hour ago. Really, I feel inclined to wish that I could be
+sent to the House of Cards myself, for a short time. I doubt if there
+is a more comfortable place in the whole of Dolltown. Now, confess,
+ladies. Haven’t you found it so?”
+
+“We have nothing to complain of in our treatment,” said Wooden, in a
+polite and simple but yet dignified way. “But nobody likes to be in
+prison, and I would rather go without my tea altogether than have it
+and be shut up.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor seemed delighted with this speech. “Now, it is a
+most extraordinary thing,” he said, “that you should express those
+sentiments. I was half afraid, when I came in, that you would be
+so delighted with your present situation that you would not want to
+exchange it for another. In fact, I thought you might even refuse to do
+so. I am very glad indeed that I was mistaken. For I have come to tell
+you that his most gracious Majesty, moved by one or two things that
+I have said to him, has instructed me to release you and Peggy. Now,
+don’t tell me--_please_ don’t tell me--that you would rather stay where
+you are.”
+
+“No, I shall not,” said Wooden. “I am very glad to be let out of
+prison. I ought never to have been sent here. None of us ought. Are my
+mother and aunt and Lady Grace still to be kept here?”
+
+“If she and Peggy go, _I_ go,” said Wooden’s aunt. “That’s flat.”
+
+“You will go by-and-by,” said the Lord Chancellor in a soothing voice.
+“Leave it to me, and I will arrange it all. But I’m afraid you three
+others will have to stay here a little longer. Lady Grace is Wax, you
+see, and the order for releasing Waxes has not yet been given. But it
+will be. You needn’t have the slightest doubt about that. Just have
+patience for a little; that’s all.”
+
+“Well, I ain’t Wax,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I’m Wood, and proud of it.
+What’s the matter with me being let out?”
+
+“Well,” said the Lord Chancellor, “the fact is that the King is still
+rather annoyed with you for thinking of such a thing as him marrying
+you.”
+
+“I don’t think of it no more,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I don’t want to
+marry the old heathen image. You tell him that, Mr. Lawyer, with
+Wooden’s aunt’s comps.”
+
+“Certainly, I will,” said the Lord Chancellor, with a polite bow. “It
+may make all the difference; there’s no telling.”
+
+“Am I to stay in prison?” asked Wooden’s mother. “If so, I think it is
+very unfair. I’ve done nothing.”
+
+“I hinted as much to his Majesty,” said the Lord Chancellor, “but
+he said two out at a time was enough. So I shouldn’t worry about it
+if I were you. You’ll be let out all in good time, and you are so
+comfortable here that it hardly makes any difference whether it’s
+sooner or later.”
+
+“You keep on saying that like a Poll-parrot,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I’ve
+no patience with you. You go back and tell your master that if I ain’t
+let out of this in an hour’s time I’ll yell the place down. So there
+now!”
+
+“I will be sure to convey your message, madam,” said the Lord
+Chancellor, as politely as before. “Now, I think we might make a start,
+eh?” He turned towards Emma, and his face became severe once more. “As
+for you, sir,” he said, “I shall have you dismissed from your post. You
+have given your keys to a prisoner. That is the most serious offence
+you could have committed.”
+
+Poor Mr. Emma threw himself on his knees and held up his hands in
+supplication. “Oh, don’t dismiss me, your Honour,” he cried, “I’ve got
+a wife and a dear little baby, and you wouldn’t want them to starve,
+now would you? You’ve got a kind face; and a kind heart goes with it--I
+know it do. Don’t turn me off; please don’t.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor’s face became softer. “It is quite true that I have
+a kind face,” he said. “Many people have remarked the same thing before
+now, and some of them have even gone so far as to say that for my age
+it is a handsome face. Of course that was only said in compliment, I
+know; I don’t wish to make too much of it; but it does show that there
+is something in my face that strikes people, and I don’t wonder that it
+has struck you. Well, now, about dismissing you from your post--if I
+_could_ find a way out of it----!”
+
+He looked at Peggy, as if he expected her to help him, but for the
+moment she couldn’t think of anything.
+
+“Of course you have committed a serious fault,” he said to Mr. Emma,
+who had risen from his knees and was waiting to hear what was to be
+done to him, with a mournful expression on his face. “Prisoners are
+entrusted to you, and you are right in treating them as well as you
+can. But you have treated this young lady as if she weren’t a prisoner
+at all.”
+
+“But I am not a prisoner,” said Peggy. “You have said yourself that I
+am not.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor’s face lightened. “Now, why didn’t I think of
+that?” he said. “It makes all the difference. Mr. Emma, you have
+committed no fault whatever. In fact, by carrying out his Majesty’s
+wishes at the earliest possible moment, you have shown yourself a
+zealous servant of the Crown, and I shall have much pleasure in
+recommending you for a rise in wages.”
+
+So that matter was settled in the most satisfactory fashion, and Peggy
+was pleased to see Mr. Emma cheer up and look proud of himself, as if
+he had done something particularly clever.
+
+She and Wooden said good-bye to the others, who did not seem so
+disappointed at still being kept in prison as might have been expected.
+There are many advantages in being a doll, and one of them is that they
+have such a lot of time before them that they are a good deal more
+patient than we are when things are not going well for them. They know
+that the bad time will end, and are content to wait till it does. Peggy
+managed to whisper to Lady Grace that she would do all she could to
+set things right and get the Queen out of prison. Then, of course, she
+would come out, too, and be restored to her post as lady-in-waiting.
+Wooden’s aunt was still eating and drinking in great enjoyment, and
+Wooden’s mother, after kissing them farewell, said that she should have
+a little nap, and when she woke up perhaps she would be let out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+PEGGY STAYS IN A REAL DOLLS’ HOUSE
+
+
+Peggy had only stayed a very short time in prison, and had been so much
+interested in all that had happened there that she had hardly been able
+to think of herself in prison at all, but she was none the less pleased
+to be in the open street and free to go anywhere. They were going first
+of all to Wooden’s house, which was in the chief residential quarter of
+Dolltown, near the royal palace.
+
+The news of the imprisonment of a human child, and of four dolls, two
+at least of whom were highly respected, must have spread; for as they
+walked along everybody seemed to recognize them, and they were followed
+by an ever increasing crowd of dolls, who seemed to be greatly excited
+by their reappearance. The Lord Chancellor was in a high state of
+delight at the attention they were receiving. If he had a fault, it
+was a slight but excusable vanity. By his own labours he had raised
+himself to his present proud position, and thought it only natural that
+everybody who saw him should be extremely interested in him. He was
+generally accompanied by his secretary when he walked about the streets
+of Dolltown, so that if he happened to go unrecognized the secretary
+could tell the people who he was. But this time he had left him behind,
+to write out the notes he had taken in the Hall of Audience, and walked
+alone with Peggy and Wooden.
+
+He certainly received a great deal of attention, and was at first very
+pleased with it, as I have said. But by-and-by he became a good deal
+less pleased.
+
+For the crowd was not so good-tempered as it had been when they had
+all walked to prison together. Most of the dolls that composed it made
+a lot of fuss over Peggy and Wooden, whom they were pleased to see
+let out of prison, but they did not seem at all pleased to see the
+Lord Chancellor, and he had to listen to some unpleasant remarks about
+himself for his share in what had happened.
+
+These remarks caused him a good deal of pain, and, when he understood
+that he was not sharing in the popularity that Peggy and Wooden
+enjoyed, he began to explain to everybody who would listen to him that
+he had been against sending anybody to prison from the first, and that
+it was entirely owing to him that Peggy and Wooden had been let out.
+But nobody did listen to him very carefully, and one rather rude Dutch
+doll actually said to him, “Oh, dry up, you silly old fool, and don’t
+talk so much.” This distressed him very much. He had never in his life
+been called a silly old fool before, and the phrase rankled. He did not
+try to excuse himself any more, but kept on repeating “silly old fool”
+under his breath, so as to see if it was really as bad as it sounded.
+
+Wooden’s house was situated in a handsome terrace, which had a gate and
+a little wooden lodge at each end of it, to keep the houses private.
+This was a good thing, for the crowd had to stay outside the gates.
+It was nice to have them so enthusiastic, but they might have made
+themselves a nuisance if they had swarmed about the house itself, and
+looked in at the windows, and dirtied the front door steps.
+
+Wooden had told Peggy what a nice house she had, and was pleased to be
+able to show it to her. It was a handsome, rather old-fashioned, wooden
+dolls’ house of three stories and six rooms, with a staircase running
+up the middle. It was nicely furnished, too, with beautifully-made
+dolls’ furniture and ornaments. Any little girl would have been
+overjoyed at having such a dolls’ house given to her to play with. To
+Peggy it was even more delightful than if she had had it as a toy,
+because it was of a size that made it possible for her to use it as a
+real house. Instead of putting her hand inside the rooms with great
+care, so as not to disturb the arrangements, she could go into all the
+rooms herself and use the things in them.
+
+[Illustration: It was a handsome house of three stories]
+
+I know that it is not customary in stories to talk about the rooms and
+furniture of a house before your characters have entered it; but in
+this case it is all right, because the front of the house stood open,
+and Peggy saw nearly everything inside it before they went in.
+
+The rooms were a good deal larger than those in most dolls’ houses. I
+mean not only larger because the house had grown up, so to speak, but
+because they would hold more dolls and more furniture. In a dolls’
+house it is sometimes awkward to have a doll or a piece of furniture
+that takes up nearly the whole of a room, and even in good ones it does
+not often happen that the rooms are big enough to accommodate many
+dolls, or more than a few pieces of furniture. But there was quite a
+lot of furniture in the rooms of Wooden’s house, and although they were
+all square, and of the same size, which gave them a certain lack of
+variety, they would comfortably hold quite a large number of dolls.
+
+On the ground floor were a kitchen and a dining-room, on the first
+floor a drawing-room and the best bedroom, and on the top floor a
+servants’ room and a spare room. Wooden pointed them out as they walked
+up the terrace, and said that as long as Peggy stayed with her she
+should give her the best bedroom, because it had the best furniture in
+it, and use the spare room for herself.
+
+It was just like Wooden to offer to do this, but Peggy said no, she
+wouldn’t hear of it. She could not see the furniture of the spare room
+from where they were, as it was too high up, but she was sure it was
+good enough for her.
+
+It may seem a little odd that Wooden should have spoken as if they were
+going to stay in Toyland, if not for ever, at least for some time.
+For Peggy had understood that the dolls who were still played with
+by children only went to Toyland when it was night--“over there,” as
+they would have said. But it did not seem odd to her, and in fact she
+never thought about it. Once in Toyland, the dolls who inhabited that
+pleasant country behaved as if they always lived there. It seemed to
+come from the air of the place; and that explains why Peggy never once
+thought of going home again as long as she was there, any more than
+Wooden or any of the other dolls did.
+
+The weather was fine and warm, which would have made it nice to have
+the front of the house open, although a little wanting in privacy. But
+Wooden said, “I should like you to go in through the front door, dear.
+It is a beautiful door, and it seems a pity not to use it. So I think I
+will have the front of the house shut.”
+
+Two wooden servant dolls, a cook and a housemaid, dressed one in a
+blue, the other in a black frock, with snowy white caps and aprons,
+had been standing in front of the kitchen looking out for them. Wooden
+told them to shut the front of the house, and they came out and did so,
+pushing it back quite easily. For they were good servants and devoted
+to their mistress, and kept the hinges well oiled.
+
+When the front of the house was shut it looked very handsome indeed.
+The door that Wooden was so proud of was inside a fine porch, and had
+a brass knocker on it. All the windows had little panes of glass, kept
+beautifully clean, and white curtains looped up inside them. And each
+of them had a neat iron railing in front of it to hold flowers. It was
+like a real house, and yet it was like a dolls’ house, too, which made
+it all the more fascinating.
+
+They went up two steps under the porch, and Wooden knocked with the
+knocker, to show that it was a real knocker. The doll housemaid opened
+the door, and they went in. For the first time in her life, naturally,
+Peggy was inside a real dolls’ house, with the front shut and even the
+door shut. Hitherto she had only been able to see what it was like by
+peeping in through the windows; for of course you know that a dolls’
+house can never be quite the same with its front open. It takes away
+from the make-believe. She felt frightfully pleased; and it really was
+nice, and not a bit like a real house, although everything in it was of
+an ordinary real size.
+
+The Lord Chancellor had come in with them. He had told Wooden that he
+had had a lot of running about and should like to rest a little. But,
+of course, what he really wanted was to get away from the crowd, and go
+home later on when it should have dispersed. But Wooden said that it
+was an honour to entertain him in her own house, which pleased him, and
+by the time they had got inside he had recovered some of his spirits,
+and seemed ready to be as talkative as ever.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Wooden led the way up to the drawing-room, which had a carpet of a
+very large pattern and a wall paper with enormous roses on it. The
+furniture was beautifully made, but Peggy felt that she was really
+sitting on a dolls’ sofa and not on an ordinary one, although it was
+comfortable, and of an ordinary size. Nothing was quite the same. The
+mirrors had tin frames, the books on the tables were evidently toy
+books, with thick leaves and bindings that did not keep quite flat;
+and there were some packs of cards and some dominoes on another table
+looking exactly like those very tiny ones which you can buy in shops,
+but are so small that you do not want to play with them more than once.
+
+They had hardly sat down, Peggy and Wooden on the sofa and the Lord
+Chancellor on a large chair, before the doll housemaid opened the door
+and announced a visitor, by the name of Mrs. Winifred.
+
+Mrs. Winifred was a mature-looking Dutch doll. Most of the wooden dolls
+in Toyland were of Dutch extraction, even Wooden herself, just like
+many of the old families of New York, but they were no more Dutch than
+the New Yorkers are. She came forward and kissed Wooden, and said she
+was very glad she had come out of prison, and she felt that she must
+come round at once and tell her so.
+
+Mrs. Winifred had hardly been accommodated with a seat before Mrs.
+Hilda was announced, and when Mrs. Hilda had said the same as Mrs.
+Winifred, Captain and Mrs. Louisa were announced. Captain Louisa was
+an officer in a regiment of wooden soldiers, and wore his uniform. His
+wife and Mrs. Hilda were wooden dolls like Mrs. Winifred. These were
+followed by Mr. and Mrs. Joyce, Mr. and Mrs. Ida, Mrs. Mollie, Mrs.
+Jane, and one or two more, all of the best wooden families of Dolltown,
+and it was evidently a source of great pride to Wooden that they
+should show such a nice feeling towards her.
+
+She introduced them all to Peggy, and those who did not know him to the
+Lord Chancellor. There were so many of them that it was like a sort of
+party. The dolls sat rather stiffly in their chairs, and there were
+other little points about them, such as their knees showing rather
+prominently through their skirts and trousers, which made it seem like
+a dolls’ party, and as if they were all playing at something. This
+pleased Peggy. She felt as if she had set them all down herself on
+their chairs and on the sofas, exactly where she wanted them to be, as
+she did sometimes with her smaller dolls in her dolls’ house at home,
+and pretended that they were talking politely to each other.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+THE DOLLS TALK IT ALL OVER
+
+
+The late imprisonment of Peggy and Wooden, and especially of Wooden,
+naturally formed the chief subject of conversation.
+
+“I must say,” said Mrs. Winifred, “that I was surprised to hear that
+_you_ had been sent to prison, Mrs. Wooden. We had all heard that such
+a _very_ different lot had been prepared for you.”
+
+“Yes,” said Mrs. Hilda. “What we heard was that you were to be made
+Queen and live in the palace.”
+
+“And we were very _glad_ to hear it,” said Mrs. Joyce, a thin,
+rather vinegary-looking doll, whom Peggy did not very much take
+to. “We knew that if _you_ were made Queen there would be no more
+high-and-mightiness at the palace, and you wouldn’t give yourself airs
+with _us_.”
+
+“It would be the beginning of a new era,” said Mr. Joyce, who was a
+members of the Dolls’ Parliament. “The Woodens would be no longer
+oppressed by the Waxes, and peace and contentment would reign, where
+before there had been strife and inequality.”
+
+“I’m not sure,” said the Lord Chancellor, “that I quite agree with that
+observation. As Woods, all this extremely intelligent and entertaining
+company is naturally pleased at having a Wooden King to reign over
+Toyland. But under our late lamented Queen Rosebud, as far as my memory
+carries me back, there was no oppression. And personally I boast
+intimate friends amongst dolls of all varieties, from Wax to Rag.”
+
+“What I think,” said Mrs. Mollie, a severe-looking doll with a long
+upper lip, “is that we were a good deal better off under Queen Rosebud
+than we are likely to be under King Selim. I don’t hold with these
+foreigners.”
+
+The other dolls seemed to be rather taken aback by this plainness of
+speech, and the Lord Chancellor said, “Tut, tut! You mustn’t say things
+like that, my dear lady. It isn’t respectful to the Crown.”
+
+“But it’s what a good many of us are feeling,” said Mrs. Winifred. “At
+first it was very nice to feel we were considered as good as the Waxes.
+In this company there’s no harm in saying that Waxes do give themselves
+airs, and it isn’t nice to feel you are considered common, when you
+know you are nothing of the sort, but quite the opposite.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+“But _all_ Waxes don’t give themselves airs,” said Wooden, speaking for
+the first time. “There’s Lady Grace, now. Both of us live with this
+dear little girl when we’re over there, and we are real friends, and
+there’s never a word awry between us. And it’s the same here.”
+
+“I’m sure,” said Mrs. Ida, a young-looking doll who was dressed more
+fashionably than the rest, “that I have always got on as well as
+possible with the Waxes. In fact, most of my friends were Wax before
+they were all sent to prison.”
+
+“I should think you must feel a bit lonely, then,” said Mrs. Jane.
+“I’ve always associated with Woods myself, and prefer their company.”
+
+“The best company in Toyland,” said Mrs. Winifred, “is to be found
+amongst the higher classes of Woods. Still, I’m against this sending to
+prison of all Waxes, whether they give themselves airs or not.”
+
+“It isn’t so much the shutting up of Waxes that I object to,” said Mrs.
+Louisa. “It’s the shutting up of Woods. How did it come about, Wooden,
+that instead of marrying the King you were sent to prison?”
+
+Captain Louisa cleared his throat behind his hand. “Manners, my dear,
+manners!” he whispered to his wife.
+
+“We don’t want to go into all that,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Perhaps
+a slight mistake was made; but it has now been put right, chiefly
+owing to representations made to his Majesty by myself.”
+
+“It hasn’t been put right, and we do want to talk about it,” said Mrs.
+Mollie. “There are two Wooden dolls still locked up in the House of
+Cards, to say nothing of a Wax one. What were they locked up for, and
+when are they going to be let out?”
+
+She addressed her question directly to the Lord Chancellor, and there
+seemed to be a general opinion amongst the other dolls that it was
+right to ask it, and that it wanted an answer.
+
+The Lord Chancellor gave one. He gave it at great length, but there was
+not much in it. It seemed that all they had to do was to trust to him,
+and everything would come right in the end.
+
+“That doesn’t satisfy _me_,” said Mrs. Mollie, when he had quite
+finished. “And it isn’t only Woods either that have been sent to
+prison, and are being kept there for nothing at all. What about this
+human child? What was _she_ sent to prison for? I’m against sending
+human children to prison when they are allowed to come over and visit
+us. It’s likely to make bad feeling over there.”
+
+There were murmurs of approval at this, and all the dolls looked
+sympathetically at Peggy, who felt rather shy.
+
+“You are quite right, Mrs. Mollie,” said Captain Louisa. “And I may
+tell you in strict confidence that the army feels with you about it.
+It is the best army to be found anywhere. Leads and Woods alike are
+devoted to their duty, and quite ready for a war, if a war is forced on
+us. But we don’t want a war with the people over there. We should win,
+of course, in the long run, but it would leave bad blood behind it, and
+while it was going on our women and children wouldn’t be safe.”
+
+“It’s a prospect I don’t like at all,” said Mrs. Winifred. “I have
+received nothing but kindness from Humans, myself, and I believe the
+same may be said by most of us here. I say that Peggy ought not to have
+been locked up, and I hope she will remember that I said that when she
+goes back. Mrs. Winifred, 4 Prospect Place, Dolltown, are my name and
+address, and over there I may be found at any time at Top Drawer, Day
+Nursery Chest, 43 Hamilton Square, London, S.W.”
+
+All the other dolls hastened to give Peggy their names and addresses,
+except Mr. Joyce, who said, “My peace-loving sentiments are well
+known, and nobody over there is likely to make any mistake about them.
+I agree with the opinion of this assembly to this extent: I believe
+that a Wood King is the best kind of King we could have for Toyland,
+but I’m not at all sure that King Selim is the right doll in the right
+place, or that this reign is likely to be an improvement on the last.
+Wax or no Wax, Queen Rosebud would never have made the mistakes in
+foreign policy that have already been made in this reign. If we are not
+very careful, this young lady, and others who may come over to visit
+us, will carry back a report that may bring serious trouble. King Selim
+ought to be told that.”
+
+“For my part, I’ve no patience with King Selim,” said Mrs. Mollie. “I
+heartily wish Queen Rosebud wasn’t dead.”
+
+“But Queen Rosebud _isn’t_ dead,” said Wooden. “She is locked up in the
+House of Cards. Peggy took her tea up to her this very afternoon.”
+
+She spoke in a tone of surprise, as if everybody ought to know that
+Queen Rosebud was alive. Peggy had been wondering whether it would be
+a good thing to tell the dolls what she had discovered, and now that
+Wooden had let it out, she was rather glad. She didn’t much like
+keeping such a secret to herself, and, of course, a doll is hardly
+capable of keeping any secret, and Wooden had only not spoken before
+because she had got used to the idea of Queen Rosebud being alive, and
+had not thought much about it since.
+
+“Oh, my dear lady!” said the Lord Chancellor, before anybody could
+speak. “You mustn’t say a thing like that, you know. King Selim has
+said that Queen Rosebud is dead and of course she must be dead.”
+
+“But she isn’t,” Wooden persisted. “Peggy has seen her.”
+
+“Yes, I did,” said Peggy. “She is in the top story of the House of
+Cards. Selim and Rose had her locked up there, and they said that if
+she told anybody who she was they would put her in a dark dungeon. They
+are both very wicked.”
+
+“Well, that’s beyond everything!” said Mrs. Winifred. “And I should
+like to know who Rose is, to go locking up the Queen.”
+
+“If Waxes like to give themselves airs, that’s one thing,” said Mrs.
+Ida. “But for a Composition----! That’s what nobody can stand.”
+
+“There are Compositions and Compositions,” said Mrs. Mollie. “But Rose
+would be a disgrace to _any_ class. She ought to be locked up herself.”
+
+“And I think you ought to see to it, Lord Norval,” said Mrs. Jane.
+“According to Peggy, she has told a deliberate falsehood, and that is
+punishable by law, as I’ve always understood.”
+
+They seemed to be in danger of forgetting all about Queen Rosebud in
+their disgust for Rose. But this brought them back to the subject.
+
+“I quite agree with you,” said the Lord Chancellor. “It is a most
+disgraceful affair altogether. I shall inform his Majesty about it at
+once, and request him to see that Rose is properly punished. What I
+shall suggest is that she shall take Queen Rosebud’s place in prison.
+I fancy that would be rather neat, eh? I shall press the point on his
+Majesty.”
+
+“But Selim is just as bad as she is,” exclaimed Peggy. “_He_ ought to
+be sent to prison, too. Why do you call him ‘His Majesty’? He isn’t a
+King at all.”
+
+“Hush, hush, my dear young lady!” said the Lord Chancellor, much
+shocked. “I know you are human, and to be excused on that account, but
+if one of _us_ had said that, it would be punishable, you know. Selim
+is a King. He wears a crown. We have all seen it.”
+
+“He is only a chess king,” said Peggy. “I meant that he isn’t King of
+Toyland. He can’t be, if Queen Rosebud is still alive.”
+
+“That’s one way of looking at it, certainly,” said the Lord Chancellor,
+in a puzzled kind of way. “I shall have to think about it very
+carefully when I go home. He _says_ he’s King of Toyland. I shall get
+at it better when I’ve slept over it.”
+
+“But aren’t you going to do anything now?” asked Peggy. “There’s Queen
+Rosebud still locked up in the House of Cards. _I_ think Captain Louisa
+ought to take his soldiers at once, and let her out.”
+
+All the dolls had sat with puzzled faces, looking at Peggy and the Lord
+Chancellor. They had all been ready to talk a great deal, but when it
+came to doing something they seemed quite at a loss.
+
+Captain Louisa started when his name was mentioned. “If it was my duty,
+I should do it,” he said. “I should do it very well--nobody better.”
+
+“Well, I think it is your duty,” said Peggy. “Don’t you, Wooden?”
+
+“Well, dear,” said Wooden, “if we all did our duty as well as Captain
+Louisa, we might be very proud of ourselves.”
+
+Captain Louisa looked proudly at Peggy. “You see what she thinks of
+me,” he said. “And it isn’t only me either. My men would follow me
+anywhere.”
+
+Mrs. Winifred rose from her seat. “I’m afraid I must say good-bye, dear
+Mrs. Wooden,” she said. “I am so glad you have been let out of prison.
+And I’m so glad that Queen Rosebud isn’t dead. Somehow, I could never
+feel that she was.”
+
+All the dolls rose one after the other to say good-bye. They all
+said they were glad that Queen Rosebud was alive, and some of them
+said that she ought not to stay in prison a moment longer. But none
+of them seemed interested in how she was to be got out, or in what
+should happen afterwards, except that Mrs. Mollie said she hoped Rose
+would get her deserts, and Mrs. Ida said that they saw now what came
+of Compositions giving themselves airs. However much they seemed to
+be different from one another in their way of talking and looking
+at things, they all seemed alike in having no idea of acting for
+themselves. They were very nice, but Peggy thought that if she had been
+the Queen in prison she would hardly have felt so confident as Queen
+Rosebud had been of her doll subjects getting her out again.
+
+[Illustration: All the dolls rose to say good-bye]
+
+However, the Lord Chancellor, who stayed behind, did seem to think
+that _something_ ought to be done, though he seemed disinclined to
+do it himself. “When the people get to know of this,” he said, “I’m
+afraid there will be trouble. The question is, how to act so as to save
+trouble.”
+
+“_I_ should think the question was how to get poor Queen Rosebud out of
+prison as soon as possible,” said Peggy.
+
+“Well, certainly there is that side of it,” he said. “The only thing
+is that if she comes out of prison and goes back to the palace, there
+will be two of them--a King and a Queen--and that is something that it
+is very difficult to know how to deal with, without a great deal of
+careful thought. If King Selim could marry Queen Rosebud, now! How does
+that strike you as a way of getting over the difficulty?”
+
+“It doesn’t strike me at all,” said Peggy. “Selim has done a very
+wicked and horrible thing. Queen Rosebud was ill, and she _might_ have
+died, and if she had it would have been all his fault. He has told
+heaps of stories about her. She never told him that he was to be King
+after her at all. That’s one story. And he told the people she was
+dead. That’s another. And he has sent a lot of dolls to prison for
+nothing at all. He has done very wrong, and he ought to be punished.”
+
+“That is a very eloquent speech,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Very
+eloquent indeed. I wish I could make one like it. But you see the
+trouble is that the King can do no wrong; so of course you can’t punish
+him.”
+
+“But he _has_ done wrong,” said Peggy. “And he _isn’t_ the King. You
+keep on talking about him as if Queen Rosebud wasn’t alive. _She_ is
+the Queen. Selim is only a usurper.”
+
+“I’m beginning to see it,” said the Lord Chancellor. “It’s a very
+subtle point, but I’m beginning to see it, or at least some of it.”
+
+Whether he would have seen all of it in time cannot be known, for just
+at that moment the door was opened by the housemaid doll, and in came
+Colonel Jim and Teddy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+THE ESCAPE
+
+
+The moment Teddy came into the room, Peggy felt that the time for
+action had come. And she had never felt more pleased with him than when
+he addressed himself straight to the Lord Chancellor, and said, “Now,
+then, old man, you come along with us to the House of Cards. We’re
+going to get the Queen out of prison, and we want you with us.”
+
+“I’m sure I’m very glad that you propose to adopt that course,” said
+the Lord Chancellor, speaking quickly and nervously. “It is exactly
+what I should have recommended myself. But why do you want me with you?
+I should have thought--”
+
+“Never mind what you would have thought,” said Teddy. “We want you with
+us because, now the people have found out that old Selim’s a rascal,
+and the Queen isn’t dead, they’ve got their dander up. They’ll have
+some questions to ask, and you can answer them. Colonel Jim and me will
+be too busy.”
+
+This did not seem to suit the Lord Chancellor at all. He began to
+protest vigorously that he had had no more to do with the fraud that
+Selim had practised than anybody else. But Teddy cut him short. “If you
+won’t come of your own accord,” he said, “Colonel Jim has a couple of
+troopers outside who will make you. You’d like to come, too, Peggy and
+Wooden. We’ve brought gees for everybody. Come along quick. We don’t
+want to waste any time.”
+
+He led the way downstairs, and the others followed him, Colonel Jim
+bringing up the rear, and keeping an eye on the Lord Chancellor to see
+that he did not escape.
+
+Waiting outside the house were several horses. There was Colonel Jim’s
+black charger, and those of his two troopers. These were of lead. There
+were also some composition horses, and a couple of shaggy ponies, made
+of wood and covered with hair, and a beautiful cream-coloured one, with
+a bridle and saddle-cloth sewn with gold embroidery. They were all toy
+horses and ponies, but they looked splendidly alive, and Peggy was
+quite delighted to see that the two shaggy ponies had side-saddles, for
+she knew at once that one must be meant for her and one for Wooden. She
+loved riding, and thought it would be great fun to ride through the
+streets of Dolltown on a toy pony.
+
+Wooden was not used to riding, although Peggy had sometimes put her on
+her rocking-horse at home, so she was not altogether without practice.
+But Teddy assured her that he had chosen her a very quiet pony, and
+she was so nice, in the way that she always did what people wanted
+her to, that she made no trouble about it, and got on very well when
+she was once helped into the saddle. Peggy felt quite at home on her
+pony, and patted its nice shaggy neck. She would have liked to have
+a gallop on it, but that would not be possible in the streets of the
+town. Colonel Jim and his troopers mounted their chargers, the Lord
+Chancellor got on to one of the composition horses, and Teddy leapt
+on to another straight from the ground, without using the stirrup. A
+royal servant-doll, dressed in scarlet and gold, led the beautiful
+cream-coloured pony, which was evidently meant for Queen Rosebud. It
+was a good idea to have a sort of little procession on horseback to
+take her from her prison to her royal palace again, and no doubt Teddy
+had thought of it, for he seemed to be the only one who really did
+things, while the other dolls only talked about them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+What Teddy said about the inhabitants of Dolltown being excited over
+what had happened was quite true. The crowd outside the gates of the
+terrace was larger than ever, and when Peggy and the dolls appeared
+amongst them on horseback there was quite a commotion. They cheered
+them all except the Lord Chancellor, and they were so angry with him
+that they would probably have pulled him off his horse if he had not
+been riding between the two troopers, who protected him. They seemed
+to have taken the affair much more seriously than the dolls who had
+come to visit Wooden, but then a crowd always is more excited about
+things than a few people, because they work each other up. Very likely,
+if this crowd of dolls had had to do something of their own accord,
+instead of shouting at those who were doing it, they would not have
+been very good at it. And if they _had_ pulled the Lord Chancellor off
+his horse, it is doubtful if they would have known what to do next.
+
+The poor Lord Chancellor was terribly upset at the way the crowd hissed
+and booed at him. Peggy heard him explaining to the troopers who rode
+on either side of him that nobody was more surprised than he was, or
+more glad either, that Queen Rosebud was alive. But they took no notice
+of him, and the crowd went on booing and hissing all the same.
+
+When they arrived at the market-place, there was a square of lead life
+guardsmen all round the door of the House of Cards, to keep the crowd
+off. The market-place was packed full of dolls, shouting and singing,
+and looking up to the top story, where they had heard that the Queen
+was imprisoned. Peggy could see the open window at which she had sat;
+but she did not appear at it.
+
+What seemed more remarkable still was that there was nobody on the
+balcony of the first floor, either. It might have been thought that
+Wooden’s aunt, at least, would have been there, watching what was going
+on. But there was nobody to be seen.
+
+[Illustration: There was nobody on the balcony of the first floor
+either]
+
+They rode into the empty space kept by the soldiers. Teddy whispered
+something to Colonel Jim, who got off his charger and went up the
+steps and knocked at the door. As he waited for a minute before it
+was opened, all the dolls on that side of the market-place were quite
+silent.
+
+The door was opened by Mr. Emma. Peggy could not hear what passed
+between him and Colonel Jim, but presently Colonel Jim turned sharp
+round and came down the steps again. “The Queen’s gone,” he said. “So
+are the other prisoners. Selim and Rose came and fetched them half an
+hour ago.”
+
+Here was a piece of news! Mr. Emma was summoned, and made to tell
+exactly what had happened. The Lord Chancellor asked most of the
+questions, for he was out of reach of the crowd and had somewhat
+recovered from his fright. Besides, he was used to asking questions,
+and liked doing it.
+
+It seemed that Selim had come to the prison in a closed carriage,
+accompanied by Rose; and another empty carriage had come with them.
+He had seemed to Mr. Emma to be in a very nervous state, but he had
+not seen much of him, because he had sat in the carriage all the time,
+while Rose had gone in to the House of Cards, and fetched the Queen
+down. Mr. Emma had not known it was the Queen until this moment, for
+he had kept himself shut up in the House of Cards, with Mrs. Emma and
+the baby, and had not tried to find out what the crowd outside was so
+excited about.
+
+The Lord Chancellor asked him what the Queen had said when she had come
+downstairs.
+
+“She didn’t say nothing, your Honour,” said Mr. Emma. “She looked kind
+of proud-like, and held her head high. If she’d had her crown on I
+should have knowed it was the Queen by the way she behaved.”
+
+Well, the Queen had got into the carriage where Selim was, and then
+Rose had gone upstairs and fetched down Lady Grace, and Wooden’s mother
+and aunt. Wooden’s aunt had seemed very pleased with herself, according
+to Mr. Emma. She had imitated a grand lady mincing down the steps, and
+said to him, “Out of the way, Bobby, we’re going to the palace. Haw!
+Haw!” This had offended Mr. Emma, for he had left the police force some
+time before.
+
+Rose had got into the first carriage, with the Queen and Selim, and the
+other three had got into the second carriage. Then they had all driven
+away.
+
+That was Mr. Emma’s story, and about all that could be got out of
+him. The two carriages had driven off in the direction of the palace,
+and Rose must have told Wooden’s aunt that that was where they were
+going to. The carriages were not the gilt and glass coaches that were
+generally used from the palace, but ordinary landaus. They had not
+stood before the House of Cards very long, and nobody had taken much
+notice of them. A few dolls had seen the Queen come out and get into
+the carriage, but they had not known who she was.
+
+Well, what was to be done now? It seemed plain that Selim had found
+out somehow that the people were beginning to find out all about his
+wickedness, and had kidnapped the Queen. Why he had also taken off
+Lady Grace, and Wooden’s mother and aunt, was not quite so plain, but
+perhaps it was because he thought they knew too much, and he wanted to
+get them out of the way.
+
+“What we had better do,” said the Lord Chancellor, “is to go back to
+the palace and interview King Selim. I’m all for prompt action in these
+matters, and I propose we start at once.”
+
+“Oh, you silly old thing!” said Teddy. “As if he had gone to the
+palace! You ought to know better than that, at your age.”
+
+“But Wooden’s aunt said they were going to the palace,” said the Lord
+Chancellor. “You wouldn’t accuse her of telling a lie, I suppose!”
+
+“Rose told her so,” said Wooden. “You can’t believe _anything_ that
+_she_ says. Aunt would like to think she was going to the palace, and
+Rose must have told her that to quiet her.”
+
+It was rather clever of Wooden to think of this, for dolls are apt to
+believe everything they are told. But when a doll has once made herself
+disbelieved, as Rose had done, there is an end of their trusting her.
+
+“There is a good deal in what you say,” said the Lord Chancellor. “But
+if they have not gone to the palace, where _have_ they gone? It might
+be as well to go there and see if anybody knows.”
+
+They might perhaps have done this, for, although Selim would not have
+been likely to tell anybody where he meant to go, still, they might
+have picked up some sort of a clue. But just as they were discussing
+it, our old friend Mr. Noah pushed his way through the soldiers who
+were guarding the square. He was, of course, a royal servant, and wore
+a medal to show it, so they let him through. He brought the important
+information that the two carriages had been seen driving fast through
+the town on the road to the sea.
+
+Directly Teddy heard this, he gave a whoop, and said, “Let’s after
+them, then, as fast as we can go. Come on, all!” He dug his heels into
+his horse’s sides, and galloped off. The soldiers parted to let him
+through, and the crowd scattered away from him on all sides, as he
+galloped through the streets and was lost to sight.
+
+Now this was all very well. Teddy was anxious to catch up the
+fugitives, but if he did catch them up he couldn’t very well do
+anything all by himself. Besides, he seemed to be about the only one
+who had any ideas in his head--or, at least, ideas that were worth
+anything--and if he went off all by himself, the others were likely to
+make a muddle of things. It was his “flightiness” coming out, but he
+had done so well already that he might be forgiven for it.
+
+However, his going off like that was not so bad as it might have been.
+If it had been left to the Lord Chancellor to say what was to be done
+next, it would have taken a long time to do anything, and then very
+likely what would have been done would have been wrong. And Colonel
+Jim, though brave as a lion, and handsome, too, was not intellectual.
+But Mr. Noah seemed to have a few ideas in his head, and some spirit to
+carry them out. Of course he was not exactly a doll, though he lived
+in Dolltown, and he had Oriental blood in his veins, or whatever fluid
+dolls do have, and this made him rather more clever than might have
+been expected from his wooden expression. He was angry, too, at having
+had orders given him about his Ark by Selim, and wanted to get at him
+and tell him what he thought of him.
+
+Anyhow, as the Lord Chancellor was talking and talking, Mr. Noah cut
+him short. “What are you wasting all this time for?” he asked. “What
+we’ve got to do is to go after them as quick as we can, and take the
+soldiers with us. Give me a horse, and let’s be off.”
+
+There was a horse to spare, and Mr. Noah got on to it. He looked rather
+funny in his long yellow robe, and being a sort of sailor he was not
+used to horses. But he managed to stick on all right, and as the horse
+was fortunately a quiet one, he soon got used to the unusual motion. He
+said to the others, “Now, you come after me!” and without waiting any
+longer he trotted off.
+
+The others all followed him. Colonel Jim gave some orders to his men,
+and they formed themselves into fours and fell behind. It was quite a
+gay cavalcade that went trotting through the streets of Dolltown, and
+this time the crowd cheered them to the echo, and forgot to hiss and
+boo at the Lord Chancellor.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+THE PURSUIT
+
+
+They trotted along through the streets of the town, and soon got clear
+of the crowd. But the news of what had happened had spread all over
+Dolltown by this time, and there were many dolls at the windows and on
+the pavements to see them pass. They did not know yet that Selim had
+kidnapped Queen Rosebud, but they knew that she was alive, and that he
+was a usurper. When they saw all the soldiers they knew that something
+stirring was going to happen, and by the way they shouted and waved
+their hands it seemed that Selim had very few friends in Dolltown, and
+had better look out for himself if he ever came back there.
+
+At the end of the town, where the country began, there was a gate,
+and a sentry box beside it, where a wooden sentry was keeping guard.
+They stopped to question him. He remembered the two carriages driving
+through the gate, and had wondered who they belonged to. It was not his
+duty to challenge them, as he was there chiefly for ornament; but when
+Teddy had galloped up, he had asked him, more out of curiosity than
+anything else, why he was going so fast. Teddy had said, “Open the gate
+and I’ll tell you.” So he had opened the gate, and the moment Teddy had
+got through it he had galloped off again, shouting out to the sentry,
+“I’m going fast because my horse is.” Of course this was true, but it
+had made the sentry angry; and he had been still more annoyed when
+Teddy had jumped himself round on his horse, just as if he had been a
+rider in a circus, and ridden away backwards, making long noses at him.
+The sentry said that this was disrespectful to a servant of the Crown,
+and asked the Lord Chancellor to send Teddy to prison for it. But they
+had no time to waste over his grievances, and set off again.
+
+They trotted through the country roads, and Peggy enjoyed the ride very
+much. She felt quite safe, with all the soldiers riding behind them,
+but thought it was hardly necessary to have brought so many of them, as
+Mr. Noah and Teddy, to say nothing of Colonel Jim and his two special
+troopers, would have been enough to take Selim prisoner when they
+caught up with him. But it was a good thing that they had brought the
+soldiers, as will presently appear.
+
+By-and-by they came to an inn, which was a farm as well, and looked
+very peaceful and comfortable, with its neat toy barns and outhouses
+among the trees and fields, and the toy animals feeding all about them.
+They stopped for a minute or two to ask questions of the innkeeper,
+who was a wooden doll of a rather stolid appearance. When the Lord
+Chancellor began to ask him questions he went and fetched his wife, and
+she was more intelligent, and gave her answers well.
+
+[Illustration: He went and fetched his wife]
+
+She said that the two carriages had stopped at the inn, and a lady in
+the first one had put her head out and asked for a glass of water. The
+blinds of the carriage were drawn down, but when the innkeeper’s wife
+had brought the glass of water she had seen the lady who asked for it
+give it to another lady inside the carriage. She thought that this
+second lady had tried to say something to her, but the first lady had
+put her hand over her mouth and stopped her, and then somebody else in
+a corner of the carriage--she thought it was a man by the size of his
+hand--had passed the glass out to her, with a piece of money, and the
+window had been pushed up at once and the carriages had driven off.
+
+She was rather confused about it all, as it had passed so quickly; but
+it seemed plain that Queen Rosebud had thought of this way of making
+it known that she was being carried off. She must have said that she
+didn’t feel very well, and would like a glass of water at the next
+house they stopped at, meaning to tell whoever brought it who she was.
+But Rose had prevented her. This was one more thing against Rose.
+
+That was not all the innkeeper’s wife told them. As the carriage drove
+off, a wooden lady had put her head out of the second one and called
+out, “Here we go round the mulberry bush!” The innkeeper’s wife had
+thought afterwards that perhaps these were some lunatics--for there
+are a few lunatics amongst dolls--being taken out for an airing. But,
+of course, it had only been Wooden’s aunt acting in her usual silly
+fashion.
+
+But the odd thing was that the innkeeper’s wife had seen nothing of
+Teddy. She said she must have seen him if he had passed along the road,
+as she had been in her kitchen, which was in front of the house, all
+the time. So as they went on they had something to wonder about, as to
+what had become of Teddy. Wooden thought he had missed the way, but
+this seemed impossible, as the road ran straight towards the sea. The
+Lord Chancellor thought that he might have tumbled off his horse, but
+this seemed more unlikely still, as he was clever enough to jump about
+on it and ride backwards. What Peggy thought she kept to herself. It
+was that Teddy had some clever plan in his head, which they would hear
+about all in good time, and had never meant to catch up the carriages
+all by himself. For of course he could easily have done so if he had
+liked, as he could go much faster than they could.
+
+They went up the road over the hills, which you remember that the river
+had come through in a gorge, and when they came to the top of it they
+could see the sea a few miles away. The road ran straight down to it.
+They could see several specks on the road at a good distance off, but
+there was nothing that looked like the two carriages.
+
+This was a disappointment, as they had quite expected to catch sight of
+the fugitives from the top of the hill, and to come up with them before
+they could reach the sea. If they had already got there, it seemed as
+if they must have escaped them after all.
+
+But it seemed impossible that the carriages should have got so far
+ahead. They had not been more than half an hour behind them at the inn,
+and even if they had not gained on them since, they must have seen them
+on the road in front, if they had been there. So they must have left
+the straight road, and the question was what to do next.
+
+As they were talking it over, Peggy thought she heard a cry in the
+wood on their right. She listened with all her ears, and then thought
+she heard another. She told Wooden, and all of them listened.
+
+Yes, there was no doubt about it. The noise was some distance off,
+and could not be heard very plainly; but it kept on, and seemed to be
+somebody calling for help. They got off their horse and went into the
+wood, in the direction from which the call seemed to be coming. As they
+got farther in among the trees it became louder. It was like a woman
+calling “Help! Help!” every second or two, but in a strangled voice, as
+if there were something in the way.
+
+Wooden called out “Coming! Coming!” and they ran on as fast they could.
+
+They came to a little clearing in the wood, and there, sitting on the
+ground with her back against a great fir-tree, was Wooden’s unfortunate
+aunt. She had a handkerchief tied over her mouth, and a rope went round
+her body and tied her tight to the tree. Her hands were behind her, and
+seemed to be tied too, so that she could not free herself. Altogether,
+she was in a very sorry plight.
+
+But she did not seem to have altogether lost her spirits, for when she
+saw them coming towards her she kicked her legs up and gave a little
+sort of crow, which sounded rather pathetic, coming through her
+handkerchief.
+
+Wooden untied the handkerchief, murmuring sounds of distress and
+sympathy all the time, while Colonel Jim busied himself with the rope,
+and when he found he couldn’t untie it cut it with his sword. In a
+very short time, Wooden’s aunt was standing up free, shaking the pine
+needles off her skirts.
+
+“I thought somebody would come if I yelled long enough,” she said, in
+quite a cheerful voice, which did her credit, as it showed she had a
+great deal of pluck, in spite of the numerous faults of her nature.
+
+“But how did you come to be here, dear?” asked Wooden. “And what has
+become of mother?”
+
+“Oh, yer mother’s all right,” said Wooden’s aunt. “She’s with the
+quality. I don’t like their ways of going on, so I asked them to kindly
+drop me anywhere that was convenient.”
+
+“But why did they tie you up like this, dear?” asked Wooden.
+
+“Oh, they thought we was playing Blind Man’s Bluff,” said her aunt.
+
+It was all very well for her to take it in this light-hearted spirit,
+and Peggy rather admired her for it. But she must have had a very rough
+time, for her dress was all torn, and her wrists were scarred where
+the rope had bound them. As she spoke she was rubbing them, to restore
+the circulation, and she looked white, and as if she might faint at any
+moment.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Fortunately, there was a little pool of water quite near, and Colonel
+Jim, who showed himself kind and useful in this emergency, filled his
+helmet with water and gave it to her to drink, as she sat on the ground
+again with Wooden kneeling by her side and holding her.
+
+“Ah, that’s better,” she said, smacking her lips, when she had had a
+good drink. “I’ve been looking at that pond and wishing I could get at
+it. Drat that Selim! I wish I could get at _him_! _I_’d mark him.”
+
+She said these last sentences in her usual vigorous way, which showed
+that she was recovering; and when she had rested a little longer, they
+got her story out of her.
+
+“They’d said we was going to be took to the palace,” she said, “and at
+first I didn’t think nothing of going such a long way round. None of
+us didn’t. But by-and-by Lady Grace says, ‘I wonder who’s in the first
+carriage,’ she says. ‘Oh, I’ll soon find that out,’ I says, and I pokes
+my head out of window and hollers out to the driver, ‘Hi, Mister! Who
+have you got in front there?’”
+
+“Was that before or after you had passed the inn where they got some
+water?” asked the Lord Chancellor.
+
+“Never you mind whether it was before or after,” said Wooden’s aunt.
+“I’m telling this story, and I’m going to tell it in my own way.”
+
+This was not very polite of her, but she had been through a great deal,
+and her nerves were in an irritable state. The Lord Chancellor asked no
+more questions, and she finished her story to the end.
+
+She said the coachman told her that it was the King who was in the
+first carriage, and advised her not to put her head out of window again
+as he had orders to hit anybody who did so with his whip.
+
+This seemed such an extraordinary order for him to have received
+that the three dolls in the carriage began to suspect that there was
+something wrong, especially as they had now been driving for a long
+time, and when Wooden’s aunt had put her head out of window she had
+seen that they were getting near the hills, which she recognized. It
+was not exactly observant of them not to have suspected something
+before, but, as you know by now, dolls are apt to take everything that
+happens as a matter of course.
+
+Well, by the time the carriages had reached the top of the hill, the
+three dolls had come to the conclusion that they were being run away
+with. Wooden’s aunt said she wasn’t going to stand that, and was going
+to ask Selim what he meant by it. She said she would jump out of the
+carriage as it was going, and run forward to the first carriage. The
+others said that the coachman would hit her with his whip, but she said
+she would run the risk of his missing her.
+
+Well, as the carriages came to the top of the hill, she opened the
+carriage door quickly and jumped out, and ran forward to the first
+carriage. The driver shouted at her, and gave her a great cut with his
+whip, which unfortunately did not miss her, but hit her in the face,
+where there was still an ugly-looking mark. But she hardly felt it at
+the time, and ran forward to the first carriage, shouting out, “Hi, you
+there, Selim! Come out and show your ugly face!”
+
+Oh, there was no doubt about the pluck of Wooden’s aunt, in spite of
+the numerous faults of her character.
+
+The rest was soon told. Selim had been furious with her, and he and
+Rose had dragged her into the wood and tied her to the tree, and then
+they had gone off. But before they had left her, Rose had stood in
+front of her and laughed her scornful laugh, and said, “That’s for
+calling me Sawdust. Perhaps you’ll be sorry now for crossing the path
+of Rose, who never forgets and never forgives.”
+
+This was one more thing against Rose.
+
+The Lord Chancellor asked Wooden’s aunt if she had any idea where
+the carriages were going, and told her they could not see them on the
+straight road to Dollport. This was the name of the little town by the
+sea, where the dolls landed from “over there.”
+
+“Well, silly,” said Wooden’s aunt, “if they ain’t on that road, of
+course they’re on the other one. It don’t take a pair of specs to see
+that.”
+
+The Lord Chancellor, slightly annoyed at being addressed in this
+fashion, said stiffly, “I should have thought of that if I had been
+given time. We have delayed long enough. Let us at once take the road
+to Dollfort.” Now, Dollfort was the place in which the wooden soldiers
+of Toyland were trained. If Selim had gone there, it looked as if he
+expected the wooden soldiers to be on his side.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+COLONEL JIM ATTEMPTS A RESCUE
+
+
+The road to Dollfort turned to the right at the top of the hill, and
+ran for some way through the wood. When it got to the bottom of the
+hill there was a stretch of open country for about a mile; then there
+was another thick wood on another hill.
+
+There was no sign of the carriages on the straight bit of road, but the
+pursuers had been some time freeing Wooden’s aunt and listening to her
+story, and could hardly have expected to catch them up yet. Wooden’s
+aunt was riding between Peggy and Wooden. She had nearly recovered
+from her disagreeable experience, and was inclined to like being on
+horseback. She said the motion reminded her of being in a small boat on
+a choppy sea.
+
+When they had got about halfway between the two woods, Colonel Jim
+halted them with a sharp word of command. “Women and children behind!!”
+he said, and then ordered his men in front.
+
+It was a good thing that this was done, for as they approached the
+second wood two armed wooden soldiers sprang out of it and levelled
+their rifles at them. They did not fire them, but it would have given
+Peggy and the dolls a nasty fright if they had been riding in front.
+
+The wooden sentries challenged Colonel Jim, riding at the head of his
+little troop, with a “Halt!” and a “Who goes there?” He said “Friend!”
+but they did not say “Pass Friend!” as is the usual custom. They told
+him that the King had recently gone through to Dollfort, and had told
+them that they were to let nobody pass until they received further
+orders from the fort.
+
+Now Colonel Jim engaged in the duties of his profession was quite a
+different person from the amiable but rather slow-witted person we have
+hitherto seen. He didn’t tell the sentries that Selim wasn’t the King
+at all, or engage in any argument with them. He said, “I’m an officer
+of the Royal Body Guard, so your orders can’t apply to me.” Then he
+gave them the password for the day, which, as you remember, was the
+word “pot-plants.”
+
+Now, you must also remember that, although Selim had thought he might
+be followed in his flight, which was the reason why he had given orders
+to the sentries to let no one pass the wood, he could not have known
+that he would be immediately followed by a troop of Household cavalry,
+which is, of course, the special protection of a King or Queen. So he
+had naturally not warned the sentries of this, and as Colonel Jim spoke
+with authority, they were inclined to obey him.
+
+“Well, I suppose it’s all right for you and your men,” said one of the
+sentries, “but what about these here civs?” He meant civilians.
+
+The Lord Chancellor now showed considerable resource. The sentries had
+lowered their rifles, which, strictly speaking, they ought not yet to
+have done, so he pushed his way to the front, and said in an important
+voice, “I am the highest official of this country; this gentleman here
+is the Royal Head Bargeman; this lady is the one the King has asked to
+marry him, and this is her aunt; and this little girl is a human being,
+and therefore doesn’t come under your orders at all.”
+
+“Oh, well, I suppose it’s all right,” said the sentry in a grumbling
+voice. “You can pass through, all of you, and if me and my mate thinks
+it isn’t all right afterwards, why we can shoot after you.”
+
+“Have you got your rifles in order?” asked Colonel Jim in a sharp
+voice. “Let’s have a look at them.”
+
+Because he was an officer, and had spoken in a voice of command, they
+obediently handed him their rifles to look at.
+
+“Thank you,” said Colonel Jim, and handed the rifles to one of his
+men. “Now, you take these two and bring them along with us,” he said
+to another one. The surprised sentries found themselves prisoners, and
+made to walk by the side of the horses, which now proceeded at a foot’s
+pace up through the wood.
+
+So far, all had gone well.
+
+They kept a sharp look-out going through the wood, but saw no more
+soldiers. When they came to the edge of the wood they could see
+Dollfort across the open downs about a mile away.
+
+Dollfort was a very fine toy fort, something like the one Peggy had
+seen driving into Dolltown, but much bigger. There were battlements all
+round it, with gates in them, and on the top of the fort was a large
+citadel. Outside the walls was a little town of dolls’ houses, where
+the families of the wooden soldiers lived. None but wooden soldiers
+occupied this fort, and of course that was why Selim had taken refuge
+there. He would tell them a great many lies and get them on his side.
+
+[Illustration: Dollfort was a very fine toy fort]
+
+The pursuing party remained in the shelter of the wood, where they
+could not be seen from the fort, even with a telescope, but they
+could see the fort themselves quite plainly, and the country that lay
+between. This was all open grass-land, and woolly sheep were feeding on
+it. There were no houses between the wood and the fort.
+
+Colonel Jim at once announced that he was going to take his soldiers
+to the fort and summon Selim to surrender. The Lord Chancellor thought
+this was a dangerous proceeding, but Colonel Jim refused to listen to
+him. “I’m in military command here,” he said, “and that is what I am
+going to do.” No doubt he was in a hurry, not only because of the Queen
+being shut up there, in the power of Selim, but because his dear Lady
+Grace was also shut up there. But he did not say this. He left Mr.
+Noah in charge, and set off with his gallant little band. They watched
+them ride down the hill, and trot across the open road over the downs,
+and very fine they looked on their splendid black chargers, with the
+sun glittering on their helmets and cuirasses, and their white plumes
+waving in the breeze.
+
+The two captured wooden soldiers had had their hands tied, but when
+Mr. Noah told them all about Selim’s wickedness, and about the Queen
+being still alive, they expressed such horror that he allowed them to
+be untied. They said that if the soldiers in the fort knew what had
+happened none of them would be on Selim’s side. They had only been
+prepared to obey him as King because he was of wood, but they were
+loyal to Queen Rosebud, and would be glad to have her reigning over
+them again. They were none of them pleased at the shutting up of all
+the Waxes, who had done them no harm, and rumours had come through
+to Dollfort that not only Waxes but some Woods also had been sent to
+prison, and this had pleased them still less. When the sentries were
+told that Wooden and her aunt had been two of the dolls in question,
+they were very interested, and said that their comrades would never
+fight for Selim, if it came to fighting. Whether this was true or not,
+you will soon see.
+
+They watched the little troop of soldiers get smaller and smaller,
+and at last disappear among the houses outside the fort. Then they
+waited for a long time, while the sheep fed peacefully on the downs in
+the evening sunlight, and no other signs of life could be seen at all
+except the smoke rising from the houses round the fort.
+
+They had finished talking, and had been sitting silent for about five
+minutes, when Wooden’s aunt, whose ears were very sharp, said suddenly,
+“Hark! What’s that?”
+
+Nobody else had heard anything, but almost immediately Mr. Noah said,
+“There are guns firing.” And then Peggy distinctly heard some faint
+pops coming from the direction of the fort.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This was serious, because the life guardsmen had no rifles, but only
+their swords, and if they were being fired upon by the wooden soldiers
+it would be difficult for them to defend themselves.
+
+“Look!” cried Peggy in great excitement.
+
+Just where the houses began, a mile away, there was a flash of sun
+on bright metal, and no sooner had she spoken than they could all see
+that it was on the helmets and breastplates of the soldiers. Then they
+saw the life guardsmen galloping towards them, and directly they had
+got clear of the houses, they saw the scarlet and white of the wooden
+soldiers following them, and heard their guns shooting. But none of the
+horse-soldiers seemed to be hit, and on they came, galloping along the
+road, and on the grass on either side of it. The foot-soldiers came
+running after them, but of course they could not go nearly so fast, and
+presently Colonel Jim and his men galloped up the road into the wood.
+
+By this time the wooden soldiers were about a quarter of the way
+between the fort and the wood. There seemed to be an enormous number of
+them. They had left off firing their rifles, but were coming on at a
+good pace. In not so very long they would reach the wood, and it really
+seemed as if they must capture not only Colonel Jim and his troop, but
+Peggy and the Woodens and all the rest of them. Peggy _was_ a little
+frightened then, for the red and white was coming towards them like a
+great wave, and all the soldiers had rifles, which they would certainly
+use if any resistance were offered to them.
+
+Colonel Jim cast one hurried glance round him. “If we had axes,” he
+said, “we could make a barricade, and keep them at bay until we could
+send for reinforcements. As it is, I’m afraid we must clear out.”
+
+“What, and leave my sister-in-law shut up there!” exclaimed Wooden’s
+aunt. “Never! If nobody else stays, I shall. I’ve got a sharp pair of
+nails, and I can give them a few scratches.”
+
+Now, this was plucky of Wooden’s aunt, and loyal too. She had only
+mentioned Wooden’s mother, but no doubt she had had the Queen in her
+mind as well. But she had left out of account the military situation,
+not knowing much about that sort of thing, and her opinion could not be
+allowed to stand against that of Colonel Jim, who was quite as brave as
+she was, but knew when there was a chance of fighting successfully and
+when it was better to retreat.
+
+“We shall have to go,” he said decidedly. “If they take us prisoners we
+can’t do any more good, but if we get back to Dolltown we can bring out
+reinforcements and take the fort. To horse, all of you!”
+
+The wooden soldiers were now about halfway across the stretch of open
+country. They were not running so fast now, as they must have got
+rather winded with their first effort, but more and more of them were
+coming out of the fort, and it was quite plain that the little band in
+the wood would have no possible chance against them.
+
+They untied the horses and ponies, and were just preparing to mount,
+when Wooden’s aunt said, “Hark! I heard a shout.”
+
+She turned towards the interior of the wood, and they all listened.
+Yes, there was somebody shouting, and they heard the noise of a horse
+galloping furiously, besides. In a moment there came into sight, among
+the trees--who do you think? None other than Peggy’s faithful old Teddy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+THE BATTLE
+
+
+Teddy galloped up to them and threw himself off his horse. One glance
+at the advancing wave of wooden soldiers showed him what the position
+was. There was no time to explain what he had been doing. Every moment
+was of value. “There’s cavalry and infantry coming up,” he said to
+Colonel Jim. “We can make a stand here. Better send one of your men
+back to hurry up the guns.”
+
+But there was no necessity to do this, for as Teddy was speaking they
+could hear the noise of horses trotting along through the wood, and
+almost immediately a lot of lead soldiers made their appearance, and
+came rapidly towards them. They were Lancers, on bright bay horses, and
+very smart they looked with the little flags fluttering at the tops of
+their lances.
+
+The Colonel of the regiment rode at the head of them. He came up to
+Colonel Jim, and saluted. “Just in time, eh, sir?” he said. Colonel Jim
+saluted, too, and said, “Are your men ready for a charge, sir? If so,
+we can keep them off till the guns come up.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Colonel of the Lancer regiment threw one glance at the approaching
+wooden soldiers. There were thousands and thousands of them, and only
+a few of his men could come up at a time, by the narrow road through
+the wood. But odds did not daunt him, and he at once gave the order to
+charge.
+
+The Lancers who had gathered at the edge of the wood immediately
+charged down the hill, shouting and singing in the most gallant
+fashion, the Colonel at their head; and the others who were coming
+up behind quickened their pace and followed them. They spread out as
+they got into the open, so as to charge the whole front of the wooden
+infantry. Colonel Jim held his own little troop back, partly out of
+politeness to the Colonel of Lancers, partly because their horses were
+blown.
+
+It had all happened so quickly that Peggy had not had time to be
+frightened yet. But the noise of the horses galloping and the men
+shouting got louder and louder, and the wooden soldiers had now got so
+near that their shouts could be heard too, as they stood to receive the
+shock of the cavalry. She suddenly shrieked, and clung to Wooden. “Oh,
+they’re not going to kill each other, are they?” she cried. “Do let’s
+go away!”
+
+Wooden soothed her. “Of course they’re not going to kill each other,
+dear,” she said. “Soldiers don’t do that in Toyland. They only knock
+each other down; and whichever side knocks most down wins.”
+
+This relieved Peggy’s fears a little, and in any case she was in the
+thick of it now, and had to see it through. She was really a plucky
+little girl, and by the time the cavalry got to the bottom of the hill
+she had partly recovered from her fright, and did not shut her eyes.
+
+The cavalry rode gallantly at the thick mass of soldiers, with their
+lances levelled, and whenever they hit a wooden soldier, down he went.
+The wooden soldiers fired their rifles at them as they came down the
+hill, and knocked over a few. But the bullets, which were small peas,
+of a kind grown specially for rifle ammunition, were not big enough
+to do much damage against men and horses coming so fast. It was only
+when several bullets hit the same soldier, or his horse, that they were
+knocked over. But the foot-soldiers left off firing and began to use
+their bayonets when the cavalry got amongst them, and then they did
+knock over a large number of men and horses, though not nearly so many
+as the Lancers knocked over of them.
+
+It was most fascinating to watch. The Lancers went on and on through
+the masses of infantry, and wherever they went, down fell heaps of
+wooden soldiers. And when they were knocked down they lay quite still
+on the ground, and took no further interest in the proceedings. But the
+farther in the Lancers went the less they became, as men and horses
+were bowled over in their turn. It was just as if they were being
+swallowed up in the great mass of red and white, and there were so many
+of the wooden soldiers that it soon became plain that in a short time
+the Lancers would all disappear.
+
+Peggy watched the Colonel, who was always in front, fight his way
+steadily on, dealing lightning blows to right and left of him. But at
+last he went down, and the red coats were almost as thick as before,
+and still more were always coming up from the fort.
+
+It was then that Colonel Jim rallied his little troop for a last
+gallant charge. Teddy had galloped back through the wood, while the
+Lancers were charging, to hurry up the guns. He now came tearing back,
+and said to Colonel Jim in a hurried voice, “The guns will be here in
+a couple of minutes. If you can keep them back till then we shall have
+them beaten.”
+
+“I’ll try,” said Colonel Jim, looking at his little troop, which seemed
+almost nothing at all compared to the masses of soldiers advancing on
+them; and then he gave the word to charge.
+
+It was a desperate effort. The shock of the Lancers’ charge had now
+spent itself. The wooden soldiers, who had been kept back by it for a
+time which was short measured by minutes, but of inestimable value to
+the defenders of the wood, were now forming at the foot of the hill.
+If they succeeded in getting to the top of it, the little party in
+the wood would be surrounded and taken prisoners. Could Colonel Jim’s
+handful of men save them?
+
+The troopers were given instructions to form themselves into a line at
+the edge of the wood, and then to charge down the hill all together.
+They rode out of the shelter of the trees, and formed their line with
+as much coolness as if they were on parade. The foot-soldiers began
+firing again, and the bullets pattered on their cuirasses like hail,
+but had no effect upon these heroes, except to sting them up when they
+caught them in their faces, and to make their horses restive. Peggy
+could hear the bullets whistling and pattering amongst the leaves of
+the trees over her head, but she and the dolls had been withdrawn a
+little into the wood. Owing to the angle at which the wooden soldiers
+fired, there was no danger for them as long as the firing was from the
+bottom of the hill.
+
+It took the life-guardsmen a very short time to form into line, and,
+as the wooden soldiers had halted to fire at them, the time was not
+wasted. The moment they were in line, Colonel Jim, who was in the
+middle, slightly in advance of the rest, gave the word to charge.
+
+Down swept the splendid little band, in an irresistible charge. It
+was no good firing at them any longer, and the wooden soldiers stood
+with bayonets fixed to receive the shock. Wooden’s aunt, who had been
+getting more and more excited at what was happening, ran forward to the
+edge of the wood to watch, and Peggy and the others went with her.
+
+The sudden leaving off of the firing made a lull, in which the noise of
+the horses’ hoofs could be heard thundering down the hill. When they
+reached the bottom, the shock of the encounter was just like hammer
+blows, as wood met metal.
+
+The front line of wooden soldiers seemed to waver a little as the
+horsemen approached them. And no wonder! The wooden soldiers were brave
+enough, and they did not yet know that they were fighting in a bad
+cause, so there was nothing to make them cowards. But the first line
+of them, at least, must have known that they would all go down before
+the irresistible charge, and it spoke well for them that they stood and
+waited for it, instead of running away.
+
+It was not only the front line that went down under the weight, but the
+second and third. It really looked for a moment as if that single line
+of heavy cavalry would push the opposing host back all by itself. And,
+so far, not a single man or horse of them had fallen.
+
+But the impetus of the furious charge was bound to spend itself. A
+life-guardsman went down, and then another. But still they struggled
+on, Colonel Jim in front of them fighting desperately, as the Colonel
+of the Lancers had done. It was no longer a line of steel destroying
+everything in front of it as it swept on, but a few scattered horsemen,
+fighting gloriously against overwhelming odds.
+
+But still they did advance, and for every horse and rider that went
+down a score or more of foot soldiers bit the dust.
+
+“They’ll do it! They’ll do it!” yelled Wooden’s aunt, dancing about in
+a state of tremendous excitement.
+
+Teddy, sitting on his horse, was no less excited. “They’re giving way!”
+he cried. And Peggy distinctly saw a quiver run through the mass of
+wooden soldiers, like wind passing over a field of corn.
+
+At this very moment there was a roar and a rumble from the wood behind,
+and the artillery came galloping up, just in the nick of time. A great
+shout was raised, which struck terror into the hearts of the wooden
+soldiers down below. Before the first gun could be unlimbered and
+pointed at them, the great mass of red coats turned and broke. Colonel
+Jim, and all that was left of his little troop, took up the shout, and
+redoubled their efforts. They had it all their own way now. The enemy
+was flying, and not one wooden soldier tried to knock them down any
+more, but only to escape their blows, and get back in safety to the
+fort.
+
+The big guns got to work. One of them was quite near to where Peggy and
+the Woodens were standing. It was quickly loaded with gunpowder and an
+enormous pea. She stopped her ears as it was fired, but the noise was
+not so bad as if it had been a real gun. She distinctly saw the great
+pea fall in the middle of the fleeing army, and then go bowling along,
+knocking over lots of soldiers before its force had spent itself.
+
+[Illustration: The big guns got to work]
+
+Orders soon came, however, for the artillery to cease firing. More
+regiments of cavalry were coming up through the wood. As they arrived
+they were sent down to pursue the wooden soldiers, and also to ride
+round them, and cut them off from the fort. There was no necessity to
+knock down any more of them. If they were surrounded they would be
+obliged to surrender, and this would come to the same thing. The guns
+would be wanted to reduce the fort, and, until further supplies of
+ammunition came up, they did not want to waste it.
+
+It was a pretty sight to see the cavalry galloping over the downs,
+outflanking the flying red coats, and presently getting between them
+and the fort. But a good many wooden soldiers who had only got a little
+way out when the rout began had already succeeded in making their way
+back. There would be plenty to defend the fort, if Selim should decide
+to try to hold it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+THE SIEGE
+
+
+The great contest that would be known in the history of Toyland as the
+Battle of the Downs had been fought and won. But Queen Rosebud was not
+yet set free, and Selim was not yet captured. There was still stern
+work to be done. Dollfort must be taken at all costs, and as it was one
+of the strongest forts in the country that would be no light matter.
+
+The affair, however, was set in hand at once. The artillery limbered
+up and galloped down the hill and trotted across the downs, making a
+fine show. There were about twenty guns--quite enough to make a breach
+in the walls. But when they had done so, infantry would be required
+to pour in through the breach and complete the work that the guns had
+begun. The cavalry had already done their share, and would not be of
+much use for this task For in the valiant army of Toyland it was not
+customary to use horse-soldiers apart from their horses.
+
+But Teddy, who seemed to have thought of everything, had asked for
+infantry to be sent from Dolltown, as well as cavalry and artillery,
+and almost as soon as the guns had thundered off down the hill the
+first detachment of foot-soldiers came up through the wood.
+
+If they had had to march from Dolltown they could not have been there
+in time; but all the available conveyances had been used to bring
+them up. The first lot arrived in toy motor-cars, and then followed
+carriages and cabs and carts in quick succession, until quite enough
+men were there to overcome any resistance the fort might make.
+
+Peggy, and the little group of civilian dolls watched the first
+regiment form up and march away towards their task at Dollfort. It was
+a regiment of wooden soldiers, and the Lord Chancellor said he thought
+that was a mistake, as they would not like fighting against their
+own sort. But Teddy, who came up to say a word to them now and then,
+laughed at this. “They are all loyal,” he said. “So will the soldiers
+at Dollfort be, when they know the truth.”
+
+There was certainly no lack of eagerness shown by this fine regiment,
+as it marched down the hill with its flag at its head. Peggy was
+interested to see Captain Louisa marching with one of the companies. He
+had said that his men would follow him anywhere, and she was glad to
+see that he was prepared to fight on the side of the right.
+
+When the first regiment had marched off, Teddy came up to them and
+said, “I think we might go now. You’d like to see the guns knock the
+fort down, wouldn’t you?”
+
+Peggy said she should like it very much. She had always liked playing
+with her boy cousin with his soldiers, and this was just like one of
+the battles and sieges that they had arranged, only on an enormous,
+glorious scale. Since she had seen that there was no horrible
+bloodshed, but only fair and square knocking down, from which none of
+the soldiers would be much the worse afterwards, she had ceased to feel
+any alarm at the fighting, and was quite ready to see some more of it.
+
+They rode across the downs towards Dollfort, and now Teddy had time to
+tell them how he had so luckily been able to bring up the troops, and
+spoil Selim’s little game.
+
+He had been galloping along the road after the two carriages and must
+have nearly caught them up, when he had met Japhet, Mr. Noah’s third
+son. He had been just about to pass him with a wave of the paw, when
+Japhet had stopped him, and told him some most important news.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now Japhet was a mild-mannered, studious young man, whose great hobby
+was the collection of wildflowers, which he pressed in a book. Whenever
+he was off duty on the royal Ark, he used to wander about the country
+picking flowers. Sometimes he went alone, and sometimes with a friend,
+who shared the same tastes. This friend was also in the royal service.
+In fact, he was none other than the driver of the carriage in which
+Selim had run away with Queen Rosebud. Japhet had made arrangements to
+meet him that very evening on the road between Dolltown and Dollfort,
+and have a good long ramble with him.
+
+It was fortunate that it was just on this road that Japhet had arranged
+to meet his friend. Of course, if he had not come, Japhet would have
+known that it was because he was on duty; but he would not have known
+where he was going.
+
+As the carriage passed, Japhet waved to his friend, and asked him where
+he was going. His friend said “Dollfort.” They both spoke under their
+breaths, making great movement with their mouths, and the driver also
+made a movement with his head towards the carriage behind him, and said
+in the same way, “I’ve got the old man with me.” This was how these two
+talked to each other about Selim, and was not meant for disrespect, as
+they would not have done it in public.
+
+Teddy said, “Are you sure he said Dollfort and not Dollport?”
+
+Japhet said he was quite sure, because he had jerked his thumb to the
+right, where Dollfort was. If he had meant Dollport, he would have
+pointed straight ahead.
+
+Then Teddy had seen it all. Selim was not going to try to escape by
+sea, with Queen Rosebud, but was going to rouse the wooden soldiers
+of Dollfort, and perhaps try to get the kingdom back with their help.
+So Teddy turned sharp round, and rode back to Dolltown--but not along
+the road by which he had come--leaving Japhet standing there in
+considerable surprise.
+
+When he had told his story, the Lord Chancellor asked him why he had
+not come back and told them what he had found out. He was annoyed about
+it. “If it had not been for our own extreme cleverness,” he said, “we
+might have gone off on a false scent to Dollport, and not known where
+they had gone to at all.”
+
+Teddy grinned up at him rather impudently. “You wouldn’t have been much
+loss,” he said. “I knew it would take you about a month to start, if
+you started at all; and I wanted to take the short cut to the barracks.
+There was no time to be lost.”
+
+“It’s as well you did,” said Mr. Noah. “The troops only came up just
+in the nick of time. Five minutes more, and the enemy would have been
+entrenched in the wood.”
+
+As they rode across the downs, they passed heaps of soldiers lying on
+the ground, most of which were wooden soldiers of the attacking party;
+but some were men and horses of the Lifeguards and the Lancers. None of
+them were much damaged, but they hated lying there and doing nothing,
+and implored to be picked up.
+
+But they were told that there wasn’t time for that. The ambulance corps
+would be sent out as soon as possible, and they must wait for that.
+The only soldier they did pick up was the Colonel of Lancers, who rode
+along with them, very glad for his horse to be on its feet again. He
+was proud of the charge that his regiment had made, but would not take
+any credit for his own share of it. He said that he had only done his
+duty as a soldier should.
+
+When they arrived at the houses in front of the fort, the guns had
+already got to work. The cavalry had gone into the streets, and told
+all the inhabitants to come away, as in five minutes their houses were
+going to be knocked down. It was necessary to destroy them, in order to
+have a clear range at the walls of the fort, and as our little party
+came up the dolls’ houses of the town were toppling down in dozens as
+the guns fired at them. All the poor dolls who had been told to leave
+them were gathered in a body on a low hill to the right, watching
+the destruction of their homes, and it was sad to hear the wails and
+lamentations that arose from them; for they had not had time to bring
+anything away. Perhaps their possessions were not worth very much, but
+still, a home is a home to those who live in it. Be it ever so humble,
+there is no place like it, as the song says, and it was not nice for
+these poor people to see their homes knocked down by great peas as big
+as wardrobes. However, the houses would all be put up again as soon as
+the siege was over, and the poor dolls would not be any the worse off.
+
+[Illustration: All the poor dolls were gathered in a body]
+
+The hill on which the refugees were crowded was out of the line of
+fire, and our party went there to watch what was going on.
+
+It was not quite such an easy matter to reduce the fort as it first
+appeared. For one thing, the walls had been built to resist such
+attacks, and would be more difficult to demolish than the houses
+outside them. And for another thing, the artillery did not have it all
+its own way. There were, of course, guns in the fort itself, and they
+were already doing great damage to the attacking forces. The shooting
+was not quite so good as it might have been, and the artillery-men in
+the field were very clever in moving their guns about quickly, so that
+whenever they had fired they would move away to a new position, and
+the guns in the fort always had to be finding new ranges.
+
+Still, one field-gun after another was put out of action, and now there
+were only about half of them left to do the work.
+
+The situation was as follows. The houses in the way had all been
+knocked down, leaving the battlements of the fort open to attack, but
+it had cost half the artillery to do it. Would the other half be enough
+to make a breach in the walls, through which the infantry could pour
+in and do their work, before they were put out of action, too? And
+supposing they did, would enough infantry arrive in time to do the
+pouring in? It was touch and go, as all the episodes of this great
+battle had been.
+
+As for the infantry, the wooden regiment in which Captain Louisa served
+had already come up, and was resting under cover waiting till the time
+came for it to make its attack. And across the downs were marching more
+regiments, all of lead soldiers. Yes, the infantry would be ready, if
+the guns could do their work in time.
+
+The artillery now changed its tactics. The time had gone by for moving
+about and firing guns singly. They would never make a hole in those
+stout walls, unless all of them fired at one place together. This then
+was what they had to do. It was costly, because when once the guns of
+the fort had found the range, they could knock them all out pretty
+quickly. But it was the only way.
+
+The Colonel of Lancers explained all this very politely to Peggy, and
+she watched with breathless interest this exceedingly important phase
+of the battle.
+
+There was silence from the field artillery while the guns were all
+being trained on to one place in the walls. But the guns from the fort
+redoubled their efforts. One of them had the good luck to find the
+range immediately. The moment the field-guns had galloped up to the
+position that had been decided on, a great bullet came bounding along
+and knocked one of the batteries down. Then the others found the range.
+The field-guns were pointed and loaded wonderfully quickly, but before
+any of them could actually fire, five of them had been knocked out.
+Just as the order to fire was given, two more were knocked out. So the
+great blow was only delivered by three guns.
+
+They might just have done it if the balls had all hit exactly the same
+spot in the walls. Two of them hit it exactly, but the third went a
+little wild. Peggy distinctly heard them hit the wall. There was a
+little fall of masonry and a cloud of dust. When this cleared away,
+she looked eagerly for a hole in the wall. But no hole was there. Those
+frowning battlements stood as whole and nearly as strong as before.
+
+Immediately afterwards the remaining field-guns were put out of action
+by the guns of the fort. The artillery attack had failed, and a
+tremendous cheer arose from the soldiers who were crowding the walls of
+the fort watching the Homeric contest.
+
+But their cheering soon died away, for this was not the end of it. What
+followed happened so quickly that Peggy could not afterwards remember
+exactly how it did happen. But almost before she could draw breath the
+wooden regiment which had come up first was charging towards the fort
+with lusty shouts. Shots from the guns in the fort mowed them down in
+long lanes, but still they charged on. They swarmed over the ruins of
+the houses, and reached the very walls of the fort; and when they got
+there they began swarming up the walls themselves, just like flies.
+
+It was a most gallant assault. They were under shelter from the guns
+of the fort, but the soldiers on the battlements could reach them,
+and made great havoc in their ranks. They climbed up on each other’s
+shoulders, but directly one of them reached the top he was knocked
+down, and then the next one was knocked down, and sometimes a whole
+line of men was toppled over.
+
+But there were always more to take the place of those who fell. A
+regiment of lead soldiers came dashing up to help them, and then
+another and then another still. The advantage of numbers was on the
+attacking side now, but the advantage of position was very much with
+the soldiers of the fort, and it seemed impossible that anybody should
+ever succeed in climbing over the top of the wall.
+
+But a lot of sharpshooters were told off to aim at the soldiers who
+were manning the walls, and they did their work very cleverly, picking
+them off one by one. The guns of the fort were trained on them, and
+they went down in large numbers, but they imitated the tactics of the
+artillery, and never fired twice from the same spot; and gradually they
+made an impression. There came a moment when the soldiers on the top of
+the wall did not seem quite so thick as before. And when that moment
+came there was a great shout from the regiments below, and from the
+onlookers. For at last a soldier attacking the wall scrambled on to the
+top of it.
+
+They saw him stand for a second laying about him at the defenders, and
+then he went down. But not before two or three more had climbed over.
+
+After that it was quickly finished. More and more soldiers reached
+the top, until presently the defence almost ceased, and the defendant
+forces were driven away from the top of the walls altogether.
+
+Another shout went up when the great gate in front of the fort was seen
+slowly to roll open. And then the gallant soldiers ceased climbing up
+over the wall, and poured in through the gate, to finish the work that
+had been so splendidly begun.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+SELIM IS CAPTURED
+
+
+The final reduction of Dollfort would have taken longer than it
+actually did if the citadel at the top of it had not been closed for
+spring cleaning. Selim and Rose would certainly have taken refuge
+there, and would have been defended by those that remained of the
+wooden soldiers. The citadel was very strong, and it might not have
+been possible to take it by assault at all. They might have had to
+starve it into surrender, and that would have taken a long time.
+
+However, by a lucky chance, the commander of the fort, who was rather
+fussy, had said the day before that he couldn’t have the place
+looking like a pig-sty, and it was to be thoroughly cleaned out and
+white-washed. This was being done when Selim drove into the fort, and
+the fighting had followed so soon that there had been no opportunity of
+putting the citadel into any sort of shape to resist attack.
+
+Soon after the fort was taken, Peggy and the others were allowed to
+ride into it through the gateway that had been opened by the attacking
+party. As they came into the first narrow street of the fort a wooden
+officer was standing by the gate. It was none other than Captain
+Louisa, who saluted his old friends, and said he was very glad to see
+them there.
+
+Another officer who was standing with him, patted him on the back, and
+said, “You haven’t told them that it was you who was first over the
+wall.”
+
+“That was nothing,” said Captain Louisa modestly. “I was only doing my
+duty as a soldier should.”
+
+They congratulated him heartily on his gallant feat of arms. He had
+said nothing about it himself, but it was plain that he was pleased
+at having it known to them. Peggy had thought it rather boastful of
+him when he had said in Wooden’s drawing-room that nobody would do his
+duty as a soldier better than he should, but it had turned out to be
+quite true. Wooden said how pleased his wife would be to hear what he
+had done, and his friend said that he would be made a Major for it, or
+perhaps even a Colonel.
+
+They got off their horses at the entrance to the fort, for the streets
+were too narrow and steep to let them ride any more.
+
+Dollfort was an old-fashioned though a very powerful fort. There were
+houses and shops in the narrow streets, and as they went up through
+them they saw the soldiers taking refreshment in the inns, which were
+rather foreign-looking, and made Peggy think of the places she had seen
+in France.
+
+The two sides had already made friends again, and Leads and Woods were
+eating and drinking at the same tables, and talking in an eager way
+about the glorious fight they had had. That is the best of a toy army.
+When one side wins, the other side bears no malice, and of course the
+regiments that have fought each other today may very well be fighting
+on the same side tomorrow.
+
+The ambulance corps had already finished its work inside the fort, and
+was on its way out to the soldiers still lying on the downs. All the
+defenders of the fort who had fallen had been picked up again, and, to
+judge by the merry noise they were making, were none the worse for the
+experience.
+
+Captain Louisa and his friend walked up through the streets with them,
+and Peggy was interested to learn that the friend, whose name was
+Lieutenant Napoleon, belonged to a regiment which had defended the
+fort. He was very indignant at what he had heard about Selim. “Still,
+it was a good thing we didn’t know what a rascal he was,” he said, “or
+we shouldn’t have had this glorious scrap.”
+
+That was the spirit of all the soldiers who had been fighting. They
+often had sham battles, but this had been a real one, and they had
+thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the knocking down of the houses
+outside the fort. They would not have been allowed to knock them down
+in a sham fight.
+
+The exciting and interesting thing now was to find Selim and Rose, and
+get to know where they had hidden the Queen and Lady Grace and Wooden’s
+mother.
+
+Lieutenant Napoleon told them that the two carriages had come driving
+quickly into the fort, and the King had put his head out of the window
+of the first and told the sentries to close the gates, and to send the
+Commander of the fort to him at once at the Busby Arms, which was the
+chief inn in the place. Then they had driven into the courtyard of the
+inn, and the gates of that had been closed too.
+
+[Illustration: The chief inn of the place]
+
+The commander of the fort was General Wellington-Vera. He was an
+uncle of Lieutenant Napoleon’s, and had taken his wife’s name upon
+marriage, as is the custom in Toyland. General Wellington-Vera was a
+brave and capable officer, and had hurried at once to the King, as
+of course he thought him, to take his orders. These were that the
+fort was to be stoutly defended to the last man and the last ounce of
+powder, against a cowardly and treacherous attack that would shortly
+be made upon the King’s life by the lead soldiers of Dolltown, who
+had revolted. That was what Selim had told him, and of course he had
+believed it.
+
+Orders had quickly been given out that every man should be found at his
+post. Then General Wellington-Vera had made up his mind that he would
+not wait to be attacked, but would himself attack first; and Selim had
+approved of this. The result had been as we have already seen, and we
+need not go over the same ground again.
+
+Lieutenant Napoleon was his uncle’s aide-de-camp, and had been by his
+side during the greater part of the battle and the siege. He was now
+free for a time, because the General, who was an old man, had been
+somewhat exhausted by his exertions, and had gone home to lie down.
+He said that his uncle had told him nothing about any ladies being
+with Selim. He had talked to him in a room alone. In fact, Lieutenant
+Napoleon was surprised to hear that there were any ladies there at all,
+and still more surprised to hear that one of them was Queen Rosebud.
+He had known by this time that she was alive, and that Selim was a
+usurper, but not that he had tried to run away with her.
+
+“We ought to find them at once,” he said. “I am in command here as long
+as uncle is lying down, and I shall be pleased to put myself at your
+disposal.”
+
+They went first of all to the Busby Arms. The gate of the courtyard was
+still shut, and Lieutenant Napoleon banged on it with the hilt of his
+sword, and called out that if it was not opened at once he would give
+orders for it to be blown up with gunpowder.
+
+“You had all better take shelter,” he said, as he was waiting for a
+reply. “They might try sniping at us. I don’t mind for myself, but I
+shouldn’t like to see any of you hit.”
+
+So they went behind a wall, all except Colonel Jim and the Colonel of
+Lancers and Captain Louisa, who, being soldiers, scorned to shelter
+themselves, and waited with Lieutenant Napoleon.
+
+But there was no occasion for alarm. The gate was soon opened by the
+innkeeper, who had been terrified by the bombardment of the fort,
+especially as one of the cannon balls had fallen into the garden behind
+the inn and broken a cucumber frame.
+
+The innkeeper was as shocked as all the rest when he heard how wicked
+Selim had really been, and very surprised at being told that one of the
+ladies who had come in the carriage with him was Queen Rosebud.
+
+“She must have been the one they said was ill,” he said. “Her head was
+all covered up when they brought her in. They asked for a cup of tea
+for her, so I went down into the kitchen myself, because, you see, the
+girl what----”
+
+“Never mind about all that,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Where are they
+now? Take us to them at once.”
+
+But alas! the innkeeper could only tell them that they had gone.
+
+“The King,” he said--“well, I suppose I mustn’t call him that now--but
+Selim, he went out with the General when the firing began, and soon
+after he’d gone the ladies must have slipped off. That’s how I think
+it must have happened. Anyhow, when I went up to tell them about my
+cucumber frame they’d gone, and I haven’t set eyes on them since.”
+
+They did not waste much more time at the inn. They set out to make
+a thorough search of the houses in the fort, under the direction of
+Lieutenant Napoleon, who now showed himself very zealous on the scent.
+
+There were not, after all, a great many hiding places. It was only in
+the lower streets of the fort that there were shops and houses. Above
+that there were only barracks and defence works, and the citadel at
+the top of all.
+
+None of the soldiers whom Lieutenant Napoleon questioned had seen
+anything of Selim since the taking of the fort. Up to that time he had
+been with General Wellington-Vera, overlooking the defence, and many of
+them had seen him. Of the Queen, and the other lady dolls, nobody had
+seen anything, from first to last.
+
+“The only thing left is to search the citadel,” said Lieutenant
+Napoleon. “I don’t suppose they are there, but I don’t see where else
+they can be.”
+
+So they set out, and climbed the steep streets up to the top of the
+fort.
+
+As they went up, they met a lot of female dolls coming down with pails
+and mops and brooms. These were the char-dolls who had been cleaning up
+the citadel, and it speaks well for their sense of duty that they had
+not left off their work during the bombardment. But they were all wives
+of soldiers, and had been trained to do their duty, whate’er befell.
+
+Peggy was interested in these dolls, who were chattering away at a
+great rate, and anxious to know what had been happening while they were
+busy. But, being wives of soldiers, they were too well disciplined to
+ask questions of the officers, and nobody took much notice of them
+except Peggy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+They were mostly dressed in print gowns, but some of them wore big
+cloaks, because the evening was beginning to get a trifle chilly. Peggy
+noticed in the crowd of them two who had the hoods of their cloaks
+right over their heads. One of them was very tall, but was bent, as if
+she had rheumatism. She had the arm of the other one, who was carrying
+a pail, and they were talking with their heads close together, but not
+speaking to anybody else.
+
+They had just passed, rather quickly, when an idea suddenly sprang into
+Peggy’s mind. She clutched at Wooden’s arm, and said, “Look at those
+two! I believe they are disguised.”
+
+It was the remembrance of Colonel Jim’s cloak when he had got in to
+them in the House of Cards that had made the idea come into her head.
+And perhaps the same connection of ideas made Colonel Jim himself
+sharper than he generally was; for the moment Peggy had spoken he
+called out to the char-dolls to stop.
+
+Most of them, being well disciplined, stopped at once, at the word
+of command, but the two in cloaks went on, as if they had not heard,
+slightly quickening their pace, but not running.
+
+That was enough for Teddy. He sprang after them. “Here, you two!” he
+said. “Let’s have a look at your faces. I’m sure you’ve no reason to be
+ashamed of them.”
+
+They began to run. But Teddy ran after them, and put his foot in front
+of the tall one, who tripped and fell sprawling in the road. Teddy tore
+off the cloak, and disclosed, not an inoffensive char-doll like the
+rest, but the gross form and sinister features of the rascally Selim.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE LAST
+
+
+There lay the villain who had worked such mischief among the simple and
+generous inhabitants of Toyland, and, above all, to their noble Queen,
+who had loaded him with benefits. He lay on the muddy road, blinking
+and scowling at his captors, well knowing that his game was up and his
+doom would soon fall. He was a sorry spectacle, in his discovery and
+disgrace. It was checkmate for him finally, and no further move was
+left to him.
+
+As for the chief partner in his crimes, who had tried to escape with
+him--the renegade Composition doll Rose, who had so completely failed
+to obey the natural instincts of upright dollhood--it was easy enough
+to recognize her in the other cloaked figure, when once Selim’s
+disguise had been torn from him. It was Wooden’s aunt who sprang
+forward and snatched the cloak away from Rose. “So here you are, my
+beauty!” she exclaimed exultantly. “Got you at last! And if you try to
+get away I’ll scratch your eyes out.”
+
+But Rose made no effort to get away. She did not cower before them, as
+the wretched Selim did. He made no effort even to rise from the ground
+until Lieutenant Napoleon called up two soldiers to seize him and hold
+him fast. But Rose drew herself up to her full height, and flashed
+scorn upon her captors from her dark eyes. There was something grand
+in her, in spite of the wickedness of her behaviour, but it was not
+the sort of grandeur that it does anybody any good to admire. The only
+thing that can be said about her is that with such a bold character
+it is a pity that she had not used her powers to do right instead of
+wrong. Then they might have led her to great heights. As it was, they
+had brought her down to ruin.
+
+They questioned her as to what had been done with the Queen and the
+other dolls who had been carried off; but she would answer them
+nothing. Her contemptuous look seemed to say, “You may do what you like
+with me, and I shall only go on despising you. But you will get nothing
+out of me, so it is waste of time to try.”
+
+The wretched Selim, however, was more amenable to pressure. “If you
+will let me free to go away,” he whined, “I will tell you everything.”
+
+“Give him a twist of the arm,” said Lieutenant Napoleon, “and see if
+that will make him tell us. He isn’t going to be let free.”
+
+One of the soldiers screwed Selim’s arm, not very hard, because it
+wasn’t necessary. Directly he felt the slightest pain, Selim gave way
+at once. “Oh, don’t hurt me!” he cried out--the wretched, cowardly
+creature! “They are in the citadel--quite safe and comfortable. I might
+have executed them all, but I haven’t touched a hair of their heads.”
+
+“Bring the prisoners along with us,” said Lieutenant Napoleon. “We will
+go up to the citadel at once.”
+
+They mounted to the top of the fort. The citadel was a great barrack
+of a place, with one fine hall, and a regular hive of smaller rooms,
+besides the fortified works. If it could have been used for a final
+defence of Dollfort there would have been room in it for lots of
+soldiers, and everything would have been there to enable the defenders
+to support a long siege. But it had all been cleared out. The courtyard
+inside the gates was encumbered with furniture, and even the guns had
+dust-sheets over them. The great hall and the lower rooms had all been
+thoroughly cleaned, but the char-dolls had not reached the upper rooms
+yet, and it was to one of these that Selim, who was now eager to tell
+everything, led them.
+
+He had locked the door, and thrown away the key out the window, as he
+was obliged to confess, but it did not take long to break it open.
+Colonel Jim, who was the biggest and strongest of them all, and who
+was very anxious to rescue Lady Grace as quickly as possible, put his
+shoulder to the door and gave one mighty push, and it flew open.
+
+The room was very small. It had a narrow, barred window, and the only
+furniture in it was a low bed and a wooden chair. It was, in fact, a
+prison cell, used for locking up soldiers who had committed offences.
+And this was the place in which Selim had locked up the unfortunate
+Queen, and the other two dolls, without any food or even water.
+Supposing he had escaped, as he had hoped to do! They would have stayed
+there all night, and could only have been released if they had managed
+to attract the attention of the char-dolls who would come to the
+citadel the next morning.
+
+Colonel Jim was not very quick at understanding things, as we have
+seen, but he understood this directly his eyes took in what was inside
+the door he had burst open. He turned round and gave Selim a violent
+buffet on the side of his face, which made the miserable creature cower
+away and cry out. He had still to be punished for his crimes, but this
+first instalment of his punishment made everybody feel better.
+
+Queen Rosebud was sitting on the chair with her hands on her lap,
+the picture of stately patience; Lady Grace and Wooden’s mother were
+sitting on the bed, and it was evident that Lady Grace had been crying.
+
+The Queen rose slowly from her chair. “I wish to be taken away from
+this place,” she said.
+
+She was very royal, even under the dreadful circumstances in which she
+found herself, and after all she had gone through. The Lord Chancellor
+advanced towards her and bowed very low. “If your Majesty will deign to
+lead your loyal subjects to the great hall,” he said, “justice can be
+done at once on these malefactors, and in the meantime preparations can
+be made for your Majesty’s convenience for the night. It will be too
+late to go back to your Majesty’s Capital until tomorrow.”
+
+The Queen simply said, “Come, Lady Grace,” and walked out of the
+cell. The wretched Selim tried to draw her attention to himself with
+a whining prayer for mercy, as she passed him. But she took not the
+smallest notice. She did, however, make a slight inclination of the
+head towards Peggy, as she passed her; and Peggy felt proud and
+honoured, just as if it had been a real Queen who had taken notice of
+her. But it cannot be too often repeated that Queen Rosebud was _like_
+a real Queen, in all her ways and in all her deeds.
+
+They went into the great hall, and a seat was brought for the Queen at
+the top of it. All the rest of them stood. Selim, between two soldiers,
+and Rose, between two others, were brought up before her.
+
+The Lord Chancellor cleared his throat, as if it lay with him to open
+the proceedings, but he was a very different Lord Chancellor before
+Queen Rosebud from what he had been in the Hall of Audience before
+the usurping Selim. When the Queen held up her hand he stopped his
+preparations for speech at once, and listened respectfully to what she
+had to say.
+
+She spoke slowly, in a low musical voice, and every word she said could
+be heard plainly by everybody in the great hall.
+
+“King Selim is to be taken at once to the coast,” she said, “and put
+into a boat, with oars and a sail, and enough food for several days. He
+is to row or sail away from my kingdom, and never to come back here. If
+he does so, he is to be executed. Take him away.”
+
+That was all, and she waited for her commands to be carried out before
+speaking again. She had given the miserable creature his title. He was
+a King, though not King of Toyland. He had been cast on the shores of
+her island destitute and solitary, and had been right royally treated.
+And he had repaid her as we have seen. But she made no accusation
+against him. He was simply to be sent away.
+
+The wretched being was led off by the two soldiers who had guarded him.
+He went without a word. He knew that his life had been most mercifully
+spared, for he could row or sail to land in a few hours, or be picked
+up by a ship. Let us hope that he felt some compunction for his many
+crimes. He passed out of the hall between the two guards, the great
+door clanged after him, and he was seen no more.
+
+The Queen’s face changed as she turned towards Rose. Selim was a
+foreigner, and in getting rid of him she had done all that she needed
+to do. But Rose was her own subject, and must be dealt with in a
+different fashion.
+
+“As for you,” she said, “you must stand your trial according to the
+laws of the land. If you choose to stand it now, with me for your
+judge, you may do so. Say whatever you please in your own defence, and
+I will listen to you. If not, I wash my hands of you, and you will be
+sent to prison to await your trial by jury.”
+
+It was an extraordinary act of clemency for the Queen to deal with
+Rose’s case herself, and no doubt Rose knew that she would get more
+merciful treatment than if her crimes were left to the judgment of a
+jury of dolls, who could not help being furious with her for what she
+had done.
+
+But all she said, in a voice of scorn, was, “Oh, try me now, and finish
+it. I have done what I have done, and I wish I had succeeded. As I’ve
+failed, do what you like with me.”
+
+The Queen looked at her with her calm, steady gaze, and Rose’s eyes
+dropped before it. “I am more sorry for you than you are for yourself,”
+the Queen said. “I know that you have been led away by spite and
+jealousy, and those are feelings that cause great unhappiness to
+whoever possesses them. It is your misfortune that you have those bad
+qualities, but it is in your power to conquer them. It is my hope that
+you will succeed in doing so. Go! You are free.”
+
+The guards on either side of Rose fell away from her. She stood staring
+at the Queen with wide eyes, as if she could hardly believe what had
+been said to her. Then she realized that she was free, to go where she
+liked, and that she was not to be punished at all. She covered her face
+with her hands and burst into tears, and then hurried away out of the
+hall. Her proud and rebellious spirit would not have quailed before any
+punishment that might have been meted out to her, but the punishment
+would have left her no better than she had been before. But the free
+pardon, which she could never have expected, had broken her down. It
+was to be hoped that she would really repent of her bad ways now, and
+be a better doll than she had ever been before.
+
+When Rose had left the hall, the Queen’s face lightened. “All that is
+left for me now,” she said, “is to thank such of my subjects as have
+been so active and successful in setting me free from the plots that
+have surrounded me. And first of all, I must thank the dear little
+girl who is not my subject, but has come here on a visit to find us in
+trouble that is now at an end. She must come again. That is the only
+way in which I can reward her.”
+
+She smiled graciously and sweetly at Peggy, who felt extraordinarily
+pleased.
+
+Then she turned to Wooden. “You have always had my respect and
+liking,” she said, “and I had intended to have appointed you today to
+a post of honour about my person. I do so now, under the title of
+Lady-in-Waiting in Ordinary, and Extra Bed-doll of the Royal Chamber.
+Your duties will bring you into constant relationship with me, and I
+look forward with pleasure to making you my friend.”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It was most graciously said, and Wooden was so overcome with pride and
+pleasure that she could only stammer out her thanks, and promise to
+perform her duties as well as ever she could.
+
+The Queen then called for a sword. Colonel Jim handed her his, and to
+his great surprise she knighted him with it, and then conferred the
+same honour upon Teddy, who was even more surprised, as he was the
+first bear in Toyland who had ever received it.
+
+[Illustration: She conferred the same honour upon Teddy]
+
+When she had done this, she rose from her seat, and intimated that she
+wished to retire for the night, but before doing so she said a few
+gracious words to all who were in the hall. She said with a smile to
+Colonel Jim that she hoped soon to know him under the title of Sir Jim
+Lady-Grace, which was a happy way of saying that she would forward a
+marriage between him and her favourite lady-in-waiting. And she told
+Teddy, who was so overcome with the honour that had been conferred on
+him that his customary flightiness had departed for the moment, that
+she thought he ought to get married too, and she should always be
+pleased to welcome to her Court Sir Teddy and Lady Bear-Wooden’s-Aunt.
+
+It may readily be guessed into what a flutter this suggestion put
+Wooden’s aunt. While the Queen was talking to her, and hearing about
+her having been tied up to the tree by Selim and Rose, she was quiet
+and respectful. But directly the Queen’s back was turned, and Teddy
+came up to her with a grin to see whether she liked the idea of
+marrying him, she cut a caper, and Teddy cut another, so that Wooden’s
+mother had to remind them both that they would belong for the future to
+the Upper Ten Thousand, and must learn to behave themselves.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The shades of evening were beginning to close in as the Queen left the
+hall, and suddenly Peggy began to feel as if she had had a very long
+day, and would like to go to sleep in her own little bed at home, if
+only she could get there. She began to wonder if it would be necessary
+to go over again all the long journey between Toyland and her home, and
+turned to ask Wooden how they were to get back.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But as she turned, the hall and all the dolls in it seemed to be fading
+away, and as she opened her mouth to speak----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+She awoke, to find herself lying in her own little white bed, with dear
+Wooden in her arms, and Teddy with his impudent face lying on the
+pillow, pointing one paw towards the open window, into which the happy
+morning sun was shining.
+
+[Illustration: FINIS]
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Note:
+
+Minor errors and omissions in punctuation and spelling have been fixed,
+otherwise the text has been left in original condition, except for the
+below
+
+Page 126: “to use pass-word” changed to “to use the pass-word”
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEGGY IN TOYLAND ***
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+<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Peggy in Toyland, by Archibald Marshall</p>
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+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
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+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Peggy in Toyland</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Archibald Marshall</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Helen M. Barton</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 14, 2022 [eBook #68749]</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
+  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Amber Black and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p>
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEGGY IN TOYLAND ***</div>
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+<a href="images/cover.jpg">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" class="w50" alt="" /></a>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="title-page bbox">
+<h1>PEGGY IN TOYLAND</h1>
+
+<p class="center p4">BY</p>
+<p class="center mb25">ARCHIBALD MARSHALL</p>
+
+<p class="center small mt0">Author of “Exton Manor,”<br />
+“Sir Harry,” etc.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><i>ILLUSTRATED BY<br />
+HELEN M. BARTON</i></p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="title">
+<img src="images/title.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<p class="center p2 b2">NEW YORK<br />
+DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY<br />
+1920</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<p class="center small b2">
+<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1920,</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, Inc.</span>
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<p class="center">
+TO</p>
+<p class="center">KATHLEEN ANN</p>
+
+<p class="smaller center b2 mt0">I DEDICATE THIS STORY<br />
+WHICH WAS BEGUN FOR HER MOTHER<br />
+KATHLEEN NOEL</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc small">CHAPTER</td><td></td><td class="tdr small">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">I</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Introduces Peggy and Some of Her Friends</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#I">1</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">II</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Peggy’s Surprising Adventure Begins</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#II">16</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">III</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Royal Ark and the Bad Behaviour of Wooden’s Aunt</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#III">31</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IV</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Momentous News is Brought by a Dutch Doll</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#IV">46</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">V</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Arrival at the Royal Palace of Dolltown</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#V">59</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VI</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">King Selim Holds an Audience</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#VI">74</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VII</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">They All go to Prison</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#VII">90</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VIII</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Peggy Bathes a Baby and has a Surprise</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#VIII">107</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IX</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">They Discuss a Plan of Escape</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#IX">124</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">X</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Peggy Talks to a Royal Prisoner</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#X">137</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XI</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Release of Peggy and Wooden</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XI">151</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XII</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Peggy Stays in a Real Dolls’ House</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XII">165</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIII</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Dolls Talk It all Over</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XIII">176</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIV</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Escape</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XIV">190</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XV</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Pursuit</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XV">203</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVI</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Colonel Jim Attempts a Rescue</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XVI">216</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVII</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battle</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XVII">227</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVIII</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Siege</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XVIII">238</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIX</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Selim is Captured</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XIX">252</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XX</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Last</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#XX">264</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="r65" />
+
+<p class="center p2 b2">
+PEGGY IN TOYLAND
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<p class="center vbig"><b>PEGGY IN TOYLAND</b></p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="center" id="I">I
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">INTRODUCES PEGGY AND SOME OF HER FRIENDS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">Peggy was just eight years old. She had very long rather straight hair,
+blue eyes, a dear little pudgy nose, and a small mouth. She lived with
+her father and mother in a nice house in the country with a big garden
+round it. It was about five miles from the sea, and she was sometimes
+taken there in the motor-car, to paddle and to play on the sands.</p>
+
+<p>The place she used to go to had only one house near it. This was a
+large bungalow belonging to some friends of Peggy’s father and mother.
+It was built right on the beach, but there was a little lawn beside it,
+and on the edge of the lawn were two wooden figures that had been once
+figure-heads of ships. They were both ladies, and it was difficult to
+tell whether they were old or young, because one of them had had her
+nose broken off, and the other had lost every bit of paint<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span> off her
+face. But there was something agreeable in the appearance of both of
+them, and Peggy used to think she would have liked to know them when
+they were leading a more active life, perched up in the very front of
+the ships to which they belonged, and travelling over the sea to all
+sorts of strange places. But they still looked over the sea, which was
+better than being broken up and burnt, with the rest of the ships; and
+of course they always looked in one direction, straight across the
+water to the big Island on the other side of it.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy had never been to the Island, and when she was playing on the
+sands she would sometimes look at it, and wonder what it was like
+there. She could see a little town and a little church, and a few
+houses scattered about among the hills; and she wondered what sort of
+people lived in them.</p>
+
+<p>Well, when she was eight years old she found out, and she also got to
+know a good deal more about the two wooden ladies of the bungalow. What
+she found out was so remarkable that it is doubtful if any little girl
+has ever seen anything like it before, and I am going to tell you the
+story of it.</p>
+
+<p>But before I begin I must say this: that if Peggy had not had a kind
+heart she would never have found out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span> anything. I do not mean to say
+that she was never naughty; but she was never naughty in that most
+horrid of all ways, by being cruel or unkind. She had several pets—two
+rabbits and four guinea-pigs, a bantam cock and hen, two white pigeons,
+and a kitten, which she liked best of them all. If she had once been
+cruel to any of these pets, just to see what they would do, it is quite
+certain that she would never have been taken to the Island. And if she
+had made fun of old people or poor people, she would never have gone
+either, because that is an extremely unkind and horrid thing to do.
+But Peggy had never done any of these things, because she was a really
+kind little girl, and if something horrid inside her whispered: “Now,
+just be a little bit cruel,” she was almost as much ashamed of it as if
+she had really been cruel, and she never listened to the whisper for a
+moment. So when she was eight years old she was taken to the Island in
+the extraordinary way I am going to tell you about.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy had a good number of toys, and amongst them two dolls, which will
+now engage our attention.</p>
+
+<p>The elder of the two was a wooden doll, which she had had for some
+time, and the story of this doll is rather interesting.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img01">
+<img src="images/img01.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">When Peggy was five years old she had a doll given<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span> her called Rose.
+Rose was well-dressed, in clothes that would come on and off; and
+rather a nice hat came with her. But somehow Peggy could not get
+to like her much. She took her about everywhere for quite a week,
+undressed her every night and dressed her again every morning, and
+sometimes gave her a bath,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span> but not with water in it, because her body
+was stuffed, although her head was composition. She also took her out
+in the new pram that had been given to her at the same time, and put up
+the hood if it was sunny. In fact she did everything that a nice little
+girl could to make Rose feel that she had come to a kind and loving
+home.</p>
+
+<p>But at the end of a week she didn’t feel that Rose really loved her.
+Most little girls know dolls like that. You may do all you can for
+them, and they don’t seem to appreciate it at all. Well, Rose was one
+of those dolls.</p>
+
+<p>One morning Peggy went out with her nurse, and took Rose with her
+in the pram. They went down through the village, and along the road
+on the other side, and presently they came to a cottage where a lot
+of children lived. Their mother was not very kind to them, and so
+they were not very kind to each other, but were always fighting and
+squabbling.</p>
+
+<p>One of these children was a girl a year older than Peggy, called Mabel,
+and just as Peggy and her nurse came up to the cottage they saw Mabel
+banging the head of an old wooden doll on the hard road.</p>
+
+<p>Now children and dolls are sometimes naughty, and must be corrected,
+but their heads should never be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> banged against anything hard. There
+are plenty of ways of correcting them without doing that, and every
+nice mother knows it. Peggy knew it as well as anybody, although she
+was a year younger than Mabel;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> so directly she saw what was being done
+she cried out to her nurse how cruel it was.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img02">
+<img src="images/img02.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">Mabel stopped beating the wooden doll’s head against the road, and
+stared at Peggy, and at Rose, who was sitting in the pram; and she must
+have fallen in love with Rose at first sight, because her face became
+quite different when she looked at her.</p>
+
+<p>While Mabel was looking at Rose, Peggy was looking at the wooden doll;
+and the more she looked the more her heart went out to her. She was
+not what you would call a beautiful doll, and perhaps never had been.
+One of her legs had been amputated at the knee, one of her arms at the
+shoulder, and the other at the elbow. Her face was round and open; so
+were her eyes. Her nose was gone. The less said about her hair the
+better; she would never need another shampoo. She was dressed in a
+loose frock of spotted red flannel, tied round the waist with an old
+piece of black hair-ribbon.</p>
+
+<p>Such was this doll, who was destined to play so large a part in Peggy’s
+life, as she first saw her; and it may seem odd to some people that she
+should instantly have loved her. Perhaps being such a kind little girl,
+and feeling so dreadfully sorry to see the doll so badly treated, had
+something to do with it; but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span> it could not have been only that. No,
+there was something about this wooden doll which made Peggy love her at
+once, and when you have read this story, perhaps you will be able to
+understand what it was.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy told Mabel that she ought not to knock her doll’s head on the
+road, and Mabel pointed at Rose, and said: “If I had a doll like that,
+I wouldn’t want to knock ’er ’ead on the road.”</p>
+
+<p>It was then that the idea first came to Peggy that she would much
+rather have the wooden doll than Rose; and she asked her nurse if she
+might give Rose to Mabel, and ask Mabel to give her the wooden doll
+instead.</p>
+
+<p>Nurse said: “The idea of such a thing!” and told Peggy to come on. Of
+course she was right not to let Peggy exchange dolls there and then,
+because she didn’t know whether Peggy’s mother would like it. But
+where she was wrong was when she said, “Fancy wanting to exchange a
+beautiful doll like Rose for an ugly old wooden thing like that!” She
+didn’t understand that what she called beauty had nothing to do with it
+at all. You don’t love a person for their looks, but just because you
+can’t help loving them. And Peggy was quite right to love the wooden
+doll more than Rose, as afterwards turned out.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, Peggy’s mother understood these things better than the
+nurse. The end of it was that Peggy was allowed to give Rose to Mabel,
+with all her clothes except the hat, which had come on the same
+birthday as she had, but had not belonged especially to her. And Mabel
+gave Peggy the wooden doll, but without its red flannel dress, which
+Peggy’s mother thought might contain germs.</p>
+
+<p>Now that the wooden doll belonged to Peggy she had to give her a name.
+She called her Daffodil, because the daffodils were out in the garden
+when she came. But the name never stuck to her. She was always called
+Wooden in the family circle; and presently it was forgotten that she
+had ever had any other name.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing that happened to her was that she underwent an
+operation for restoring the limbs that were lost. It was a serious
+operation, and she was under chloroform for about a week. The
+chauffeur, whose name was Herbert, performed the operation, and when
+it was over Wooden had two arms and two legs just like everybody else.
+One of the legs sometimes came off at the knee, and both arms at the
+elbows. But Herbert, accustomed to making quick repairs, was always
+ready to perform other minor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> operations, and Wooden was seldom without
+her full number of limbs for long together.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden went through the usual illnesses, and was carefully nursed by
+Peggy. Perhaps she suffered rather more than most dolls, but Peggy’s
+father was a doctor, and there was always help at hand if anything
+serious happened. And of course Peggy knew more about cases, and
+nursing, than other little girls whose fathers were not doctors. Wooden
+had whooping-cough, croup, mumps, scarlet-fever, chicken-pox, measles,
+German-measles, swollen glands, general debility, bronchitis, typhoid,
+and lung trouble, all in the ordinary way. For some little time she
+was a spinal case, and had to be kept on her back. But she was always
+good and uncomplaining through her ailments, and Peggy loved her more
+because she was a trifle delicate than if she had always been in robust
+health.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, the longer Peggy had Wooden the more she loved her. She played
+with her more than with her other dolls, and Wooden was always the one
+she took to bed with her. Peggy had a large Teddy bear, which she also
+loved and took to bed with her. But there could be no jealousy between
+Wooden and Teddy, because they were so different. If Peggy sometimes
+dressed Teddy up in a jacket and skirt belonging to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span> Wooden, it was
+always treated as a joke. As a rule he went about with nothing on but
+his own thick fur.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img03">
+<img src="images/img03.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">Peggy had a large Teddy bear</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Wooden had all the clothes of Peggy’s dolls’ wardrobe to wear, if they
+fitted her, and was better dressed than most dolls. And as everybody
+liked her when they once came to know her, she had plenty of things
+given her as time went on. When Miss Clay came to the house for a week
+or two to sew, she would generally make something for Wooden out of
+the material left over. Once she made her a purple velvet jacket, and
+once a tailor-made skirt. As for nightgowns, and petticoats, and things
+like that, trimmed with lace, and sometimes with pink and blue ribbon,
+Wooden was so well supplied that Peggy’s father said her laundry bill
+was becoming quite a serious item. So it will be seen that Wooden was
+very much better off than when she had belonged to Mabel, and had only
+had one red flannel dress.</p>
+
+<p>We now come to the other doll of Peggy’s, of whom mention has been made.</p>
+
+<p>Her name was Lady Grace. She came on Peggy’s eighth birthday, and was
+really a beautiful doll, as everybody who saw her bore witness. She had
+been born in France, although she herself was English, and the clothes
+that came with her were finer than any of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> Wooden’s. Her face was wax,
+and she had beautiful hair. Her eyes opened and shut, and she had the
+sweetest little hands and feet, with pink toes and fingertips.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy loved her at once. This was not altogether because of her beauty,
+for Rose had been beautiful—though not so beautiful as Lady Grace—and
+Peggy had never been able to love Rose at all. There was something
+about Lady Grace which made Peggy feel that she must look after her and
+pet her. And she never felt, as she had felt with Rose, that all her
+petting was of no use. Lady Grace might not say much, but she showed
+that she was grateful to Peggy for all the care she took of her by
+being always sweet and good; though she was, as I have said, rather
+helpless.</p>
+
+<p>Now, although Peggy loved Lady Grace from the first, it must not be
+supposed that she loved Wooden any the less. It was just as it is with
+children. When a new baby comes, the mother adores it, but she loves
+her other children just as much as she did before.</p>
+
+<p>But, just at first, it must be confessed that Wooden had rather less
+attention; and if she had not been so sensible she might have felt
+jealous. I don’t think she did, or she would have told Peggy so
+afterwards. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> probably knew exactly how things were, and that, when
+Lady Grace had been made to feel quite at home, her turn would come
+again.</p>
+
+<p>Well, one night when Peggy went to bed, she took Lady Grace and Teddy
+with her, and left Wooden on the top of a chest of drawers with all her
+clothes on. And then Wooden might have felt a little sad, because it
+was the first time that such a thing had ever happened to her; and she
+might have begun to wonder whether, after all, Peggy loved her quite as
+much as she had done before.</p>
+
+<p>But fortunately for this story, which might not otherwise have been
+written, as you will presently see, soon after Peggy had been tucked
+up and left to go to sleep, she remembered that she had not undressed
+Wooden. So she called her nurse, who was in the next room with the door
+a little open, and asked her to give Wooden to her.</p>
+
+<p>The nurse would not let her have two dolls in bed with her. Teddy
+didn’t matter because he was so soft. So Peggy asked her to put
+Lady Grace in the dolls’ cot, and give her Wooden instead. She felt
+dreadfully sorry that she had forgotten about Wooden, and wanted to
+make it up to her. Lady Grace would have to get used to sleeping in the
+cot some time or other,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> and Peggy thought she might just as well begin
+now.</p>
+
+<p>So Peggy went to sleep hugging Wooden in her arms; and Teddy lay on his
+back on the pillow on the other side of her, with one paw stuck up in
+the air and the rest of him under the bedclothes.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by the nurse came in to look at her, and then went to bed in the
+next room. Then her father and mother came in and kissed her, but she
+did not wake up. Then the house became quiet and dark, and everybody in
+it was fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>And then things began to happen.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img04">
+<img src="images/img04.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="II">II
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">PEGGY’S SURPRISING ADVENTURE BEGINS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">Peggy was awakened by the noise of a motor outside. It sometimes
+happened that her father had to go out at night, and she heard the car
+start off. But she generally went to sleep again as soon as ever the
+noise had died away.</p>
+
+<p>But this time the car, instead of standing throbbing for a few minutes
+before the door, and then starting off down the drive and leaving
+everything as quiet and still as before, seemed to be coming nearer and
+nearer. In fact, it seemed as if it was being driven right into the
+room, and made such a noise that Peggy opened her eyes. And when she
+did open them, she opened them very wide indeed, for the car <em>was</em>
+in the room, standing right at the foot of the bed. And who should be
+driving it but Teddy, whom she had last seen lying on the pillow by her
+side?</p>
+
+<p>And that was not nearly all, for everything was changing all
+around her. The apple-blossoms on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> wall-paper had become real
+apple-blossoms, and were dancing in a bright spring breeze; the ceiling
+had melted away into blue sky; and suddenly the little birds that had
+been sitting in a long row on the bough which ran round the top of the
+paper flew up all together and filled the air with their singing.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img05">
+<img src="images/img05.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">The apple-blossoms on the wall-paper had become real
+apple-blossoms</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Peggy sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. When she looked again there
+was Wooden standing by the side of the bed, smiling at her.</p>
+
+<p>“Get up, dear,” said Wooden in the kind and gentle voice that Peggy had
+known she would speak in if she ever spoke at all. “I am going to take
+you to Toyland.”</p>
+
+<p>Teddy spoke at the same moment. He waved a paw in the air and said,
+“What ho! What larks!” and sounded his motor-horn.</p>
+
+<p>Now the moment that Wooden and Teddy spoke, Peggy left off being
+surprised altogether. Everything seemed quite natural, and she jumped
+up full of pleasure at the idea of an adventure.</p>
+
+<p>The moment her feet had touched the floor, lo and behold! she was fully
+dressed, in a clean blue over-all, with her outdoor shoes and her big
+straw hat trimmed with daisies. Her face and hands were washed, her
+nails scrubbed, and her teeth cleaned; and her long<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> hair, which was
+always plaited for the night, was brushed and tied up with her blue
+ribbon.</p>
+
+<p>“Come along, dear,” said Wooden, taking her hand. “We must start at
+once. Are you quite ready, Lady Grace?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said a soft, musical voice. Peggy looked towards the
+dressing-table, and there was Lady Grace pinning on her hat. She came
+and kissed Peggy. “I am sure you will like Toyland, dear,” she said,
+“and it is a great honour to be taken there.”</p>
+
+<p>Both Wooden and Lady Grace seemed to be grown up all of a sudden, and
+ready to take care of Peggy, instead of her taking care of them. Lady
+Grace had on the beautiful French clothes in which she had come, and
+Wooden was dressed in her purple velvet jacket and her grey tailor-made
+skirt. She wore the straw hat that had come at the same time as Rose,
+and looked very nice altogether, but a little different, because her
+nose was now perfect, and her face and eyes and hair had got all their
+colour back. She had a wonderfully kind and simple expression of face,
+and Peggy felt that it would be quite safe to go anywhere with her.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img06">
+<img src="images/img06.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">Teddy was also life-size. Peggy had always known that he was of a very
+cheerful nature, for his face<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> had always seemed to be laughing at some
+joke. But he seemed to be rather forward in his manners, for as Lady
+Grace kissed Peggy he said with a sort of crow,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> “What ho, girls! You
+jump up and sit alongside me, my lady, and we’ll have a nice little
+chat as we go along.”</p>
+
+<p>“Be careful, Teddy,” said Wooden in a warning voice.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I’ll be careful all right,” said Teddy encouragingly. “Oh, what
+larks we’re going to have!”</p>
+
+<p>Lady Grace got up in front of the car, and Peggy and Wooden behind. It
+was not Peggy’s father’s car, but a toy one which had been given to
+her. But it was now big enough to hold all four of them comfortably.</p>
+
+<p>Teddy sounded his horn and gave a whoop of joy, and the car drove
+straight out of the bedroom into the garden, though how it got there
+from her nursery on the first floor Peggy could never remember.</p>
+
+<p>Now, although it had been winter when Peggy went to bed, and the
+thermometer on the pergola outside had registered two degrees of frost,
+it had suddenly become the most delicious spring and summer weather
+combined. When Peggy saw the garden she clapped her hands with delight.
+Never was seen such a blaze of colour. Everything was out at once—all
+the trees, and all the shrubs, and all the flowers. The house was
+smothered in roses and honeysuckle and clematis. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> daffodils were
+dancing in the grass. The rhododendrons and azaleas flamed against
+the green of the darker shrubs. Every flower in the long border was
+in full bloom, from the scarlet anemones of the early spring to the
+yellow sunflowers and Michaelmas daisies of the late autumn; and so
+were the lilacs, white and purple, the guelder roses, the syringas,
+the may-trees and laburnums, the pink almond, and the Pyrus Malus
+Floribunda, which was Peggy’s favourite tree, though she never quite
+got its name right. There were thousands of blooms in the rose garden;
+the climbing roses trained over the pergola were as gay as gay could
+be; and even the newly-planted nut-walk had grown twelve feet in a few
+hours, and made a shady green tunnel through which you could see the
+park beyond.</p>
+
+<p>But there was not much time to take in all the wonders of the garden,
+for Teddy whirled them through it in no time, out into the road and
+down to the village. The car seemed to be going faster than Peggy’s
+father’s big new one, but it travelled so easily and so smoothly that
+Peggy, who was a little nervous of motors going very fast, said, “What
+a nice drive we’re having!” As they passed the clock over the Abbey
+gateway the hands were pointing to twelve o’clock, and Peggy, who
+could of course tell the time, knew somehow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> that it was really twelve
+o’clock at night, and not twelve o’clock in the daytime, although the
+sun was shining with all its might. And as they turned and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> drove up
+the village street all the windows had their blinds down, and there
+were no people about.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img07">
+<img src="images/img07.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">“Where are we going?” Peggy asked.</p>
+
+<p>“We are going to Toyland,” said Wooden. “We all go there every night
+when people are asleep, and it is a lovely place; I am sure you will
+like it, dear. And I must tell you that it is very seldom we are
+allowed to take little girls there. When you were so kind to me, and
+rescued me from Mabel, I told the Queen about it, and asked if I could
+bring you. And she said that if you went on being kind to me for three
+years and a week I might bring you; but if you once grew tired of me
+and neglected me, the three years and a week would have to begin all
+over again. You can’t think how I have been looking forward to it,
+dear. Yesterday I was able to tell the Queen that you had never once
+neglected me, and Lady Grace said the same. She is one of the Queen’s
+ladies-in-waiting, and she thinks a deal of her. So the Queen said, ‘I
+shall be very glad to see such a nice little girl. Bring her tomorrow.’”</p>
+
+<p>When Wooden told her this Peggy remembered that she had not been
+<em>quite</em> so attentive to Wooden since Lady Grace had come, and
+wondered what would have happened if she had left her to sleep on the
+chest of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> drawers with all her clothes on that very night. It would
+have been too awful if she had had to begin the three years and a week
+all over again, after so nearly getting through it once.</p>
+
+<p>But Wooden did not refer to that at all, and Peggy felt grateful to
+her, and took hold of her hand and squeezed it. And Wooden squeezed
+Peggy’s hand in return, and smiled at her and said again, “Toyland is a
+wonderful place. I am sure you will like it.”</p>
+
+<p>When they had passed through the village Teddy took the road towards
+the sea. He drove very well, and talked all the time to Lady Grace,
+sometimes leaning towards her and saying something in his gruff, hearty
+voice, and sometimes throwing his head back and laughing loudly.
+Lady Grace seemed to be receiving his attentions kindly, but Wooden
+looked a little anxious, and leant forward sometimes and joined in the
+conversation.</p>
+
+<p>“Lady Grace is engaged to Colonel Jim of the Lifeguards,” she explained
+to Peggy. “The Queen takes a great interest in the young couple, and I
+promised her that I would give an eye to Lady Grace. The Queen trusts
+me, you know, dear.”</p>
+
+<p>“Shall I see the Queen?” asked Peggy. “What is she like?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span></p>
+
+<p>“She is not very well,” said Wooden sadly. “I don’t know whether you
+will be able to see her, but I hope so.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is the matter with her?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“Well they told me last night at the Palace that they were afraid she
+had a mump.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is that?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, you know all about that, don’t you? You have had mumps
+yourself—several of them. If a doll has more than one it is generally
+fatal. But I quite hope that the Queen has not got any; and if she is
+better I am sure she would like to see you. You asked what she was
+like. Well, she is wax, of course, and she is about a hundred years
+old, or perhaps a thousand, or a million, but quite as beautiful as
+ever. She was one of the first wax dolls ever born, and they made her
+Queen because they admired her so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is there an elective monarchy in Toyland?” asked Peggy, who had got on
+quite a long way in history.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden did not seem to understand the question fully, but she answered
+in her soothing voice, “No, dear, all the animals are tame; you need
+not be afraid of any of them.”</p>
+
+<p>They drove on towards the sea, and when they got<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span> within sight of it
+Peggy cried out, and clapped her hands with pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>For the sea was full of boats crowded with dolls all going to the
+Island. It was the prettiest sight. There were hundreds of toy yachts
+with their white sails, steam-boats and motor-boats and clockwork boats
+and rowing boats, and even boats made of paper, and walnut shells. The
+sun was shining brightly on this gay scene, and the water was as calm
+as possible, so that there was no chance of anybody being seasick.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, they are all going over to the Island!” said Peggy. “Are we going
+there, too?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes,” said Wooden. “The Island is Toyland; I forgot that you
+didn’t know that. That is where all the dolls live. Those who are
+finished with your world live there always, and the others go there
+every night. At least it is night with you, but of course it is day
+with us. And when it is day with you it is night with us.”</p>
+
+<p>“Like Australia,” suggested Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, dear,” said Wooden. “I like it very much.”</p>
+
+<p>“But if you go to Toyland every night, and it is day there, you never
+have any real night at all,” said Peggy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No, dear,” said Wooden reflectively. “I suppose not.”</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the shore Teddy turned to the right. “Are we going to
+the Bungalow?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“That is where we shall set sail for Toyland,” said Wooden. “And, you
+know, I have two relations there.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy could not think what she meant for the moment. Then she
+remembered the two wooden figure-heads, and asked Wooden if they were
+her relations. Wooden said they were. One was her mother and one was
+her aunt. “I’m sure you will like mother, dear,” she said. “Aunt has
+wonderful high spirits, and doesn’t always behave as she ought, through
+picking up sailors’ ways. But she says herself she never did no harm to
+nobody, so we must overlook it.”</p>
+
+<p>It was well that Wooden had given Peggy this warning about her aunt, or
+Peggy might have been rather surprised at her behaviour when the car
+drew up before the grass-plot by the Bungalow. The two figure-heads,
+now full length and moving about freely, were waiting for them, and
+when she saw them coming Wooden’s aunt gave a loud screech and rushed
+forward<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> to meet them, but caught her foot on a root of gorse and fell
+full length in front of the car.</p>
+
+<p>Teddy very cleverly stopped the car at once, or he might have run over
+her. Then he jumped down and lifted up Wooden’s aunt, who was not hurt
+at all, but screeched with laughter again. Teddy seized her round the
+waist and waltzed up and down the grass with her, kicking up his legs
+and being very silly. Peggy was surprised to see him going on like
+that, but Wooden’s aunt seemed to enjoy it thoroughly, and when he had
+finished she sat plump down on the grass, with her legs sticking out in
+front of her, and simply roared with laughter, and said, “Lawks! you
+<em>are</em> a one!”</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Wooden had introduced Peggy to her mother, who was as
+fresh as paint could make her, but had a weather-beaten look, too, and
+a husky voice, owing to her having taken so many sea voyages that the
+fog had got into her throat. She said that she was very pleased to see
+Peggy, because she had heard a lot about her, and when they got on to
+the boat they must have a nice long talk.</p>
+
+<p>“Aunt seems in very good spirits today, mother,” said Wooden, looking
+at her doubtfully as she was being danced about the grass by Teddy.
+Wooden’s aunt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> was really being rather common, and Wooden would not
+like Peggy to think that her relations were common.</p>
+
+<p>Just at that moment Wooden’s aunt sat down on the grass in the rather
+vulgar way already described, and Wooden’s mother said to her sharply,
+“Now, Polly, do adone now, and remember what company you’re in. Get up,
+and come and be introduced to the little lady.”</p>
+
+<p>So Wooden’s aunt came and shook hands with Peggy, and gave her a
+smacking kiss, which tasted of salt. “Dear little precious! Bless her!”
+she said in quite a kind voice, which made Peggy like her a little
+better. “Lawks, Maria! <em>She</em> ain’t one to mind a body having a bit
+o’ fun.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img09">
+<img src="images/img09.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="III">III
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE ROYAL ARK AND THE BAD BEHAVIOUR OF WOODEN’S AUNT</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">Lying tied to one of the groins, which seemed to have widened out into
+a sort of pier, was a rakish-looking clockwork steamer, with a red hull
+and a broad white line above it, all very smart and clean.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, it’s my very own steamer,” cried Peggy, “just as it was when it
+was new, only much bigger.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, dear,” said Wooden. “We use it every night to take us across to
+Toyland. You didn’t know that. You will see all your other toys when we
+get across, and some of them are coming with us.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is the man who shoots pennies into my money-box coming?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” replied Wooden. “He is the Queen’s head game-keeper. He shot the
+three china hares that stand on the nursery mantelpiece. He shot them
+with the sixpences you got out of the Christmas pudding.”</p>
+
+<p>The steamer and the pier beside it were now crowded with doll sailors
+and doll passengers preparing to take<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> the journey across the water
+to Toyland, and the road along the beach in both directions was full
+of dolls hurrying to the various starting-places. Every row of piles
+along the shore had turned into a pier, and scores of boats were moored
+alongside them, in which dolls were embarking.</p>
+
+<p>But still they came, from north, east, and west. Many of them were in
+motor-cars, others were packed into wooden carts, the babies were being
+wheeled in prams, and many were walking. Some way off Peggy saw a troop
+of lead soldiers riding down to the shore on black horses, and they
+looked very fine with the sun shining on their helmets and breastplates.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Grace shaded her eyes and looked at them, too, and Wooden said to
+her, “Lady Grace, I believe that is Colonel Jim’s regiment.”</p>
+
+<p>Teddy turned round and grinned at them, and said, “What ho, girls!”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden said sharply, “Now behave, Teddy, and don’t let’s have any
+byplay.”</p>
+
+<p>They all embarked in the toy steamer, and Peggy was pleased to find
+her own sailor doll acting as captain of it. Very well he did it, too,
+standing on the bridge and shouting his orders down a tube, while the
+steamer was loosed from the quay and started off<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> at a splendid pace,
+making a hundred knots an hour across the blue calm water.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img10">
+<img src="images/img10.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">It was a delightful voyage, pleasanter even than the motor drive had
+been. The sun was shining so brightly, and every one seemed so pleased
+to be going to Toyland. They could hear the dolls laughing and singing
+from the other boats, which were all round<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> them. On one of them was
+a toy piano with five notes, on which a gentleman doll with long hair
+was playing a tune so difficult that you would never have thought it
+possible if you had not heard him.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s mother and aunt went forward and stood in the bows of the boat
+as she drove across the sea. They sniffed the salt breeze with rapture,
+and their brightly-coloured faces glistened in the sunshine. “This,”
+said Wooden’s mother, “is Life!” And Wooden’s aunt enjoyed it so much
+that until they came to the other side she said nothing vulgar or
+common.</p>
+
+<p>But the moment the steamer began to move, although the water was as
+smooth as it could possibly be, Teddy became as green as pea soup and
+rushed downstairs to the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>“He’s always like that, poor fellow,” said Wooden. “I suppose it comes
+from being a bear. He will be all right when we get to the other side.”</p>
+
+<p>Very soon the voyage was over, and the toy steamer came alongside a
+quay carpeted with red felt. There were many other landing stages
+all along the shore, at which other boats were landing their doll
+passengers; but the steamer was the only one which came alongside this
+special quay. It was decorated with flowers and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> flags, and round it
+stood a row of wooden soldiers, with shiny black bearskins, red coats,
+and spotless white trousers. They lined three sides of the square, and
+looked very smart, all of exactly the same height, and all standing at
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden seemed to be rather embarrassed as the steamer made fast
+alongside this gaily decorated quay. “This is the royal quay,” she said
+to Peggy. “Only the Queen uses it. There must be some mistake.” And she
+asked the captain why they were landing there.</p>
+
+<p>“Orders, ma’am, orders,” said the captain briefly, touching his cap.</p>
+
+<p>“I expect,” said Lady Grace, “that it is to do honour to our little
+visitor.” She put her hand on Peggy’s shoulder and smiled at her.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s honest face beamed with pleasure. “Now, I do call that kind of
+Her Majesty,” she said, “very kind indeed.”</p>
+
+<p>The wooden soldiers all presented arms as Peggy stepped off the steamer
+between Lady Grace and Wooden, while Wooden’s mother and aunt followed
+them, and Teddy came up from below no longer looking green, but quite
+cheerful again and grinning all over. One of the soldiers let off
+his gun by mistake.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> He had only lately joined the regiment, and did
+not quite understand the words of command. The captain of the wooden
+soldiers boxed his ears soundly, and nobody took any further notice
+of the episode, which, however, had far-reaching effects, as will
+presently appear.</p>
+
+<p>Directly the party had landed, a band struck up and led the way along
+a broad carpeted passage, which was also lined on one side by wooden
+soldiers. On the other side was the water, for the royal quay was at
+the mouth of a broad river, and a little farther on was another quay
+towards which they were going. And here Peggy saw an extraordinary and
+pleasing sight.</p>
+
+<p>There was a large, gaily decorated Noah’s Ark lying at the second quay.
+At each end of the house on the Ark was a big platform. The one in
+front was shaded by a gaily striped awning. There was also a carpet on
+it, and big pots of flowers, and comfortable chairs and little tables.
+On the platform at the back stood <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah in a long yellow robe, and
+<abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah in a blue robe. <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah had taken off his black shiny hat,
+and was bowing low, as Wooden and her party approached the Ark.</p>
+
+<p>But the most curious thing of all was the long line<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> of animals that
+were standing two and two along the towing-path by the river. They were
+all in charge of the rest of <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah’s family, and were harnessed
+to the Ark, which they were evidently going to pull. There were two
+elephants and two camels, giraffes, zebras, cows, hyenas, leopards, and
+a lot more, all much the same size; and at the head of the procession
+were two antelopes. Hovering round the Ark were a great number of
+birds—wild geese, and rooks and parrots and peacocks and canaries and
+budgeree-gars and others, all flying in pairs.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img11">
+<img src="images/img11.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">On the platform at the back stood <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah</p>
+
+<p class="p2">“The Queen’s own Ark,” said Lady Grace. “It must have been sent down
+for somebody. I wonder who.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think it could be for a specialist?” Peggy asked. “They do send
+for them, you know, if anybody is ill.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I do hope her mump isn’t worse,” said Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>“I expect it’s sent down for me,” said Wooden’s aunt, with her vulgar
+laugh. “She knowed I was coming all right.”</p>
+
+<p>“Now, Polly, behave,” said Wooden’s mother. “<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah are
+looking at us.”</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah advanced to the side of the Ark and bowed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> to Wooden. “I have
+been ordered to bring the Ark down for you and your party,” he said. “I
+hope we shall have a nice trip up the river.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden turned to Peggy with a pleased smile on her face. “Now that is
+an honour,” she said. “I am so pleased, dear. It is a most lovely ark
+inside.”</p>
+
+<p>Then she asked <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah how the Queen was, and he shook his head and
+was just going to tell her how the Queen was when Wooden’s aunt gave a
+wild whoop, and picking up her skirts ran along the quay, kicking her
+feet out in front of her, and shouting, “Come on, girls! Here’s larks!”</p>
+
+<p>And I am sorry to say that Teddy joined her, and they danced up the
+quay together and rushed down the bridge from the bank to the ark,
+jostling each other and quite spoiling everything by their behaviour.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh dear, oh dear!” said Wooden’s mother in a vexed voice, “Really,
+Polly does carry on something awful.”</p>
+
+<p>But <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah only laughed and said, “I like a little fun sometimes.”</p>
+
+<p>Then he led the way to the platform in the front of the ark, and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Noah walked by Peggy and said to her, “I like your face very much. I am
+sure we shall be friends.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span></p>
+
+<p>The captain of the wooden soldiers now gave some words of command, and
+all his troops fell into their places ready to march alongside the
+ark. <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah blew a whistle, and his sons made themselves very busy
+unfastening ropes, pushing the ark out into the river, and getting
+ready to start the animals. <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah blew his whistle again when the
+ark was clear of the shore, and with a great deal of shouting and
+cheering, the procession of animals started off, and pulled the ark at
+a good pace up the river.</p>
+
+<p>It was a very pleasant journey. The air was warm and the sky was
+blue. All the different animals that were pulling the ark were very
+interesting to look at, and the birds that flew in couples overhead
+were very pretty, too, and sang most melodiously.</p>
+
+<p>They had not travelled very far before a smart servant doll in cap and
+apron came out of the house in the ark, and said, “Would you like to
+take a little light refreshment?”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt instantly jumped up from her chair and said, “I’m always
+ready for my grub.” Then she pushed in front of all the others and
+rushed into the house in the most vulgar and objectionable manner. And
+again, I am sorry to say, Teddy followed her.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img12">
+<img src="images/img12.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">Wooden blushed with annoyance at the behaviour of her relative, and
+Wooden’s mother said in an angry voice, “It is really too much. But
+please don’t think because she is my daughter’s aunt that she is
+my sister. Quite the reverse. I wouldn’t own her. My poor brother
+married much beneath him. He was a wooden Scotchman of irreproachable
+character, outside<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> a tobacconist’s shop, and a perfect gentleman in
+every way.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy smoothed the wounded feelings of Wooden and her mother, and said
+it didn’t matter. “I think I had better say a word to Teddy,” she said.
+“He is not behaving nicely.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, she leads him on,” said Wooden’s mother, who was still very much
+annoyed.</p>
+
+<p>“Teddy has always been flighty, for a bear,” said Wooden. “I haven’t
+liked to say anything, dear, but I think it would be a good thing if
+you were to speak to him. He would pay attention to you.”</p>
+
+<p>When they got inside the house of the ark they found a most beautifully
+furnished apartment, with big windows on either side, through which the
+scenery on the banks of the river could be observed as they went along.</p>
+
+<p>On the table was spread a most sumptuous repast. There was a dish of
+chicken, consisting entirely of wishing-bones; there was a pudding made
+of one gigantic chocolate cream; there were little baby bananas growing
+on a live tree in the middle of the table; there were sandwiches of
+toast and butter and watercress and blackberry jam and potted prawns,
+all mixed up together in the most ingenious manner, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> very seductive
+to the palate; there was a birthday cake and a wedding cake; there was
+a jelly that tasted of violets and another that tasted of carnations;
+there were delicious drinks, from the sweet and comforting chocolate
+of the cold north to the iced sherbet of the burning south; there were
+dozens of crackers, and every one of them contained a beautiful toy,
+a motto, a cap of coloured paper decorated with gold and silver, and
+a small but valuable piece of jewellery. In short, there was every
+delicacy of the season, and all in the utmost profusion.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt was already deep in the repast when they got inside. She
+was purple in the face, and beginning to breathe heavily.</p>
+
+<p>“Such greed I never saw,” said Wooden’s mother, eyeing her severely.
+“She has not even washed her hands.”</p>
+
+<p>Teddy, however, was nowhere to be seen, and the servant-doll said that
+he had gone out by another door into <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah’s cabin. <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah had
+invited him to have a steak and onions with him. Peggy was rather glad
+not to have to rebuke him before company, for she was fond of Teddy.
+She thought that if he were kept away from Wooden’s aunt he would
+probably behave all right.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span></p>
+
+<p>The servant-doll had led them into a nice airy bedroom, which opened
+out of the main saloon, and Peggy washed her hands, and then put on a
+very pretty pinafore made of lace and chiffon, which the servant-doll
+gave her. When they were all ready they went into the saloon and sat
+down at the table, and much enjoyed their repast, while the ark was
+drawn rapidly along the winding river.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately their enjoyment was marred by the continued bad behaviour
+of Wooden’s aunt, who went on as if she had really never been in
+respectable company before. When she could eat no more—and that was
+not for a long time—Wooden’s mother gave her a dose of Gregory powder,
+which she always carried about with her for such emergencies, or she
+would probably have died. As it was she felt very ill, and said so in a
+thoroughly vulgar manner.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden was most distressed at her behaviour, but she was so
+kind-hearted that she could not help making excuses for her.
+“Greediness and vulgarity and vanity are her only failings, poor
+thing,” she said. “Otherwise she has a very charming character. We all
+have our little weaknesses, and we must not think too much of them.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m ashamed of her,” said Wooden’s mother.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> “And I shall tell her so
+to her face directly she regains consciousness.”</p>
+
+<p>For Wooden’s aunt was now stretched on one of the luxurious sofas of
+the saloon in a state of complete collapse.</p>
+
+<p>“Let us leave her there,” said Lady Grace. “She will be better when we
+arrive at Dolltown.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img13">
+<img src="images/img13.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="IV">IV
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">MOMENTOUS NEWS IS BROUGHT BY A DUTCH DOLL</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">They left Wooden’s aunt in the saloon and went on deck again, and
+seated themselves in the comfortable chairs under the awning, from
+which they could observe the scenery. This was very beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>They were now going through a mountain gorge. The river was narrow
+here, but deep. The mountains came steeply down into the water, and
+on one side of the river was a road cut in the rock, along which all
+the animals were walking two by two, pulling the ark at a smart pace.
+Perched up on the mountains here and there were pretty wooden Swiss
+chalets, large and small; and numberless clean wooden cows, with bells
+round their necks, were browsing in the mountain pastures, which were
+gay with flowers. The wooden peasants who were looking after them
+showed great interest in the progress of the ark. They came running
+down the steep paths to see who was on board, and shouted and waved
+their hats in their excitement.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img14">
+<img src="images/img14.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">On the mountains here and there were pretty wooden Swiss chalets</p>
+
+<p class="p2">By-and-by they had passed through the mountains,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> and had come to a
+perfectly flat country, planted with wooden poplars of a vivid green.
+Here and there were farms—dear little wooden houses with doll-farmers
+living in them, and taking care of more wooden animals, cows and
+horses, and sheep and pigs. After a time they came to a small town
+consisting of streets of dolls’ houses, with a church built of toy
+bricks.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I would like to go into one of those dear little houses,” said
+Peggy. “Can’t we stop here, Wooden?”</p>
+
+<p>“We shall see much better dolls’ houses than those when we get to
+Dolltown,” said Wooden. “I have got a very nice dolls’ house myself,
+bigger than any of those. I shall take you there, dear, and you will
+occupy the spare room. And I will show you the Queen’s Palace, which is
+finer than any of them.”</p>
+
+<p>At this moment <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah came forward, and stood by them smiling, as if
+she would like a little conversation.</p>
+
+<p>“Won’t you sit down, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah?” said Lady Grace politely; and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Noah thanked her and sat down.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah was a large smiling woman who liked to make friends. She
+smiled at Lady Grace, and Wooden, and Wooden’s mother, and Peggy, and
+then said suddenly, “I thought you’d like to know how it all was.”</p>
+
+<p>Of course they would like to know how it all was,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> though they didn’t
+quite know what she meant. So they smiled back at her, and then she
+began.</p>
+
+<p>“Of course he is wood,” she said, “begging your pardon, Lady Grace, and
+I ought to like him on that account. But the truth is that I don’t, and
+can’t.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a little pause, and then Wooden’s mother said, nodding her
+head wisely, “Ah, I know who you mean, and I don’t much like him
+either. I suppose because he’s a foreigner.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden shook her head, but said nothing. Lady Grace said, “I hate him;
+but then I’m wax, you see.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy wondered who they were talking about, but just as she was going
+to ask Wooden, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah looked at her, and said, “Why, bless me! the
+little lady must be thinking that we’re talking in riddles.”</p>
+
+<p>And then she told the following story:—</p>
+
+<p>Some time before, a ship had been wrecked on the coast of Toyland, and
+all its passengers drowned except King Selim. He had been brought to
+Dolltown, and, because he was a king, Queen Rosebud had given him a set
+of rooms in her palace, where he had lived very comfortably ever since.</p>
+
+<p>“What was he King of?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah hesitated. “I really don’t know, dear,” she said. “Do you
+know, Wooden?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Wooden. “I never thought of asking.”</p>
+
+<p>It seemed that nobody else had ever thought of asking either. They knew
+he must be a king because he said he was. Besides, he wore a crown.
+Everybody was very sorry for him, because his Queen had been drowned
+when the ship had been wrecked, but when some time had passed and he
+had got over that, he had become rather interfering, and he was not so
+much liked now as he had been, especially by the Waxes. For although
+all the dolls in Toyland generally lived happily together, still
+there was always apt to be a little feeling between the Waxes and the
+Woodens. The Waxes thought the Woodens were rather common, and the
+Woodens thought the Waxes were rather stuck up.</p>
+
+<p>“Of course, speaking for myself,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah, “I’ve never had no
+quarrel with a Wax in my life, and, if I may say so, have as many
+friends among the Waxes as I have among the Woodens.”</p>
+
+<p>She looked at Lady Grace, who said, “The Queen has always disliked
+having anything said against the Woodens, and has often told me that if
+she had not been born Wax she would have liked to be born Wood.”</p>
+
+<p>There were murmurs of approbation at this speech, and Wooden’s mother
+said, “Wax is as wax does, I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span> always say. If all was as polite as the
+Queen, there wouldn’t be no trouble at all. But you haven’t told us
+about the Queen’s health yet, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah, “it’s my belief that the Queen is dead.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dear, dear!” said Wooden’s mother. “And such a nice lady as she was,
+too.”</p>
+
+<p>“What makes you think that, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah?” asked Lady Grace. “Surely I
+should have heard of it if it had been true.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, perhaps you would, Lady Grace,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah. “Anyhow, she
+is alarmingly ill, and has appointed King Selim regent, to act in her
+place until she gets better. And if she dies, King Selim is to reign in
+her place. You see, the Queen having no children, naturally the only
+other royal person in Toyland has to reign instead of her.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is that the law in Toyland?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah looked at her affectionately. “Bless your pretty face, what
+questions you do ask, dear,” she said. “I don’t know nothing about the
+law, but it’s what King Selim says, and of course he knows, or else he
+wouldn’t say it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no,” said Wooden decisively. “Some people don’t like him, but he
+isn’t as bad as that. Was it him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> that ordered the royal barge to meet
+us, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, it was,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah. “Now I must be getting back to my old
+man. He says there ain’t no flavour in his pipe unless I fill it for
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hope the Queen isn’t really dead,” said Wooden, when <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah had
+left them. “That would indeed be a sad pity. Look, dear, you can see
+Dolltown now. It won’t be long before we are there now.”</p>
+
+<p>The ark had turned a bend in the river, and Peggy could see across the
+flat plains a large town with an enormous tower standing in the middle
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>“That is the House of Cards,” said Wooden, in answer to her question.
+“It stands in the middle of the market-place, and is thirteen stories
+high.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is it used for?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“It is used for going to the top of, dear,” replied Wooden. “You get a
+magnificent view of the surrounding country, and when you have looked
+at it you come down again.”</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before they reached the outskirts of Dolltown. On
+either side of the river were rows of houses in which the poorer
+dolls, mostly wooden and rag, lived. The weather was warm, and many of
+the fronts of the houses stood wide open, showing the inside<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> of the
+four rooms into which each of them was divided. There were generally
+a kitchen and a dining-room on the ground floor, and a drawing-room
+and a bedroom above. None of these houses had staircases, and it was
+puzzling to think how the dolls could get into the upstairs rooms.
+Wooden explained, when Peggy asked her, that the dolls either climbed
+in through the windows, or, if the house-front was open, put a kitchen
+chair on the kitchen table, and scrambled up somehow. Those who were
+not strong enough to do so had to spend the night sitting on chairs in
+the kitchen or dining-room.</p>
+
+<p>“Isn’t that rather uncomfortable for them?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, dear, perhaps it is rather,” said Wooden. “But, you see, we’re
+not so particular as you are, so we don’t feel it so much.”</p>
+
+<p>“But didn’t you say there wasn’t any night in Toyland?” asked Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps, I did, dear. I say so many things in the course of time that
+I can’t possibly remember all of them. But there is one thing I should
+never do, and that is tell a lie.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy looked at her quickly, fearing that she might be offended,
+but her face still wore its amiable sweet-tempered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> expression, and
+when Peggy gave her a kiss, just in <em>case</em> she might have said
+something to hurt her, she kissed her back, and called her a precious
+lamb.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the dolls’ houses that they were passing were quite well
+furnished. Others had furniture a good deal too large for the rooms,
+but the dolls seemed all to be of one size, and Wooden told Peggy that,
+however large or small a doll might be in the nursery, when it got home
+to Toyland it became as large as life.</p>
+
+<p>All the inhabitants of these small houses came thronging down to the
+banks of the river to see the procession of animals, and to cheer
+the royal ark as it passed along. Peggy noticed that the wooden
+dolls cheered more heartily than the wax dolls and china dolls and
+composition dolls. In fact one party of Dutch dolls became so excited
+as the ark passed that they all fell into the river, and had to be
+rescued by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah’s youngest son, who was attending to the elephants.
+All were got safely to land, except the father of the Dutch doll
+family, who swam out and clung to the ark, and was dragged on board by
+<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah himself.</p>
+
+<p>Just at the moment when this was happening Wooden’s aunt came out of
+the saloon, and seemed highly delighted at the scene. She bent down
+and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> slapped her knees with both her hands, and then threw her head
+back and roared with laughter.</p>
+
+<p>“Lawks! I wouldn’t have missed that for anything,” she said, when the
+Dutch doll had been led below. “Well, I’ve had a nice little nap,
+girls, and now I’ve come to cheer you all up a bit.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img15">
+<img src="images/img15.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">“Then behave yourself, do, Polly,” said Wooden’s mother severely, “and
+don’t let’s have any more of your carryings on.”</p>
+
+<p>When the Dutch doll was quite dry he insisted upon being led into the
+presence of “the company.” <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah had lent him his second-best yellow
+robe, in which he looked rather funny, as it was too long for him. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>
+came up the steps from the saloon, and, tripping over the skirt of the
+robe, fell flat at the feet of Wooden’s aunt, who roared with laughter
+at him again.</p>
+
+<p>So far from getting up again as quickly as possible, the Dutch doll
+remained where he was, rubbing his forehead on the deck of the ark.</p>
+
+<p>“Get up, man,” said Wooden’s mother sharply, “and don’t stop lying
+there like a silly.”</p>
+
+<p>The Dutch doll got up, looking foolish, and bowed low to Wooden’s aunt.
+“I hope your Majesty is quite well,” he said. “I am very pleased to see
+your Majesty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Lawks! he calls me ‘your Majesty!’” said Wooden’s aunt. “Well, I
+never! I shall die of laughing if this goes on.” And indeed it seemed
+likely that she would.</p>
+
+<p>“The man’s silly,” said Wooden’s mother. “His ducking has turned his
+head. The Queen isn’t here. We’re only the party that the royal ark has
+been sent down for.”</p>
+
+<p>But still the Dutch doll kept on bowing to Wooden’s aunt, and calling
+her your Majesty; and Wooden’s aunt enjoyed it.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Grace intervened in her polite and aristocratic manner. “Don’t you
+know Queen Rosebud by sight?”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> she asked. “In calling this lady your
+Majesty you are coming very near to telling a story.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I wouldn’t do that, my lady,” said the Dutch doll, much shocked.
+“Queen Rosebud is dead, you know.”</p>
+
+<p>“I feared it,” said Wooden. “It is very sad.”</p>
+
+<p>Lady Grace turned pale. “She was a loving mistress and a great Queen,”
+she said.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s mother said, “Yes, she was. But crying out about it won’t
+bring her to life again, poor thing!” And Wooden’s aunt had the grace
+to leave off with her nonsense, and say, “I’m sure I’m sorry to hear
+the news. Then who is going to be Queen now?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are, your Majesty,” said the Dutch doll, bowing to her again.
+“King Selim is going to marry you.”</p>
+
+<p>“What, marry me!” exclaimed Wooden’s aunt, forgetting to be vulgar
+for once, in her surprise. “Well, I never! Why, I hardly know the
+gentleman.”</p>
+
+<p>“Surely you are making some mistake,” said Lady Grace.</p>
+
+<p>The Dutch doll looked offended. “Do you think I’d tell you a lie?” he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no, of course he wouldn’t do that,” said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> Wooden hastily. “If he
+says so, of course it is so. But you’re not Queen yet, aunt.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, nor never will be, if you don’t learn to behave proper,” said
+Wooden’s mother. “If I was you I should keep quiet till the wedding
+ceremony.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt seemed to think this was good advice, for she gave no
+more trouble till the ark drew up at the royal quay in the middle of
+Dolltown.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img16">
+<img src="images/img16.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="V">V
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">ARRIVAL AT THE ROYAL PALACE OF DOLLTOWN</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The Royal Quay was a great open space carpeted with red felt, and
+decorated with palms and flowers. Wooden soldiers were standing all
+round the square, and inside it was a royal carriage with six wooden
+horses, and servants in scarlet liveries. A little troop of lead
+soldiers on black horses was drawn up by the carriage, and looked very
+gallant with their scarlet tunics, silver breastplates and helmets and
+waving plumes. Lady Grace blushed when she saw that the head of the
+troop was Colonel Jim, and said to Peggy, “The rather nice-looking
+officer is a friend of mine, dear. I will introduce him to you when I
+get an opportunity.”</p>
+
+<p>Behind the wooden soldiers was a great crowd of dolls, all cheering
+themselves hoarse as the royal ark was being tied up by the quay, and
+the bridge was being run out. Peggy noticed that there were no wax
+dolls among them, and rather wondered at this, but had not time to ask
+about it in the excitement of the moment.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p>
+
+<p>Just by the landing stage was a little group of gentlemen dolls. The
+most important person in it was an old gentleman doll of patriarchal
+aspect. He had no beard, but his head was completely bald, and he was
+dressed in a long gown of black velvet. As soon as the bridge between
+the quay and the ark was put into position, he came forward with his
+party on to the platform of the ark, and bowed low before Wooden, who
+happened to be standing a little in front of the rest.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img17">
+<img src="images/img17.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">He had no beard, but his head was completely bald</p>
+
+<p class="p2">“Welcome, your Majesty,” he said, “to the Capital of your kingdom of
+Toyland. I will explain why I thus address you later.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden was quite taken back, and could only stammer out, “But
+<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr>—<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr>—I don’t know your name, but——”</p>
+
+<p>“My name is Norval,” said the old gentleman doll. “And I am the Lord
+Chancellor of your Majesty’s kingdom.”</p>
+
+<p>“But why do you call me your Majesty, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Norval?” asked Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>“<em>Lord</em> Norval, at your Majesty’s pleasure,” corrected the Lord
+Chancellor. “I address you as a Queen because King Selim, successor
+to our late lamented Queen Rosebud, has intimated his intention of
+marrying you, and in these matters I feel that one cannot<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> begin too
+soon. Besides, it is his Majesty’s pleasure that you should be paid
+every possible honour, as his highly respected bride to be.”</p>
+
+<p>“But Lord Noodle!” stammered Wooden, getting his name a little wrong in
+her perplexity, “this gentleman said that it was my aunt here that the
+king wanted to marry.”</p>
+
+<p>She indicated the Dutch doll, and the Lord Chancellor looked at him in
+anger. “Did you say that?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt broke in before the Dutch doll could speak. “Yes, he did
+say it,” she said. “And I ain’t going to give up my Selim for nobody.
+Him and me has always been friendly like, and I wasn’t a bit surprised
+to hear he wanted to marry me. Why should he want to marry a young
+thing like Wooden, I should like to know? Why she’s like a kid beside
+of him! It’s me that’s going to be Queen, not her.”</p>
+
+<p>“Captain Cook,” said the Lord Chancellor to a lead soldier of his
+party, “arrest this Dutchman for telling a lie, and arrest this woman
+for telling another.”</p>
+
+<p>“What, me!” cried Wooden’s aunt. “How dare you accuse me of telling a
+lie, you old creature with a head like an egg? How dare you? What lie
+have I told?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Arrest her again for insulting the Lord Chancellor,” said Lord Norval.
+“You said you were going to be Queen, and that’s a lie. King Selim
+wouldn’t look at you. He has confided to me that he has been in love
+with—with—I suppose I had better say <em>Princess</em> Wooden, for some
+time, and has reason to believe that she is not indifferent to him.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, he has looked at me sometimes,” said Wooden, “but I’m sure I
+never gave him any encouragement. I don’t like him very much, Lord
+Noodle. He’s a foreigner, you see, and I don’t like foreigners.
+Couldn’t it be arranged for him to marry my aunt, as she’s ready for
+him! I’d rather it was her than me.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor looked muddled. “I couldn’t say anything without
+consulting his Majesty,” he said. “He <em>might</em> consent; but then
+again he might not. The best way will be for us all to go up to the
+Palace, as already ordered, and ask him. I am sorry your aunt will have
+to appear there under arrest, but as she has committed a crime, or
+rather two crimes, that can’t be helped.”</p>
+
+<p>The situation was certainly awkward. Nobody quite seemed to know what
+to do about it. But Peggy, who had been listening with great interest
+to what had been said, ventured to make a suggestion. “If Wooden’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>
+aunt <em>does</em> marry the King,” she said, “then she wouldn’t have
+told a story, would she?”</p>
+
+<p>Everybody brightened up, and the Lord Chancellor said, “That is one of
+the cleverest things I ever heard said. But who is this ingenious and
+attractive-looking young lady, may I ask?”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden explained to him who Peggy was, and he bowed low to her, and
+said he was proud to make her acquaintance. “Well, after what you have
+pointed out,” he said, “I have no difficulty in unarresting this lady
+for telling a lie. But she has also insulted a high official. She said
+that my head was like an egg. It may be or it may not be, but nobody
+could say that it was a polite thing to point out.”</p>
+
+<p>He looked at Peggy as if he expected her to make another suggestion,
+and would not be sorry if she made it.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy could think of nothing better to say than, “I like eggs myself,
+especially if they are new-laid.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor caught at this instantly. “Did you have a new-laid
+egg in your mind when you referred to my head, Madam?” he asked of
+Wooden’s aunt.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt, who was looking much more subdued than usual, standing
+by the officer who had arrested<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> her, said, “Well, there’s one thing I
+never would do, and that’s tell a lie. I can’t rightly say that I had
+a new-laid egg in my mind, because I won’t deceive you, I don’t know
+where my mind is. I went to sea early, and never had much schooling,
+and never learnt no physiognomy. There may be a new-laid egg in my
+mind, or there may not. I wouldn’t like to say.”</p>
+
+<p>“What I would suggest to you, madam,” said the Lord Chancellor, “is
+that in likening my head to an egg you didn’t mean an old-laid egg, or
+an addled egg, or a bad egg, or anything of that sort. If it is like an
+egg at all, it was a fresh egg you meant.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, lawks, yes,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I’d never be one for insulting a
+gentleman. I know what’s due to myself and my family better.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then that is quite enough for me,” said the Lord Chancellor, evidently
+greatly relieved. “Captain Cook, unarrest this lady completely.”</p>
+
+<p>“And the Dutch doll, too,” said Peggy, pleased at having succeeded so
+well.</p>
+
+<p>“And the Dutch doll, too, of course, Captain Cook,” said the Lord
+Chancellor. “And my advice to you, sir, is to make yourself scarce. You
+have had a narrow escape, and let it be a lesson to you.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img18">
+<img src="images/img18.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">The Dutch doll, whose knees had been knocking together<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> with fright,
+picked up the skirts of <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah’s second-best yellow robe, and ran
+away as fast as he could. He poked in between two of the wooden
+soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> guarding the quay, and was lost in the crowd. But he was
+an honest doll, for the next morning <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah received back his
+second-best robe by parcel’s post, with a note of thanks, which he
+could not read, as it was written in double-Dutch.</p>
+
+<p>The party was now ready to land and get into the royal carriage, but
+just as they had stepped off on to the red carpet on the quay, the Lord
+Chancellor’s eyes fell upon Lady Grace, whom he seemed not to have
+noticed before.</p>
+
+<p>His face darkened, and he said, “Why, what is this? A wax doll
+at large, after the royal proclamation that all Waxes are to be
+imprisoned! Captain Cook, do your duty instantly.”</p>
+
+<p>Captain Cook stepped forward to arrest Lady Grace, who shrank away from
+him, while Wooden and her mother and aunt began to protest volubly
+against such an outrage, for they were all friendly to Lady Grace, who
+had always treated them with perfect politeness.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy felt dreadfully frightened at the moment at all the hubbub, and
+at the idea of poor Lady Grace being taken off to prison; but just
+as she was trying to think what she could do to stop it there was
+an unexpected diversion. Colonel Jim, the officer in charge of the
+Lifeguards standing by the royal carriage, rode<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span> forward with a clatter
+of harness and accoutrements, and said in a loud voice, “Unhand that
+lady!”</p>
+
+<p>There was a moment’s pause. Then the Lord Chancellor said, “Colonel
+Jim, you are taking a great deal upon yourself. You know what the royal
+proclamation was. All Waxes are to be arrested and sent to prison.”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?” asked Colonel Jim, with soldierly brevity.</p>
+
+<p>“The general charge against them,” said the Lord Chancellor, “is giving
+themselves airs.”</p>
+
+<p>“Has Lady Grace ever given herself airs?” asked Colonel Jim.</p>
+
+<p>“No, that she never has,” said Wooden’s mother indignantly. “I will say
+this for her, Wax or no Wax, that a nicer-spoken or nicer-behaved lady
+never stept.”</p>
+
+<p>“And she was a great favourite of Queen Rosebud’s, besides,” said
+Wooden. “She thought the world of her.”</p>
+
+<p>And even Wooden’s aunt showed up well in the emergency. “If I’m to be
+Queen,” she said, “I shall have Lady Grace as my own lady-in-waiting.
+She shall put in my hairpins for me, which I never could do rightly
+myself. And how’s she to do that if she’s in prison?”</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim rode back to his troop without saying<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> another word. But
+his interference had been successful, for the Lord Chancellor said,
+“Under the circumstances, I will not have Lady Grace arrested now. She
+can come with us to the Palace, and we will see what the King has to
+say about it.”</p>
+
+<p>Then Wooden and her mother and aunt, and Lady Grace and Peggy got into
+the royal carriage, and the Lord Chancellor and his suite got into two
+other carriages. Colonel Jim and his Life Guardsmen formed themselves
+on either side, and with a clash and a glitter, the little procession
+started. The wooden soldiers all presented arms, and made a way through
+for them, and they drove off the quay and into the streets of Dolltown.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy had been rather surprised that the dolls had not shown more grief
+at the sudden death of the Queen, though all of them had certainly
+spoken very nicely about it when the news had first come to them, and
+were evidently sorry that she had died. But she now began to understand
+that dolls do not take things in quite the same way as human beings.
+For one thing, there were no signs of mourning in the streets, but on
+the other hand there were flags on some of the houses, and all the
+people seemed to be out of doors watching for the royal procession,
+and when it appeared they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> cheered heartily, and seemed as happy and
+pleased as possible. This was all the more remarkable because, if what
+the Lord Chancellor had said was true, which of course it was, as he
+would never have told a lie, all the wax dolls in the place had already
+been sent off to prison, and you might have thought that that would
+have sobered the rest. But even the four dolls in the carriage seemed
+to have forgotten it, and also the unpleasant episode of Lady Grace
+nearly being taken off to prison, too. They were all anxious to point
+out to Peggy the interesting sights to be seen on either side of them,
+and had nothing to say about anything else, not even about what might
+happen when they arrived at the royal palace. And as they seemed able
+to forget everything but the pleasure and interest of the moment, Peggy
+was able to do so, too.</p>
+
+<p>What she saw of Dolltown enchanted her. It was like all the toys
+she had ever had, and her friends had had, and she had seen in
+shop-windows, all become real, and not only that, but of a size to
+be used. All little girls know what it is to wish that they could
+sometimes live in their own dolls’ houses, especially in the big
+ones, where there are staircases that they could go up and down if
+only they were of the right size, and all sorts of nice furniture,
+and dinner-sets and tea-sets,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> and other things which they would like
+to use themselves and not always be making believe with. Well, in
+Dolltown, and in fact in the whole of Toyland, there was no making
+believe. Everything was as real as real, even the smallest things for
+the smallest dolls. Peggy could have used everything she saw herself,
+and it was really quite thrilling and delightful to feel that she could
+pretend to be a doll if she wanted to, and have all the fun for herself
+that little girls give to their dolls.</p>
+
+<p>Just outside the royal quay was a large station, with platforms and
+signal boxes and bridges and lines of rails all complete, and a train
+waiting there with a bright green clockwork engine, ready to go off
+into the country. One of Peggy’s boy cousins had collected a splendid
+railway plant—his relations always gave him things for it at Christmas
+and on his birthdays—and Peggy had often wished she could go for a
+ride in it all round his playroom floor, and be shunted and go under
+the little tunnels, and stop at the stations, just as the tin soldiers
+he put into the carriages did. Well, it would be just as much fun going
+in this railway system, and she could get into the toy carriages just
+as easily as her cousin’s tin soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>They crossed over the river on one of those suspension<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> bridges that
+you see in shop-windows, and then climbed a hill into the town. At the
+beginning of the hill was a large toy fort, crammed with tin soldiers,
+who were looking over the parapet and cheering them as they passed.</p>
+
+<p>Then they went through a street of shops, and the joints of meat
+hanging in the butchers’ shops, and the fish lying on the slabs of the
+fishmongers’ shops, and the stores in the grocery shops were all real;
+and specially attractive were the highly-coloured fruits.</p>
+
+<p>As for the shops where they sold the baby-clothes, they were too
+delightful. But the first one they passed brought a most disturbing
+thought to Peggy. She turned to Wooden and said, “Oh, Wooden, dear,
+where are all the long-clothes babies! Surely they haven’t been cruel
+enough to send them to prison, too!”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no, dear,” said Wooden decidedly. “Nobody is cruel in Toyland.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy did not feel quite so sure of that, considering that Lady Grace
+had nearly been sent to prison already for being wax; and of course
+most long-clothes babies are wax, or composition. “Then where are
+they!” she asked.</p>
+
+<p>“They are all having their morning sleep, dear,” said Wooden’s mother,
+and Peggy had to be content.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span></p>
+
+<p>When they reached the more important streets of Dolltown, most of the
+houses were built of wooden or terra-cotta bricks, and very fine some
+of them were. But this part of the town <em>was</em> rather silent and
+deserted, for the owners of most of the fine houses were wax, and they
+had all been taken off to prison.</p>
+
+<p>At last they reached the royal palace. It was a most gorgeous building,
+built of ivory, with windows made of enormous diamonds and rubies and
+emeralds and sapphires, all glittering in the sun.</p>
+
+<p>The carriages drew up underneath an ivory porch. The Lord Chancellor
+was at the door of the royal one as soon as it was opened. “I will
+conduct you straight to his Majesty,” he said.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img19">
+<img src="images/img19.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="VI">VI
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">KING SELIM HOLDS AN AUDIENCE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">They were led through several magnificent ivory halls, with a great
+many looking-glasses in them but scarcely any furniture, and into the
+great Hall of Audience, where there was a lovely ivory throne on a daïs
+at one end, and on either side of the Hall a row of ivory chairs.</p>
+
+<p>Here Peggy had two great surprises.</p>
+
+<p>The first surprise was the new King, who was sitting on the throne.
+Directly she saw him, Peggy exclaimed, “Why, he’s a White Chess King!”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img20">
+<img src="images/img20.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">“He’s a White Chess King!”</p>
+
+<p class="p2">And so he was, though none of the dolls seemed to know it. His crown
+was on his head, and he had a face underneath it, which chess kings
+don’t have, and, although he was wood himself, his robes did not appear
+to be. But there was no doubt about his being a chess king, in spite
+of these differences, and the moment she saw him Peggy had the feeling
+that he ought not to be King of Toyland, for he wasn’t a real doll that
+children play with, but only part of a game for grown-ups.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span></p>
+
+<p>The King was sitting on his throne when they came into the Hall, and
+standing by his side on the daïs was a lady doll. And this was Peggy’s
+second surprise. For the lady doll was no other than Rose, who had
+once been her own doll—the one she had given to Mabel in exchange for
+Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>Now, as we know, Peggy had never really loved Rose; she had tried to,
+but had not succeeded. But she had not come to <em>dis</em>like her in
+any way, and had kissed her affectionately when she had given her up to
+Mabel, and told her that she would come to see her sometimes. And she
+had done this now and then, until Mabel’s father had left the village
+shortly afterwards, and taken Mabel and Rose with him.</p>
+
+<p>But now, directly she set eyes on Rose again, and recognized her, Peggy
+felt that she did dislike her. She looked very proud, for one thing,
+and pride is not a quality that becomes anybody, least of all dolls,
+who are generally free from it. She also looked bad-tempered, and that
+again is a fault from which dolls are usually free. The only point to
+admire about her was her good looks, but as Peggy had never been able
+to love her because of them when she had been her own doll they did
+not recommend her now. Peggy felt once for all that she had been quite
+right in not liking Rose,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> and also felt that it would be impossible
+ever to like her.</p>
+
+<p>But we must get on. Directly the party introduced by the Lord
+Chamberlain made its appearance at the door of the Hall of Audience,
+the King rose from his throne. As they advanced up the Hall, he
+stepped down from the daïs, and approaching Wooden, bowed to her in a
+stately but somewhat foreign fashion, and took her hand. Then he said
+with great respect, “Madame, our wedding will take place in half an
+hour, and our coronation half an hour after that. I wish to get both
+ceremonies over before tea-time.”</p>
+
+<p>He spoke in an imperious way, and although there was a sort of smile on
+his face as he looked at Wooden, showing that she was dear to him, it
+was not altogether a pleasant smile; nor did King Selim seem to Peggy
+an agreeable person. He was tall and fat and ugly, and looked as if he
+ate and drank too much.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden was taken aback by the suddenness of the proposal. And no
+wonder! It must be remembered that she hardly knew King Selim, and had
+had no idea until half an hour before of anything in the nature of
+a marriage with him. And, although he had smiled at her, he had not
+uttered a word of love, nor even asked if she wanted to marry him or
+not. No lady would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> like a gentleman simply to tell her that he was
+going to marry her in half an hour, even if the gentleman <em>was</em> a
+King.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know, your Majesty,” she said hesitatingly. “Of course it’s a
+great honour you’re doing me. But I haven’t thought of such a thing,
+and—and——”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor stepped forward and bowed to the King. “Your
+Majesty,” he said. “I am empowered by this lady to make a suggestion
+to you. Would it be the same to your Majesty if you were to marry the
+lady’s aunt instead of her? She has the advantage of being wood, and
+of possessing considerable personal attractions. Wooden’s Aunt, kindly
+step forward, and display those attractions to his Majesty.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt stepped forward, dropped a curtsy to the King, and
+smirked.</p>
+
+<p>The King’s face darkened, and he was about to speak, when Rose, who was
+still standing by the throne on the daïs, interrupted. “Your Majesty,”
+she said, “this woman is not at all suitable for the purpose that has
+been suggested. She lives in the same part of the country over there
+as I used to, and I know all about her. She is quite a common woman—I
+believe she was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> once a sort of stewardess on a ship—and, if I may
+so express myself, it is like her impudence to think of marrying your
+Majesty.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt bridled. “And who are you, I should like to know,” she
+burst out, “to call me common? Common yourself! I dare say you think
+yourself very grand now, talking to a Majesty, but I’ve seen you
+dressed in dirty pink flannelette, and held head-downwards by one foot,
+over there. So there now, Miss Superior! Common, indeed! <em>I</em>’ll
+learn you!”</p>
+
+<p>From these two speeches, Peggy understood that when dolls in Toyland
+talked about the world of real people they called it “over there.”</p>
+
+<p>“Peace, woman!” ordered the King in an angry voice. “How dare you make
+a brawl in my royal palace?”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt was affected by the majesty of his demeanour, which
+was certainly that of a King, though not perhaps of a good king. She
+shrank back, and Selim went on: “I have no idea of marrying this woman,
+Norval, and I wonder at your suggesting such a thing. But before we
+talk about that I should like to know how it comes about that a wax
+doll is brought into my presence, when I have given orders that all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>
+Waxes are to be imprisoned. And I should also like to know who this
+human child is, and how <em>she</em> comes here. It looks to me very much
+like prying.”</p>
+
+<p>King Selim had very bushy eyebrows, and he bent them with a terrific
+frown upon Peggy and Lady Grace, as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Grace shrank back, evidently frightened by Selim’s anger. But
+Peggy wasn’t frightened at all. She knew somehow that she had nothing
+to fear from a chess king, however angrily he might look at her. She
+even thought that she might be able to do something to save Lady Grace,
+if the King tried to punish her for being wax. But at present she
+thought she had better keep quiet, and see what happened.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor did not seem to be frightened of the new King
+either. He said, in a chatty sort of way, “Now those are both very
+interesting questions, your Majesty, and I shall be delighted to
+discuss them with you. Then there’s the question of your marriage to be
+decided, and several other little matters, which will give us quite an
+agreeable discussion, if we take them one by one. What I say is, let’s
+have an Audience.”</p>
+
+<p>The King stepped back on to the daïs and whispered to Rose, who
+shrugged her shoulders and looked disagreeable,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span> but did not seem to be
+able to object to the proposal.</p>
+
+<p>“Very well,” said the King, seating himself on his throne. “We’ll have
+an Audience.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor seemed pleased at the idea of an Audience. “Bring
+in the Woolsack,” he said to the royal servant dolls, who were standing
+round the daïs; and two of them went out, and came back with a large
+sack of wool, which they placed in the middle of the Hall. The Lord
+Chancellor took his seat on it, facing the throne, but it was so soft
+that he fell back into it, and it covered him up so completely that
+only two little thin legs could be seen sticking into the air. But
+the two royal servants quickly rescued him, and sat him in the middle
+of the sack, which bulged up all round him. He laughed in a very
+good-humoured way at his mishap, and said, “Now the rest of you take
+your seats, please, and then we’ll begin.”</p>
+
+<p>All the company sat down on the ivory chairs on either side of the
+Hall, except Rose, who still stood at the right of the King on his
+throne.</p>
+
+<p>“Now we must have everything quite in order,” said the Lord Chancellor
+cheerfully. “I don’t know who the lady is standing by his Majesty. I’ve
+nothing to say against her whatever. In fact, I’m sure she will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> be of
+great assistance to us in our important deliberations. But I should
+like her to take her place with the rest, please.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am advising his Majesty on behalf of the Composition dolls,” said
+Rose hastily. “It is his Majesty’s wish that I should keep by him.
+Please get on with the Audience, and don’t fuss.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, if it’s his Majesty’s wish, I’ve nothing more to say,” said the
+Lord Chancellor genially. “I only thought you would be more comfortable
+sitting down. Now the first thing to be done is to announce what steps
+have been taken by your Majesty for the welfare of the Kingdom of
+Toyland. Let’s have it all, please, from the time you received the last
+wishes of our dear lamented Queen Rosebud.”</p>
+
+<p>The King frowned. “I don’t want to have to go into all that again,” he
+said. “I want my questions answered.”</p>
+
+<p>“All in good time, your Majesty,” said the Lord Chancellor. “But let’s
+have your statement first, please.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy quite expected that the King would refuse, and might even do
+something to the Lord Chancellor for giving him an order in that sort
+of way. But it seemed as if it was difficult for a doll to refuse to
+obey<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> any order, if it was given with enough firmness. At any rate, the
+King obeyed this one, although he frowned and looked very disagreeable
+about it.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, if you must have it,” he said, “when the late lamented Queen
+Rosebud was nearing her end she told me that she wished me to reign
+over Toyland in her place.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will you kindly make a note of this?” said the Lord Chancellor to his
+secretary, who was standing beside him. “Take it all down in shorthand;
+then we shall know where we are. Go on, please, your Majesty.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s all,” said the King. “Queen Rosebud said I was to reign, and
+I’m reigning.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did his Majesty say it was raining?” asked the secretary.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no,” said the Lord Chancellor testily. “The King said <em>he</em>
+was reigning—with a ‘g.’ Keep your ears open, please. Well, that’s all
+in order, then. Now what about the imprisonment of all wax dolls, your
+Majesty? Let’s have that explained, please.”</p>
+
+<p>The King frowned again. “Have I got to explain everything I do, when
+I’m already King?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, please, your Majesty,” said the Lord Chancellor firmly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well, then,” said the King, “I was given reason to believe that there
+would be a revolution among the Waxes, when it was known that a wooden
+King was to succeed a wax Queen, and I took steps to prevent it, that’s
+all.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img21">
+<img src="images/img21.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">“Who gave your Majesty reason to believe such a thing?” asked the
+Lord Chancellor. “I am China myself, but I have always lived on good
+terms with Waxes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> and Woodens alike—Compositions and Rags, too, for
+the matter of that—and I believe I may say the same of most of the
+inhabitants of this happy country. I see no reason to believe that
+there would have been a revolution of any sort, when it was given out
+that Queen Rosebud had nominated you as her successor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you say that she abominated her professor?” asked the secretary.
+“You talk so very fast.”</p>
+
+<p>The King broke in before the Lord Chancellor could reply. “Are you
+giving me a lecture?” he asked angrily.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Will your Majesty kindly answer my
+question?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I won’t,” said the King. “It is enough to say that I gave orders
+that if there was any trouble among the dolls landing from over there,
+a gun was to be fired. The gun <em>was</em> fired, and I ordered the
+Waxes to be locked up at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“The gun was fired by mistake,” said Wooden’s mother sensibly. “I saw
+the soldier’s ears boxed for firing it with my own eyes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did she say she fired it with her own eyes?” asked the secretary. “She
+does mumble so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mistake or no mistake,” said the King, “the gun was fired, and the
+Waxes were locked up. And now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> we’ve finished all that, I should like
+to know what this lady is doing here, when she ought to be in prison.”</p>
+
+<p>He frowned terrifically at Lady Grace, who was sitting between Peggy
+and Wooden. Peggy took hold of her hand. Although Lady Grace was grown
+up, and she was only a little girl, she felt that she must protect her.
+For after all she was her own dearly loved doll, and Peggy was not
+going to have her bullied by a chess king, if she could help it.</p>
+
+<p>It was Wooden who answered, in her calm, kind voice. “Lady Grace was a
+favourite lady-in-waiting of dear Queen Rosebud,” she said. “I think it
+would be a great pity to send her to prison, and I hope you won’t do
+it, your Majesty.”</p>
+
+<p>King Selim’s face grew softer as Wooden spoke. Her voice was evidently
+music in his ears. Perhaps he would have given way at once, but before
+he could say anything, Rose, who was still standing by the side of the
+throne, spoke. “It isn’t safe to leave any wax dolls free to go about,”
+she said. “They will only stir up trouble. Compositions are quite as
+good as Waxes, and anything that Waxes could do, such as acting as
+ladies-in-waiting to royalty, Compositions can do.”</p>
+
+<p>“<em>You</em>’re not even Composition,” broke in Wooden’s aunt, who had
+been glowering at Rose all along, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span> seemed to have forgotten her own
+fright. “You’re Composition down to the neck, and your hands and feet
+and the rest of you is stuffed rag. Yes, <em>stuffed rag</em>! So there,
+Sawdust!”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor held up his hand. “That is a very serious
+accusation to bring against a lady,” he said. “I understood the lady to
+claim that she was Composition. Do you mean to accuse her of telling a
+lie, madam?”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve seen her held upside down by the leg,” said Wooden’s aunt.
+“Composition below, sawdust above. Deny it if you can.”</p>
+
+<p>Rose did not deny it. She looked as if she were going to, but her eyes
+rested on Peggy, and she knew that Peggy knew all the truth about her.
+She burst into angry tears. “It is most offensive to be addressed in
+that way by a vulgar creature like that,” she said. “Before gentlemen,
+too! She hasn’t got any legs at all, herself, over there. Nor a nose
+either. She’s a regular figure of fun.”</p>
+
+<p>The King put out his hand to soothe her. “The first law I shall make,”
+he said, “will be that no doll in my dominions shall ever refer to the
+deficiencies of another doll over there, under pain of imprisonment.
+I feel very strongly on the subject. That is why I object to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> human
+children being brought over here to pry, and perhaps to tell tales. I
+shall make a law forbidding that, too.”</p>
+
+<p>“I think it would be a pity to do away with the good feeling that
+exists between us and human children,” said the Lord Chancellor.
+“Allowing one of them occasionally to visit us here is the only return
+we can make for special kindness. I shouldn’t make that law if I were
+you, your Majesty.”</p>
+
+<p>“When I was at the head of my Pieces over there,” said the King, “there
+was a horrible child who used to put my head in her mouth. She had at
+the time only one tooth, but I bear the marks of that tooth upon me to
+this day.”</p>
+
+<p>Directly he had spoken, a sudden memory came back to Peggy. A year or
+so before, her father had wanted to play a game of chess with a friend.
+The chess-men had been brought out, but it had been found that the
+white king was missing. Then it had come out that Peggy had had him to
+play with when she had been a baby, and he had not been seen since. Of
+course she had been too young to remember playing with him, but she
+felt almost certain that King Selim was the very same piece, especially
+as he was exactly the same in pattern as the black king, who still
+remained.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why, I do believe you’re our white chess king!” she cried out. “Father
+<em>will</em> be glad that you are found again.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img22">
+<img src="images/img22.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="VII">VII
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THEY ALL GO TO PRISON</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">It would be impossible to describe the consternation that Peggy’s
+remark caused in the Hall of Audience. King Selim grew purple in the
+face with passion, and cried out in a terrible voice, “Arrest this
+Human instantly, and take her off to prison. She has spoken the truth,
+and it shall be her own undoing.”</p>
+
+<p>Some royal guards stepped forward to do his bidding, and there was a
+great commotion among the other dolls in the Hall.</p>
+
+<p>But before the soldiers could reach Peggy, the Lord Chancellor made
+his voice heard above the hubbub. “Half a moment! Half a moment! Half
+a moment!” he kept on calling out, louder and louder, and quicker and
+quicker, until the words sounded like “Ar-mo! Ar-mo!” The soldiers
+paused, and the noise died down, until he could make himself heard.</p>
+
+<p>“It is rather a serious thing to arrest a Human, your Majesty,” he
+said. “I don’t think it has ever been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> done before, and it may make a
+deal of trouble. We ought to be careful how we go.”</p>
+
+<p>The King was still almost beside himself with rage. “Do you think I am
+going to let my enemy go, now I have got her in my power at last?” he
+cried. “Yes, that’s the odious child who made these scars.”</p>
+
+<p>Since his face had become so red, a lot of little white marks had come
+out all over it. They were the marks of Peggy’s dear little first
+tooth, and she couldn’t help laughing as she looked at them, which made
+the King angrier still.</p>
+
+<p>“How dare you laugh?” he cried passionately. “I’ll send you to prison,
+and keep you on bread and water and mustard. I’ll execute you. I’ll
+have your ears boxed three times a day, an hour before meals and half
+an hour after. If my mouth was big enough I’d bite <em>your</em> head,
+and see how <em>you</em> liked it. Arrest her instantly and take that wax
+doll with her as well, and the woman who dared to think she was going
+to marry me. Do it at once, and don’t you dare to cross my royal will
+any longer, Norval, or I’ll have you arrested, too.”</p>
+
+<p>As the King had given way when the Lord Chancellor spoke firmly, so the
+Lord Chancellor now gave way when the King spoke firmly. He shrugged
+his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> shoulders, and said, “Well, I think you are making a mistake, your
+Majesty, but if you say it is to be done, of course it must be done.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden rose from her seat as the officials prepared to carry out the
+King’s orders. “If they are to go to prison,” she said, “I shall go,
+too, and so will mother. Then we can all keep each other company. I
+expect they will take us to the House of Cards, dear,” she said in a
+lower voice to Peggy. “It is very nice there, and there is a lovely
+view.”</p>
+
+<p>Now it might have been thought that King Selim would have hesitated
+before letting Wooden go off to prison, considering he had just told
+her that he intended to marry her in half an hour. But he was so beside
+himself with rage that he hardly knew what he was doing or saying.
+“Take the whole lot of them off,” he ordered, “and don’t let me see
+their ugly faces again.” Then he gathered up his robes and stalked off
+the daïs and out of the Hall, by a door at the back, which he banged
+after him.</p>
+
+<p>The royal guards now approached the five prisoners, but did not take
+hold of them or put handcuffs on them, or anything of that sort. For
+the Lord Chancellor said to them, “Go easy, now! It’s only a little
+flash in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span> the pan, ladies. The King is rather irritable by nature, and
+I don’t think his lunch has agreed with him. But he will think better
+of this by-and-by, and you will all be let out again.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not if I know it,” said a haughty, scornful voice.</p>
+
+<p>It was Rose, who still stood on the daïs, and was looking at them with
+a cruel joy, which she made no effort to disguise.</p>
+
+<p>Her contemptuous gaze fell upon each of them in turn, but when she came
+to Peggy it turned into one of absolute ferocity. She stretched out her
+forefinger, and pointed at her. “Base human,” she addressed her. “I
+never thought to get you into my power, but now I have you you will rue
+the day when you came across the path of Rose, who never forgets and
+never forgives.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tut! tut!” said the Lord Chancellor. “These are hard words, madam, and
+quite out of order.”</p>
+
+<p>“Silence!” cried Rose, in a terrible voice, and flashing a terrible
+look at him from her dark and flaming eyes. And the Lord Chancellor
+shrugged his shoulders again, and kept silence, until she had finished
+her oration.</p>
+
+<p>“Was it not enough,” she said, “that I should be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> born into the world
+over there as the property of a human child whom I despised and hated,
+but I must be treated by her with the grossest indignity?”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy thought this was a little too much. She was not in the least
+frightened of Rose, nor of the King, nor of all the palace guards put
+together, and thought it would be rather amusing to go to a dolls’
+prison, and see what it was like. But she was not going to be stormed
+at and told stories about by Rose.</p>
+
+<p>“Why did you hate me?” she asked. “I was always kind to you, and I
+would have loved you if you had let me.”</p>
+
+<p>Rose laughed her scornful laugh. “As if I wanted <em>your</em> love!” she
+exclaimed. “Or the love of any human child! I hate the whole tribe of
+them, and wish I could have them <em>all</em> over here, and tell them
+what I thought of them.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, this is quite out of order, quite out of order,” said the Lord
+Chancellor fussily. “I wish you would finish what you have to say,
+madam, and let us get on with our work. You are keeping us all waiting.”</p>
+
+<p>Rose took no notice of him, but went on. “You exchanged me,” she said,
+“for a battered wreck of a wooden doll, without a vestige of beauty
+such as mine, or indeed of any sort.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Who are you talking about, Miss Imperence?” said Wooden’s aunt,
+suddenly breaking in. “This young lady exchanged you for my niece, who
+is going to be Queen when she comes out of prison. You’d better be a
+bit more careful of what you say; that’s my advice to <em>you</em>. And
+don’t forget that what we can’t see of you is stuffed with sawdust.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I should leave off, if I were you,” said the Lord Chancellor.
+“You are not being polite, you know, and it is quite true what the lady
+says. It is the future Queen of Toyland that you seem to have been
+exchanged for, and his Majesty won’t like it if you call her names.”</p>
+
+<p>Rose laughed her scornful laugh again. “<em>She</em> will never be Queen
+of Toyland,” she said. “I’ll see to that.” And with a toss of her
+head and a swish of her skirts she swept out of the Hall, by the door
+through which the King had already disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor completely recovered his good humour the moment
+she was gone. “What a very talkative lady!” he said, with a laugh.
+“However, we needn’t worry our heads about her. We’ve got plenty to
+occupy ourselves about, haven’t we?”</p>
+
+<p>It really seemed as if they had. It is not every day that five ladies
+are taken off to prison, not knowing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> when they will be let out again;
+and the experience would naturally make them think. But the four dolls
+did not seem to be much cast down by the prospect, and Wooden kept on
+assuring Peggy that the House of Cards was a very nice prison, and
+there was a magnificent view from the upper stories.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor proposed that they should walk to the prison, so
+that Peggy might see some of the life of Dolltown before she was shut
+up. “I should have liked to take you about myself,” he said politely,
+“and to show you some hospitality during your visit. It’s a pity you
+didn’t come when Queen Rosebud was alive. However, we must make the
+best of things, mustn’t we? I’ll see that you’re comfortable, and
+have plenty of pot-plants. We might buy a few as we go along. I like
+pot-plants.”</p>
+
+<p>They set out. The Lord Chancellor gave the palace guards instructions
+to walk behind. “The people will think they are just a guard of
+honour,” he explained kindly. “If they were to put handcuffs on you,
+it would be different. But I have always been one for making things
+comfortable all around. Live and let live is my motto.”</p>
+
+<p>He walked between Peggy and Wooden as they went through the streets,
+and turned out to be a pleasant,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span> chatty old gentleman, with a
+well-stored mind, and a fund of varied information. He told Peggy a
+good deal that interested her about the conditions of life in Dolltown,
+and she found it difficult to believe that she was really being taken
+to prison, and quite enjoyed her walk.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img23">
+<img src="images/img23.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">He walked between Peggy and Wooden</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The streets were gay, and crowded with dolls of all sorts except
+those made of wax. A good deal of interest was aroused by the little
+procession, with the six palace guards bringing up the rear. Gradually
+a crowd of dolls gathered and walked with them, so that the streets
+became rather full, and the dolls who were driving the toy hansom cabs,
+and the toy motors, and the toy carts, had some difficulty in making
+their way along.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor seemed to enjoy the attention that was being drawn
+to them, but also to be a little anxious about being recognized. He
+called his secretary to him, and said, “You might just tell some of the
+people that the elderly gentleman in the velvet gown, with a learned
+and amiable expression of face, is the Lord Chancellor. Then they
+will hand it on to the others. We will go into this shop and buy some
+pot-plants.”</p>
+
+<p>They went into a flower-shop, full of toy flowers in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> very bright red
+pots, and the Lord Chancellor made a handsome purchase, and paid for
+it with toy money, which Peggy thought most fascinating. She wished
+she had brought some of hers with her, for she had had a lot given to
+her for a Christmas present, and would have been quite rich with it
+in Toyland. The pots were given to the guards to carry, and they said
+good-bye to the nice pleasant woman doll who kept the shop, and set out
+again.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img24">
+<img src="images/img24.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">While they had been in the shop, the Lord Chancellor’s secretary had
+been telling everybody who they were, and also that they were all on
+their way to prison. He had not been told to say this, but he was
+rather stupid. The only reason why he was kept on was that he was so
+willing. But this time he had been a little too willing, for a lot of
+the doll people were inclined to be angry at so much sending to prison,
+and some of them thought that the Lord Chancellor could have stopped it
+if he had liked.</p>
+
+<p>So when they all came out of the shop, there were not quite so many
+smiles for them as before, and there were even a few boos and hisses as
+they continued on their way.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor looked surprised and pained. “Now I did think that
+when they were told who I was they would be pleased,” he said. “I
+must say that I do like people to like me, and it makes me positively
+miserable if they don’t. What can I have done? There isn’t a smut on my
+nose, or anything like that, is there?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Wooden. “There is only a small pimple that people might
+mistake for a smut if they were a little short-sighted.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Ah, then I expect that is it,” said the Lord Chancellor. “That pimple
+has been growing lately, and I always feared that it would bring me
+trouble.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy now began to be a little frightened, for the crowd of dolls was
+pressing more closely round them, and the hisses and the booing were
+beginning to get louder. Many of the dolls looked angry, too, and she
+found that it was one thing to laugh at a single chess king being
+angry, and quite another to have several hundred dolls as large as life
+jostling round her in a crowd.</p>
+
+<p>You see, an angry doll is not what you are accustomed to, and you are
+always apt to be a little frightened at something that is quite strange.</p>
+
+<p>But just as it was beginning to be difficult to move forward, because
+of the crowd, Peggy suddenly caught sight of something that took her
+mind off what was happening. This was the shiny black hat and yellow
+robe of <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah on the edge of the crowd, and not only that, but
+the brown coat and merry face of her own old Teddy. She had been so
+occupied with all the curious and interesting things that had been
+happening since she had come off the ark that she had had no time to
+think about Teddy, or to wonder what he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> was doing. But evidently he
+had made great friends with <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah, and was going about with
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Well, Teddy was peering between the heads of the people to see what
+was happening, and directly he caught sight of Peggy he pushed his way
+through the crowd, followed by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah. All of them were tall
+and strong, and although there were some complaints from the dolls they
+elbowed aside, such as, “Now then, where do you think you are going?”
+and “Mind who you’re shoving, can’t you?” the three of them quickly got
+through.</p>
+
+<p>“Now then, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Man,” said Teddy to the Lord Chancellor, “where are you
+taking my young mistress off to?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, they’re taking them off to prison!” said an indignant voice
+from the crowd, and it was repeated by several other voices, equally
+indignant. “They’re taking them off to prison.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor held up his hand. “Now then, my good people,” he
+said, “don’t disturb yourselves, I do pray and beg of you. It’s the
+King’s orders, you know, and you can really hardly call it going to
+prison. They are going to be his Majesty’s guests for a little time
+in the House of Cards. There’s a glorious view<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> from there, and they
+will get very good food. You see, we’ve just been buying pot-plants to
+brighten up their apartments for them. Here they are. The guards are
+carrying them. You can see them for yourselves. Do please let us get
+on. The ladies want their tea.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor seemed to attach great importance to the
+pot-plants, and they did make some impression on the crowd, because
+they could all see them, and there was no doubt about them at all. They
+made way for the Lord Chancellor to go on for a few steps, followed by
+his charges.</p>
+
+<p>But Teddy wasn’t at all satisfied. “Here, wait a minute, Mister,” he
+said. “What are you taking my young mistress to prison <em>for</em>?
+That’s what I want to know. And, why bless me! here’s Wooden, too, and
+Lady Grace, and Wooden’s mother and aunt. I say, this won’t do at all,
+you know. Are they all going to prison?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes, but only—well, you might almost call it for a little fun,”
+said the Lord Chancellor. “It’s more like a first-class hotel than a
+prison, you know. And—and—well, look at the pot-plants! You can see
+for yourself!”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, blow the pot-plants!” said Teddy; and Peggy did not object to the
+vulgarity of the expression, as he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> spoke as if he really meant to do
+something. “What are they going to prison <em>for</em>?”</p>
+
+<p>“Three wooden dolls, too!” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah. “And one of them was going
+to be Queen, we were all told. It doesn’t seem to me as if the new King
+was acting quite right, it doesn’t.”</p>
+
+<p>There were murmurs among the crowd. <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah seemed to have hit upon
+a feeling that they all shared, more or less. “No, it isn’t right.”
+“There was hardly any sending to prison in Queen Rosebud’s time.” “They
+don’t look as if they had done anything wrong either.” “Nice kind
+faces, all of them!” These were a few of the speeches that reached
+Peggy’s ears from among the dolls who were all round her.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor still kept his good-natured expression of face, as
+if they were all making a great fuss about nothing, but he would put
+up with it for the sake of pleasing them. “Now, look here,” he said in
+a persuasive voice, “I think there’s a great deal in what you say, and
+I should be the last one to want to go against you. A more intelligent
+and intellectual-looking crowd I have seldom set eyes on, and it’s a
+real pleasure to address you.”</p>
+
+<p>There were murmurs of approval, and one smartly dressed lady doll
+standing near to Peggy, said, “Lord<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span> Norval can be trusted. I know all
+about him, and I once met him at a garden party.”</p>
+
+<p>“Now suppose we come to a compromise,” said the Lord Chancellor.</p>
+
+<p>There were more murmurs of approval. Another lady doll near to Peggy
+asked, “What is a compromise?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, don’t you know?” said the first lady doll. “It’s ‘If you give way,
+I’ll pretend to.’”</p>
+
+<p>“What I suggest is this,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Let us all take
+these ladies to the House of Cards—it isn’t really like a prison at
+all, you know—and when we have made them comfortable there, and got
+them off our minds, then we’ll talk about what can be done. Now that
+strikes me as eminently fair.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, that’s a compromise,” said the first lady doll, “and a very good
+one. But I knew that the Lord Chancellor could be trusted. A cook I
+once had had been kitchen maid to a great friend of his wife’s.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy did not think much of the Lord Chancellor’s compromise, but
+it seemed to satisfy the crowd, who greeted it with enthusiasm, and
+immediately made a way through for them, and went along with them.
+Peggy thought that Teddy would have seen that if they were once all
+shut up in prison it would be much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> more difficult to get them out
+again than to prevent their going there. But he said no more. With an
+encouraging wave of the paw he took himself off, followed by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and
+<abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah, and was lost to view. Peggy felt a little sad, but only for
+a moment, because she couldn’t help treating the whole business as a
+sort of game; and everybody knows that whatever dreadful things happen
+in dolls’ games, everything always comes right in the end.</p>
+
+<p>So on they all went, and by-and-by they came to the House of Cards.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img25">
+<img src="images/img25.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="VIII">VIII
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">PEGGY BATHES A BABY AND HAS A SURPRISE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The House of Cards was a noble structure, and one which interested
+Peggy extremely. She had once built one herself, up to five stories,
+and had nearly finished the sixth before it tumbled down. But the House
+of Cards in Dolltown was of no less than thirteen stories, and towered
+high above all the other buildings. Each story was as high as the shops
+round the market-place, and not even the Post-Office, which was an
+imposing edifice of terra-cotta bricks, reached higher than its second
+story. It was built up of gigantic cards, just as Peggy had built hers
+with ordinary sized ones, but it seemed quite strong, and as if it
+would last for ever. There were windows and doors in the cards, and the
+ones that were laid flat at each story formed platforms and balconies,
+on which you could go out to look about you.</p>
+
+<p>Just as the Lord Chancellor was ushering them in to the House of Cards,
+a lead Life Guardsman from the palace rode up on his black horse and
+handed him a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> note. “Now I am rather sorry for that,” he said, when
+he had read it. “I had intended to shut you all up in the top story,
+for the sake of the view. But the King doesn’t wish that. You are to
+be imprisoned on the first floor. Those are his very words. Well,
+you will be able to see the life of the market-place, which is very
+entertaining. As a distinguished doll once said, ‘There is no cloud
+without its silver lining.’ You couldn’t do that so conveniently from
+the top story. Perhaps the King thought of that. There is a good deal
+of thoughtfulness in his nature, though he is apt to be a little
+irritable after meals.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s like his nastiness not to let us see the view,” said Wooden’s
+aunt. “I wouldn’t marry him now, not if he was to go down on his bended
+knees, I wouldn’t.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy would have liked to go up to the top of the House of Cards, but
+it turned out very well for them all that they were not shut up there,
+as will presently appear.</p>
+
+<p>The cards of which the house was built were so enormous that each
+story had two floors of several rooms. They were taken upstairs by a
+policeman doll, and found themselves in a spacious apartment furnished
+with quite nice dolls’ furniture, and not like a prison at all. The
+Lord Chancellor rubbed his hands<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span> as he looked round him, and said,
+“Well, this isn’t so bad, is it? With the pot-plants it will look quite
+home-like, and I should think, when you are set free, you will hardly
+like to leave it. You can go out on this balcony, see? We might go out
+now, and look at the people. I’m sure they will be pleased to see us
+all, especially me. The people have a great love for me, and it is very
+gratifying. I often think about it when I am alone, and it sometimes
+brings tears to my eyes.”</p>
+
+<p>They went out on the balcony, and looked down at the crowd of dolls in
+the market-place. There were all sorts there except wax. Peggy looked
+to see if she could see Teddy or the Noahs among them. There were
+several Teddy bears, and one or two Noahs in the crowd, but although
+she might not have recognized the Noahs of the royal Ark, Peggy would
+have known her own Teddy anywhere. She was sure that he was not in the
+crowd, and wondered what had become of him.</p>
+
+<p>The crowd of dolls cheered when they appeared on the balcony. The Lord
+Chancellor put himself in front, and bowed repeatedly, but the dolls
+seemed to be cheering Wooden more than him. This was probably because
+they had been told that she was to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span> their Queen, and because any
+doll who knew her would have told their friends how nice and good
+she was. So the news would have spread, and Wooden would have become
+popular. At any rate the dolls kept on calling out, “Wooden! Wooden!
+Speech! Speech!”</p>
+
+<p>The platform was too high above the market-place to make it convenient
+for anybody to make a speech from it, even if they had wished to.
+Wooden did not wish to, not being accustomed to public speaking, but
+her aunt offered to dance a Highland fling, which her late husband had
+taught her. This offer was refused, and Wooden’s mother told her to
+behave herself, and remember where she was.</p>
+
+<p>“Now, I must leave you,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Good-bye, ladies,
+and a very pleasant imprisonment to you!”</p>
+
+<p>He shook hands affably with all of them, and bowed himself out. He
+seemed already to have forgotten the compromise he had come to with the
+people, and they seemed to have forgotten it, too; for Peggy watched
+him go off, followed by the palace guards, and bowing to right and
+left. The dolls in the market-place cheered heartily, but none of them
+stopped him to say anything, and he disappeared round the corner.</p>
+
+<p>“Dolls seem to have very short memories,” said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> Peggy to herself. She
+could not help feeling a little unhappy at being shut up in a prison,
+though it was only a dolls’ prison, and quite different from the stone
+cells she had read about. She did think that her own Teddy might have
+done something more to help them. She knew now that he was rather
+flighty, but surely he need not have gone off like that, and have left
+his mistress and her friends to be locked up, without trying to do
+anything to rescue them! She supposed he was amusing himself with his
+new friends, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Noah, and had forgotten all about her.</p>
+
+<p>But she did Teddy an injustice there, as you will soon see.</p>
+
+<p>The policeman doll came up to see if they wanted anything directly
+the Lord Chancellor had gone, and brought his wife with him. He was
+a large, amiable-looking doll, and his wife was nice too. She was
+dressed as a Swiss peasant, and when she saw Peggy she said, “Bonjour,
+Mademoiselle! Comment ça va t’il?”</p>
+
+<p>Now Peggy knew a good deal of French already, because her father and
+mother took her to Etretat every summer for the holidays. So she said
+at once, “Merci, Madame, ça va bien. Et vous?”</p>
+
+<p>The policeman doll’s wife was delighted to hear her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span> own language
+spoken, and asked Peggy if she might kiss her. The policeman doll
+beamed affectionately at them, and said, “Isn’t that clever now? I
+never could pick up her lingo.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img26">
+<img src="images/img26.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">They said they would like some tea as soon as possible, and apricot jam
+with it. The policeman doll’s wife, whose name was <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma, said that
+she would bring it up as soon as she had bathed her baby.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Oh, have you got a long-clothes baby?” asked Peggy, clasping her two
+hands together.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma said that she had, and Peggy begged her to let her go down
+and bathe it for her.</p>
+
+<p>The policeman doll said he didn’t think he could allow that without
+orders, but <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma persuaded him, and he said that as the outer
+door of the house was locked, perhaps it wouldn’t much matter after
+all; only she wasn’t to tell anybody. Peggy would have promised almost
+anything for the sake of bathing a real live baby doll, and promised
+this readily enough. So she left the four dolls, promising to come back
+soon, and went downstairs with <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma.</p>
+
+<p>They lived in the basement, where they had a large and well furnished
+kitchen, spotlessly clean. In one corner of it was a pretty bassinette
+covered with muslin and ribbons, and inside it was the sweetest little
+baby doll, beautifully dressed in a hand-made robe of cambric and lace.
+Everything was so pretty and dainty that it might have belonged to
+a princess, and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma told Peggy that she took a great pride in
+having everything very nice for her baby.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy lost her heart to the baby doll at once. She would have loved
+it even if it had been just like other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span> dolls, but when it smiled at
+her, and put out its little pudgy hands, and gurgled happily, she could
+almost have eaten it, it was so fascinating.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img27">
+<img src="images/img27.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">Peggy lost her heart to the baby doll</p>
+
+<p class="p2"><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma put on her a large bath apron, and got out a white enamelled
+toy bath, with a gold rim round it, and a cake of pink soap, and filled
+the bath with hot water. And then Peggy lifted the baby doll carefully
+out of the cot and undressed it and put it into the bath, first putting
+her own hand in the water to see that it was not too hot.</p>
+
+<p>It was lovely, bathing that beautiful fat laughing baby doll. <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma
+stood over the bath smiling at them both, but she soon saw that Peggy
+knew exactly what to do and how to do it, so she went away to her work
+in another part of the kitchen.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy was so busy with the baby doll, and so wrapped up in it, that
+she did not pay much attention to what <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma were talking
+about. But she heard some of the things they said, and, although she
+did not pay much attention to them at the time, as I have said, they
+turned out to be important afterwards, as you will see.</p>
+
+<p>When Peggy had bathed the baby doll, and dressed it and put it back
+into its cot, she was taken upstairs again. She found the Woodens and
+Lady Grace on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> the balcony, where something interesting was just about
+to happen.</p>
+
+<p>A Teddy bear had made its appearance in the market-place with an
+enormous pole, and just as Peggy went out on to the balcony he was
+balancing it on his head. Then he balanced it on different parts of his
+body, as he knelt or lay or stooped on the ground. The crowd of dolls
+who still filled the market-place was absolutely delighted with his
+performance, and when he shouted out that he would climb up to the top
+of the pole and balance himself on his head, if somebody would hold it
+for him, all the gentlemen dolls in the market-place wanted to have the
+honour of holding the pole for him.</p>
+
+<p>But the Teddy bear said he must choose who should hold the pole
+himself, and chose out of the crowd four tall wooden dolls with shiny
+black hats and different coloured robes. Then he looked up at Peggy and
+the four dolls standing on the balcony of the House of Cards, and waved
+his paw and made a low bow, and told his four assistants to hold up the
+pole near the House, so that the ladies could see. The crowd of dolls
+was pleased at this, for they were sorry for the prisoners, and wanted
+them to have all the amusement that they could get.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span></p>
+
+<p>Well, of course you have already understood that the Teddy bear who was
+so clever at his acrobatic feats was Peggy’s own old Teddy, who had not
+forgotten her at all, but had evidently chosen this means of getting
+at them. And the four tall wooden dolls who were helping him were <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr>
+Noah of the Royal Ark, and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet. It
+was rather clever of Teddy to have chosen them out of the crowd, as
+if he hadn’t known them before. But Teddy was clever, in spite of his
+flightiness, and faithful, too, as Peggy was very glad to see. She had
+recognized him at once, but the crowd had not. One Teddy bear is very
+much like another, unless he happens to be your own, and there were
+several of them in the crowd itself, as I have already said.</p>
+
+<p>Teddy climbed carefully up to the top of the pole, and when he got
+there he stood on one foot and waved his paws about, and then changed
+to the other foot, and kissed his paw to the crowd, and to Peggy and
+the dolls on the balcony. Peggy was afraid that he might tumble, and
+almost forgot to listen for anything that he might say when he got near
+to them. But he seemed quite at home on his pole, and as he turned
+towards them and kissed his paw, he said in a mysterious voice, “One of
+you go to the other side.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p>
+
+<p>That was all he said, and the crowd down below could not have known
+that he was saying anything at all, he did it so cleverly. He was just
+on a level with the balcony, and could easily have jumped on to it if
+he had wanted to. Peggy had thought that perhaps he had meant to do
+that, so as to be with them, because he could not have got there in
+any other way. But he was too clever for that, for if he had stepped
+on to the balcony, all the dolls who had been watching him would have
+known at once that they had been deceived. And besides, he would only
+have been locked up with Peggy and the four dolls, and could have done
+nothing more to help them.</p>
+
+<p>When Teddy had said, “One of you go to the other side,” he turned round
+again, and then stood on his head on the top of the pole, as he had
+promised to do. The crowd of dolls was wild with delight, and none of
+them suspected that he had given a message to the prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>“What does he mean? What are we to go to the other side for?” asked
+Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>“I expect there is somebody there,” said Lady Grace. “Shall I go?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I’ll go,” said Wooden’s aunt, who had largely recovered her
+spirits during Teddy’s performance, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span> had danced a few steps of a
+Highland fling on her own account, while he was posturing on the pole.</p>
+
+<p>“I think Peggy had better go,” said Wooden’s mother. “She has a
+slightly better head than any of us, because she is human.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes, let Peggy go,” said all the others at once. So Peggy went
+round the balcony to the other side of the house, feeling proud at the
+trust reposed in her, but a little alarmed also at what should happen.
+But she hid that from the dolls, and walked with a firm and confident
+step.</p>
+
+<p>There was as big a space in the market-place on the other side of the
+House of Cards as in the one in which Teddy was performing, but it was
+absolutely empty. Every doll was watching Teddy, and even the shops
+were deserted, as all the doll shopkeepers had gone round to the other
+side. A thief might have taken anything he liked from the shops, and
+nobody would have seen him. But dolls are never thieves, so it was
+quite safe.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps I ought not to have said that that side of the market-place was
+absolutely empty. It looked so to Peggy when she got there, but when
+she looked over the edge of the platform she saw a solitary doll figure
+standing below her, looking up. It was rather a disappointment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> to
+her, for it was a gentleman doll wrapped up in a long black cloak, and
+he had his arms full of pot-plants, like the ones the Lord Chancellor
+had bought to brighten up their rooms. Peggy thought they had quite
+enough pot-plants to go on with, and, if the gentleman doll only wanted
+to sell them some more, it was hardly worth Teddy’s cleverness to get
+all the people round on the other side, so that he might do so without
+being observed.</p>
+
+<p>And that was apparently all that the gentleman doll did want, for
+directly he saw Peggy looking over the platform at him he called up to
+her, “Kind lady, buy a few pot-plants from a poor man. I’ve got some
+lovely ones here.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, thank you,” said Peggy. “We have plenty. Besides, I haven’t got
+any money; at least, not here.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t want any money for them,” said the gentleman doll. “Let me
+come up and show you my lovely pot-plants.”</p>
+
+<p>Now there was something in his voice that Peggy seemed to recognize.
+She thought she had heard it before, but she couldn’t remember where or
+when. However, she began to understand that the pot-plants were only an
+excuse for the gentleman doll to get into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> the House of Cards, and that
+if he did so he might have something interesting to say.</p>
+
+<p>“I should be glad if you could come up,” she said. “But the doors are
+locked, and I don’t suppose they will let you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, they will, if you say the word ‘pot-plants,’” said the gentleman
+doll. “Say that somebody has come from the palace with some pot-plants
+for you. Go quickly, before anybody comes.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy went back, and told Wooden and the others what had happened. “I
+don’t know who it was,” she said, “but I couldn’t help thinking that I
+had heard his voice before.”</p>
+
+<p>“Was it the Lord Chancellor?” asked Wooden’s mother. “Perhaps this is
+his compromise.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t think so,” said Peggy. “But hadn’t we better ask for him to be
+let in?”</p>
+
+<p>Teddy had finished his performance, and was climbing down the pole. It
+was time to do something, for soon the crowd of dolls would disperse,
+and some would go round to the other side of the House.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, dear, we had better do that,” said Wooden. “It is a very good
+idea. Perhaps you had better go yourself, if you don’t mind, as it was
+you who heard what he said.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span></p>
+
+<p>Peggy would have been quite willing to go down, but the door of their
+room was locked. So after a little more discussion they rang the bell,
+and presently <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma came up to see what they wanted.</p>
+
+<p>The dolls seemed to expect Peggy to speak, so she said, “There is a man
+outside who wants to come up and see us.”</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma beamed affectionately upon her. “Bless your dear little
+heart!” he said. “I’d do anything to please you, but I can’t let
+anybody up to see you without orders. It would be as much as my place
+is worth.”</p>
+
+<p>“He has come from the palace with some pot-plants,” said Peggy.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma’s face underwent a complete change. “Come with what?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“With some pot-plants.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, well then, I’ll let him up at once,” said <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma. “Oh,
+certainly.”</p>
+
+<p>He went out quickly, but did not forget to lock the door behind him.</p>
+
+<p>Just as he had locked it, and they thought he was on his way
+downstairs, he unlocked it again, and put his head into the room. “What
+did you say the man had come with?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span></p>
+
+<p>“With some pot-plants,” said Peggy again.</p>
+
+<p>“Ah, that’s the word,” he said. “I wasn’t quite certain I’d got it
+right.”</p>
+
+<p>Then he locked the door behind him again, and they heard his feet going
+heavily downstairs.</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes he came back again, unlocked the door, and came into
+the room with the gentleman doll, who was wrapped in his long cloak,
+and carried his pots in his arms.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll leave the gentleman with you for a bit,” said <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, “as I’m
+just in the middle of my tea.”</p>
+
+<p>He went out and locked the door behind him once more. The gentleman
+doll, who had put the pots down on the floor, stood up and threw off
+his cloak, and revealed the stalwart form and handsome features of
+Colonel Jim, of the Lifeguards.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img28">
+<img src="images/img28.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="IX">IX
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THEY DISCUSS A PLAN OF ESCAPE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The first thing Colonel Jim did when he had thrown off his disguise
+was to bow politely to all of them. But to Lady Grace he did more than
+that. He took her hand and kissed it respectfully, and then said,
+“Very sorry to see you here, my lady. Forming plans to get you out.
+Disgraceful affair altogether!”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img29">
+<img src="images/img29.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">He took her hand and kissed it respectfully</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Lady Grace looked pleased at the attention paid to her, and blushed.
+Peggy had not known before that dolls could fall in love, but it was
+quite plain that Lady Grace was in love with handsome Colonel Jim.
+It seemed plain also that he was in love with her. He spoke in short
+sharp sentences because he was a soldier, and loved deeds better than
+words. But there was a tenderness in his manner when he addressed Lady
+Grace which he did not show to anybody but her, though his manners were
+always courteous.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt gave a screech of enjoyment when <span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span>Colonel Jim kissed Lady
+Grace’s hand, and said,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> “Lawks! I wish I’d got a handsome beau like
+that.” But nobody took any notice of her, as there was so much to talk
+about. Wooden’s mother requested Colonel Jim to take a seat, which he
+did, and proceeded to explain himself.</p>
+
+<p>“Didn’t hear you were shut up till Teddy bear came and told me so,”
+he said. “Determined at once to use the pass-word for the day, which
+I knew, as commanding troops at palace. Pass-word ‘Pot-plants.’ So
+concocted plan with Teddy bear, and here I am.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy wondered that she had not known who he was under his disguise.
+But he had not then spoken in the military way he used now, as he had,
+of course, been playing his part as well as he could.</p>
+
+<p>“And very pleased we are to see you, Colonel Jim,” said Wooden, in her
+nice gentle manner. “It’s a sad thing, this shutting up of Waxes and
+others. I’m sure dear Queen Rosebud would never have allowed it, if she
+had been alive.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s my belief,” said Colonel Jim, “that Queen Rosebud <em>is</em>
+alive.”</p>
+
+<p>All the dolls exclaimed, in surprise. And Wooden said, after the pause
+which followed, “But King Selim said that she was dead, Colonel Jim. We
+all heard him with our own ears.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I know that,” said Colonel Jim shortly.</p>
+
+<p>There was another pause of consternation. “Do you mean that you think
+the King has told an untruth?” asked Lady Grace, in an awestruck voice.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Colonel Jim.</p>
+
+<p>Another pause. “It would be a dreadful thing if he had,” said Wooden.
+“He wouldn’t deserve to be King if he could do a thing like that, would
+he?”</p>
+
+<p>“He doesn’t deserve it,” said Colonel Jim.</p>
+
+<p>Nobody spoke. The matter was too serious to be treated in a light
+conversational way, and it was felt that Colonel Jim must have more to
+tell them, if he could only get it out.</p>
+
+<p>He seemed to feel, himself, that he owed them explanations, and must
+try to make them as clear as possible, for he spoke slowly, and in
+longer sentences than he usually employed. He could do this all right
+if he liked.</p>
+
+<p>“It was Rose who put him up to it all,” he said. “She’s mad all the
+time because she isn’t Wax.”</p>
+
+<p>“And only half Composition,” put in Wooden’s aunt.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, that’s as may be,” said Colonel Jim. “Anyhow, she got him to let
+her nurse the Queen, and told him to give out that she was dead. She
+wasn’t dead at all, but getting better all the time.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Do you mean that <em>she</em> told a story?” asked Wooden, in a voice of
+consternation.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Colonel Jim. “I do.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said Wooden, “I never liked her; but I did not think she would
+go so far as that.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s depravity,” said Wooden’s mother. “That’s what I call it;
+positive depravity.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, that’s as may be,” said Colonel Jim again. “Anyhow, that’s what
+she did.”</p>
+
+<p>“How did you find out about Rose so cleverly?” asked Lady Grace.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim looked pleased at being called clever, which he wasn’t
+very. “One of my troopers is going to be married to Rose’s maid,” he
+said. “She heard them talking—Rose and Selim—and told him about it.
+He came and told me. Very proper thing to do. Made him a lance-corporal
+on the spot. He marries the maid tomorrow. Shall give them a wedding
+present. Silver pepper-castor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then, where is dear Queen Rosebud?” asked Wooden. “I am so glad she
+isn’t dead after all. I wish we could see her.”</p>
+
+<p>“This is my month to be in waiting,” said Lady Grace. “Could you take
+me to her, do you think?”</p>
+
+<p>“Afraid that’s impossible,” said Colonel Jim.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span> “Don’t know where she
+is. She was taken out of the palace and hidden somewhere.”</p>
+
+<p>“How dreadful it all sounds,” said Wooden. “I shouldn’t have thought
+such things could have happened in Toyland. I do hope they give her
+enough to eat.”</p>
+
+<p>“I expect she’s having her tea now,” said Wooden’s aunt. “If I was a
+Queen, I’d have herrings every day.”</p>
+
+<p>It was a foolish remark, as many of Wooden’s aunt’s remarks were, but
+it turned out to be a lucky one, for it reminded Peggy of something she
+had heard downstairs, while she was bathing the baby doll.</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose she couldn’t be the lady in the top story!” she said.</p>
+
+<p>They stared at her. “What do you mean, dear? What lady?” asked Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>“When I was downstairs just now,” said Peggy, “<abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma was getting
+tea ready for the lady in the top story, and <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma said he was
+sorry for her being shut up there, and he wondered if she would like a
+herring for her tea.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did they give her one?” asked Wooden’s aunt.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Peggy. “<abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma said that as she was Wax she might not
+like herrings.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img30">
+<img src="images/img30.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">“It’s the best fish out of the sea,” said Wooden’s aunt, smacking her
+lips. “Lawks! How I wish they’d bring me one!”</p>
+
+<p>“Adone, now!” said Wooden’s mother sharply. “We’re talking about the
+Queen in the top story, not about what you’d like to have for your
+tea.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know that it is the Queen,” said Peggy. “But there is a lady
+on the top story, and she is Wax. I know as much as that.”</p>
+
+<p>“And it’s a good deal to know, dear,” said Wooden fondly. “It was very
+clever of you to find it out.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, it’s the Queen, right enough,” said Colonel Jim. “Wonder we never
+thought of her being here before. Question is now how to get at her. I
+wish that Teddy bear was here.”</p>
+
+<p>They all seemed at a loss what to do next, and the suggestions they
+made were not very helpful. Wooden thought that it would be a good
+thing if Teddy were to bring a very long pole and climb up to the top
+of the House of Cards. But it was quite certain that there wasn’t a
+pole long enough in the whole of Toyland, or anywhere else. Wooden’s
+mother suggested throwing the Queen a rope. But it was equally certain
+that nobody could have thrown it far enough. Wooden’s aunt said,
+why not telephone to her? But this was silly, because there was no
+telephone.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by they all looked at Peggy, as if they expected her to suggest
+something sensible. She did not like to disappoint them, as it was
+flattering the way they seemed to believe in her. So she knitted her
+brows hard, to see if she could think of something.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We could do so much more if we weren’t locked up in prison,” she said
+at last.</p>
+
+<p>All the dolls looked at one another in admiration, and Wooden said,
+“Now, that’s one of the cleverest things I ever heard said, dear. How
+these things come into your head I can’t think.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy didn’t think that what she had said was so clever as all that,
+though she had had something further in her mind when she had said it.
+But she was pleased at being praised; most of us are; and she wanted to
+be as helpful as she could.</p>
+
+<p>“Did you and Teddy make any plan for getting us out of prison?” she
+asked, turning to Colonel Jim.</p>
+
+<p>“Now, I wonder what made her think of that?” said Wooden’s mother.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, we did make a plan,” said Colonel Jim; “though how you guessed
+it I don’t know, as you couldn’t have heard us talking. Our plan was
+this: When I’m ready to go out, I say to <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, ‘I should like to
+look at the view.’ He says, ‘With pleasure,’ and takes me up to the top
+story.”</p>
+
+<p>“But supposing he doesn’t say ‘With pleasure,’” suggested Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim looked worried. “Teddy bear said he’d<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span> say ‘With
+pleasure,’” he said. “Never thought of asking what to do if he didn’t.”</p>
+
+<p>“If Teddy said he’d say ‘With pleasure,’ I should think he would,” said
+Wooden. “Teddy is flighty, but I have always found his word reliable.”</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim brightened. “Well, then, we go up to the top story,” he
+said. “Then I look at the view, and I say—let’s see, what is it I say?
+I’ve learnt it all up, but it’s difficult to remember. Oh, yes, I know.
+I say, ‘What’s that bird flying towards the sea?’ No, that’s wrong. I
+say, ‘What’s that bird over there?’ He says, ‘What bird? Where?’ I say,
+‘Over there!’ pointing towards the sea. He turns to where I point, you
+see, and——”</p>
+
+<p>“But are you sure there will be a bird to point at?” asked Lady Grace.
+“If not, won’t it be telling a story?”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think it will?” asked Colonel Jim. “I shouldn’t like to do
+that.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a pause. “I like the plan,” said Wooden, “but that does
+rather interfere with it, doesn’t it?”</p>
+
+<p>They all looked at Peggy as if they expected her to find a way out of
+the difficulty; and she did so at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span> once. “I think there are sure to be
+birds flying about,” she said, “and some of them will be flying towards
+the sea.”</p>
+
+<p>Their faces brightened, and Wooden’s aunt slapped her knee. “Now,
+doesn’t that beat all?” she said. “How she do think of things, to be
+sure! Well, go on, soldier.”</p>
+
+<p>“Directly he says, ‘What bird, where?’” proceeded Colonel Jim, “that’s
+my sign. I get behind him. I whip off my cloak. I throw it over his
+head. I tie the cord—it’s got a cord, you see—round his arms, so that
+he can’t move. Then I say to him, ‘Your keys, please.’ Then I come
+downstairs with the keys, unlock the doors, and off we go. Well, that’s
+the plan, and if it all goes right I don’t think a better plan was ever
+invented. It’s Teddy bear’s plan chiefly, but it was me who thought of
+saying, ‘Your keys, please,’ instead of ‘Hand over your keys.’ More
+polite.”</p>
+
+<p>The plan was not received with the pleasure that Colonel Jim seemed to
+expect. Wooden said doubtfully, “<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma is a very nice man. He might
+not like to have a cloak thrown over his head.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t you think he would?” asked Colonel Jim, in a disturbed way. “I
+never thought of that. What do you say, Peggy?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span></p>
+
+<p>“If you were to treat him as gently as you could,” said Peggy, “and
+tell him that he might go downstairs to <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma and the baby in five
+minutes, when we had all got away, he might not mind so much.”</p>
+
+<p>“He couldn’t do that,” said Colonel Jim. “His legs would be tied up
+too. I forgot to say that. Can’t keep everything in your head at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“Try again, dear,” said Wooden hopefully.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, supposing we told <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma she could go up and untie him, as we
+went out!” suggested Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“The very thing!” exclaimed Wooden’s mother. “I should never have
+thought of that if I had tried for a week.”</p>
+
+<p>They had no time to settle anything further, for at that moment the key
+was heard turning in the lock outside. Colonel Jim had just time to put
+on his long cloak again before <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma came into the room.</p>
+
+<p>He seemed not to be in quite such a good temper as before. Directly he
+came in, he said to Colonel Jim, “Now, then, my man, you’ve been here
+quite long enough. Pot-plants or no pot-plants, it’s time you cleared
+out.”</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim hesitated. Peggy was afraid for the moment that he had
+forgotten the words he had learned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span> so carefully. But they seemed to
+come to him all of a sudden. He straightened himself up, and said in a
+firm voice, but rather as if he were repeating a lesson, “I should like
+to go up to the top story and look at the view.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy heard Wooden say, “With pleasure,” under her breath, as if she
+were helping <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma to remember his part.</p>
+
+<p>But unfortunately <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma had not learnt his part. What he did say
+was, “Oh, you would, would you? Well, I’m afraid I can’t oblige you.
+I’m almost run off my legs with work as it is. Now you come along down
+with me.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img31">
+<img src="images/img31.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="X">X
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">PEGGY TALKS TO A ROYAL PRISONER</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">Colonel Jim threw a despairing look at Peggy; she could just see it
+under the hood that he had put over his head. His carefully arranged
+plan had gone wrong at the very beginning, and he hadn’t the least
+idea what to do next. Of course, he might just as well have thrown
+his cloak over <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma’s head there and then, as done it on the top
+of the House of Cards, after pointing to a bird which might not have
+been there. But perhaps he did not like to exercise violence before
+ladies, or perhaps it never occurred to him to alter the plan so as to
+suit the circumstances. At any rate, he prepared to follow <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma
+downstairs without any further ado. If Peggy had not suddenly thought
+of something, there would have been an end of any good he had done by
+making his way in to them.</p>
+
+<p>As they were going out, Peggy said to <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, “If you and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma
+have got so much work to do, couldn’t I come down and help you?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span></p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma turned round and beamed at her. “Now, you <em>are</em> a kind
+little lady!” he said. “And I don’t know as you can’t help us. Yes, you
+come along o’ me, dearie. My missus will be glad to see your pretty
+little face, anyhow, and you can talk to her a bit in her own lingo,
+which I never could fathom, nohow.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy was very glad at that moment that she had paid attention to her
+French, which gave her this opportunity of helping her doll friends,
+though she had been far from thinking that she would ever make such
+extraordinary use of it when she had talked as much as she could to
+French people during her holidays. She followed <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma out of the
+room, and he locked the door carefully after him, and led the way
+downstairs.</p>
+
+<p>Now would have been Colonel Jim’s opportunity, either to throw his
+cloak over <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, who was in front of him, or else to bolt upstairs
+instead of down. If he had done that, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma would have had to follow
+him, and then they could have had it out together, and Colonel Jim
+would probably have won, as he was younger and stronger than <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma.
+But, though as brave as a lion, Colonel Jim had a brain that did not
+move very fast. All he could do, as they went downstairs, was to nudge
+Peggy with his elbow,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span> and that did not take them very far, for when
+she whispered to him, “What is it?” he had nothing to say.</p>
+
+<p>So it rested with her to think of something, and she whispered to
+Colonel Jim, unheard by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, whose large feet were making a
+considerable noise, “I will try to get upstairs, and see if it is the
+Queen who is there; and you and Teddy must try to get in to us again.
+Then I will tell you what I have found out.”</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim nodded his head repeatedly, and Peggy could only hope that
+he had understood what she had said, and would remember it, for she had
+not time to say it over again, as they had now reached the ground floor.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma unlocked the big door leading into the market-place, and
+Colonel Jim went out. Just as he was going down the steps, Peggy had
+another bright idea. She said to <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, “We should like this man to
+bring us a few more pot-plants later on. I suppose you will let him in,
+if he comes.”</p>
+
+<p>But <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma spoilt that little plan at the beginning, for he said,
+“No, dearie, I can’t do that. When he once goes out he stays out.” Then
+he locked the door.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img32">
+<img src="images/img32.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2"><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma was pleased to see Peggy again. She and <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma had had
+their own tea, and she was preparing trays to take up to the prisoners.
+Peggy helped her to do this, while <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma sat by the cradle of his
+baby doll, of which he seemed to be very fond. Peggy couldn’t help
+going over to have a look at it sometimes, and see it smile and gurgle;
+and it delighted <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma to see her so taken up with his baby doll.
+This was a very good thing, for when Peggy said, “Now, I will take up
+the trays, if you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span> like,” <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma replied, “I ought not to let you do
+it, I suppose, because I shall have to give you my keys. But I’ve been
+so rushed off my legs today that I shan’t be sorry to sit still for
+a bit; and you’re such a nice little lady that I really feel as if I
+could do anything for you.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is more like Mademoiselle doing something for <em>you</em>,” said
+<abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma, with a laugh. But if she had only known, she might not have
+said that.</p>
+
+<p>“I know you wouldn’t want to get me into trouble,” said <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma as he
+handed Peggy his keys. “You won’t tell the King now, will you? He’s
+Wood, and so am I; but he don’t seem above punishing Woods, if it suits
+him, any more than the rest.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy promised not to tell the King, readily enough. She was not quite
+sure that <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma might not get into trouble, if anything came of her
+taking his keys; but she made up her mind to speak up for him when
+affairs in Toyland came to be righted, as she hoped they would be.
+Selim was only a usurping King, after all, and if Queen Rosebud was
+restored to her throne he would not be able to do any harm to <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma,
+or to anybody else.</p>
+
+<p>“First of all,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma, “you might take this tray up to the top
+story. There is a wax lady<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span> there who hasn’t been very well. I should
+like her to have her tea first.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy was almost frightened at the easiness of it all. She had hardly
+taken any trouble to bring it about, and here she was with the key to
+the Queen’s prison, and her tea-tray in her hands. For she had little
+doubt now that it was the Queen who was shut up in the top story. <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Emma had no idea who she was, but she said she had been ill, and Peggy
+knew that the Queen had been ill.</p>
+
+<p>Just as she was going out with the tea-tray, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma said, “Don’t
+stay very long, because there are the other trays to take up. But you
+might just talk to her a little. She is a nice lady, and it is lonely
+for her up there, all by herself.”</p>
+
+<p>This made it all the easier for Peggy, and she started upstairs,
+thinking how luckily it had all turned out.</p>
+
+<p>It took her quite a long time to reach the top story. There were four
+flights of stairs to each story, and each flight had ten steps. Four
+times ten times thirteen are five hundred and twenty all the world
+over, and if you ever try going up five hundred and twenty stairs with
+a rather heavy tea-tray in your hands you will find that it is no light
+matter. However, Peggy got to the top at last, with one or two rests
+on the way—But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> wait a minute. She did not have to go up the last two
+flights of stairs, which would have led to the roof, so that takes
+twenty off the total, and makes exactly five hundred steps, which is
+almost as serious as five hundred and twenty.</p>
+
+<p>She put the tray on the floor outside while she unlocked the door. Then
+she knocked at it, and a voice inside said, “Come in.”</p>
+
+<p>She opened the door a little, took up the tea-tray from the floor, and
+then pushed the door open with her elbow and went in.</p>
+
+<p>The room was much like the one downstairs, and was quite as comfortably
+furnished, but was without the pot-plants which made theirs so bright
+and gay. So that it did look rather bare, and not altogether unlike a
+prison, in spite of the large window, which showed a magnificent view
+of the country. But perhaps what gave it the air of being a prison was
+not that, but the sad figure of the lady doll that was sitting in a
+chair by the window.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy knew that it must be the Queen, directly she saw her. Indeed,
+it was surprising that neither <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> nor <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma had guessed who the
+prisoner on the top story really was.</p>
+
+<p>For she looked very royal. She was most delicately<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span> made of wax, and
+looked a little faded, which would have been accounted for by her great
+age. But she was beautiful, too, with young features; for, of course,
+dolls do not grow old like human beings, and when they are in Toyland
+even breakages do not count.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img33">
+<img src="images/img33.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">She looked very royal</p>
+
+<p class="p2">She wore a dress of rich brocade embroidered with seed pearls, rather
+like those that you see in pictures of Queen Elizabeth. It was quite
+possible that she might have been born about the same time as Queen
+Elizabeth, which would have made her very interesting, if she had had a
+good memory, and could have talked about all the changes she had seen.
+But dolls’ memories are short, and Peggy did not find out how old the
+Queen really was, and, indeed, it would not have been good manners to
+ask.</p>
+
+<p>When Peggy came in with the tea-tray, the Queen looked surprised, and
+said, in a sad but gentle voice, “Who are you? Have you come to take me
+home? Why am I kept locked up here?”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy put the tray down on the table, and said, “I am Peggy, your
+Majesty. Wooden brought me to Toyland. You said that she might.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why do you call me your Majesty?” asked the Queen. “They said that
+if anybody called me that,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span> or I told anybody who I was, I should be
+locked up in a dungeon where I could not see the light.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy felt desperately sorry for her. She had called her “Your Majesty”
+quite naturally, for she was very royal, both in appearance and manner,
+although she was only a doll. It seemed quite dreadful that she should
+be locked up there, and be threatened with still worse imprisonment,
+and for no fault of her own at all.</p>
+
+<p>“I know that you are the Queen,” Peggy said, “and I hope that you will
+soon be back in your beautiful palace again. They are making plans
+outside to rescue you.”</p>
+
+<p>“I can’t understand it,” said the poor Queen, passing her hand wearily
+over her brow. “I have always been as nice as I could to everybody. And
+yet they told me that the people hate me, because I am Wax, and don’t
+want me to be their Queen any longer.”</p>
+
+<p>“That isn’t true,” said Peggy. “That wicked Selim has told everybody
+that you are dead, and that you said that he was to be King after you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I never said that,” said the Queen indignantly. “How can he have
+said such a thing? I never said anything like it.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is what he has given out,” said Peggy. “It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span> was Rose who made it
+up. She is as wicked as he is.”</p>
+
+<p>The Queen thought for a little time, looking out of the window at the
+beautiful view of her own kingdom. Then she looked at Peggy searchingly
+and said, “Isn’t it true that my people hate me because I am Wax, and
+want to have a Wooden King and Queen in my place? Rose told me that
+Selim was going to marry Wooden, who brought you here. I was very sorry
+to hear that, because I have always liked Wooden, and I didn’t think
+she would want to take my place.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, she doesn’t,” said Peggy, speaking as indignantly as the Queen
+had done. “Nobody will be more pleased to hear that you are really
+alive. And she doesn’t want to marry Selim. She hates him. Why, he has
+actually sent her to prison, because she said she didn’t want to marry
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>The Queen looked out of the window and did not speak for some time.
+Then she said, “I was kind to Selim. When he was brought to me after
+he had been wrecked, and had lost everything that he had, I gave him
+apartments in my own royal palace, and money every month from my
+treasury.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is bad and wicked,” said Peggy. “And Rose is bad, too. She used to
+be mine once, and I never liked her. Now I know why.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I didn’t like her either,” said the Queen. “She wanted to be my
+lady-in-waiting. She said that I ought to have one Composition at
+least, and not all Waxes round me. But I said no. Perhaps I would have
+a Wood, so as to please the Woods. I chose Wooden herself, and I was
+going to appoint her when I fell ill. You are sure that it is not true
+that the Woods hate me?”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy assured her again that it was not true, and she seemed much
+relieved. “I will not say anything about Selim and Rose,” she said, in
+a stately kind of way that was more effective than if she had said how
+wicked she thought they were. “When I get back my throne, and put on my
+crown again, I shall know what to do. My people have always been good,
+and I will not have them taught to tell untruths and to deceive.” She
+smiled gently at Peggy. “Why, what would you think of us over there?”
+she asked, “if you could not trust us?”</p>
+
+<p>This made Peggy see how trustworthy dolls really were. If they are ever
+naughty, it is only because their mistresses like to make them pretend
+to be, just for fun. And they are never <em>really</em> naughty, and soon
+get over whatever little trouble there may be with them, and are good
+and obedient again. Peggy wondered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span> now whether all this might not be
+owing to the wise and temperate rule of Queen Rosebud. Perhaps if Selim
+were to go on ruling it might all be altered, and dolls might become as
+bad as some human beings.</p>
+
+<p>“I am sure when the people know you are alive,” she said, “they will
+very soon take you back to your palace. And they will be most awfully
+glad to have you reigning over them again.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, you must tell them,” said the Queen. “I can wait here a little
+longer in patience, now that I know things are to be put right. And I
+am very pleased to see you here, my dear; but I wish you had come at a
+happier time.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy had never before conversed with a Queen, or indeed with any
+royal person, though she had once seen her own King and Queen driving
+through London; but she knew somehow that she was being dismissed from
+the presence. She kissed the Doll-Queen’s hand, which she had read
+somewhere was the proper way to behave, and went out of the room,
+leaving Queen Rosebud sitting by the window.</p>
+
+<p>As she went down the five hundred steps, she thought it was rather
+extraordinary that the Queen had not said anything about the way in
+which she was to be rescued. She had seemed to take it for granted
+that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span> when her people knew what had happened, everything would come
+right for her. She could leave the details to them.</p>
+
+<p>This seemed to Peggy rather royal, too, and also that she had not
+grumbled at all about her imprisonment. Though she was only a doll,
+Peggy had gained a great respect for Queen Rosebud.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img34">
+<img src="images/img34.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XI">XI
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE RELEASE OF PEGGY AND WOODEN</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">Peggy went down to the kitchen. She had time as she went down the five
+hundred stairs, to make up her mind as to whether she should tell <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr>
+and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma that the Wax lady on the top floor was the Queen. She
+decided not to do so just yet, but to wait a little longer and see what
+happened. They might be very indignant at hearing what Selim and Rose
+had done, but on the other hand they might be frightened that they
+would be punished for having let Peggy see such an important prisoner;
+and in that case they would probably not let her see her again. And
+Peggy wanted to see Queen Rosebud again.</p>
+
+<p>When Peggy went into the kitchen <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma said, “You have been a long
+time away, but I know it takes a long time to go up and down those
+stairs. How did you find the lady? I hope she liked the tea I sent her.
+I gave her some bread and honey instead of bread and butter.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy thought this rather remarkable, as she remembered the nursery
+rhyme about the Queen being<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span> in her parlour eating bread and honey.
+She wondered whether <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma had any suspicion of the prisoner being
+the Queen.</p>
+
+<p>Before she could reply <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma went on, “I was just saying to my
+husband that she is very like what Queen Rosebud was, except for
+her crown. Queen Rosebud had no sisters, but I shouldn’t be at all
+surprised if she didn’t turn out to be a sort of cousin. If you think
+that is likely, I shall ask her to write her name in my birthday book.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img35">
+<img src="images/img35.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">Before she could reply <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma went on</p>
+
+<p class="p2">So she seemed to have no suspicion of the truth; but that seemed to be
+only because the Queen was not wearing her crown.</p>
+
+<p>“It would be nice to have her name in your book,” said Peggy. “Shall I
+take up the other tray now?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, dear,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma. “And then will you please bring the keys
+down? You have been very kind helping us, but of course we must not
+forget that you are a prisoner.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy smiled to herself as she went upstairs again. If she took the
+keys down, their room would not be locked, and she would hardly be a
+prisoner. But she did not say anything, as she thought that if the door
+was left unlocked she might take Wooden or Lady Grace, or both of them,
+up to see the Queen.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span></p>
+
+<p>The dolls were interested in what she told them, but they were now
+quite used to the idea of Queen Rosebud being alive, and showed less
+excitement at her news than Peggy had expected. While she had been
+away, they seemed to have been talking about the failure of the plan
+concocted by Teddy and Colonel Jim, and to have agreed that Teddy had
+not behaved well in telling Colonel Jim that <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma would say, “With
+pleasure,” when he asked him if he could go up to the top story. For
+<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma had said quite the opposite.</p>
+
+<p>“I always knew Teddy was flighty,” said Wooden, “but I did not think
+that he would go so far as to tell a story.”</p>
+
+<p>“So many people seem to be telling them now,” said Lady Grace sadly.
+“It is very dreadful.”</p>
+
+<p>“But Teddy didn’t tell a story,” said Peggy. “He only thought that <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr>
+Emma would say that, and told Colonel Jim so.”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s aunt, who was already very busy with her tea, slapped her
+knee, and said, with a mouth full of bread and butter, “There now!
+Didn’t I say the very same thing? I was the only one as stuck up for
+Teddy. I said he wouldn’t tell a lie, because I knowed he wouldn’t.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You didn’t say what Peggy says he told Colonel Jim,” said Wooden’s
+mother. “Are you sure he said that, dear?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Peggy stoutly. “That is what he must have said.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I am sure I am very glad to hear it,” said Wooden, with a sigh
+of relief. “I know <em>you</em> wouldn’t tell a story, dear, and if you
+say that is what Teddy said, of course he said it. I am <em>very</em>
+glad he didn’t tell a story, as I shouldn’t like to think ill of him. I
+suppose you couldn’t tell us what Rose really said, could you? I have
+never liked her, but you did exchange her for me over there, and I have
+always felt sorry for her, because the exchange was such a good thing
+for me. I should like not to think badly of her, if I could.”</p>
+
+<p>“Rose has told nothing but stories,” said Peggy decisively. “She is
+really wicked, and when Queen Rosebud comes to the throne again I hope
+she will do something to her. I am very glad I did exchange her for
+you, dear Wooden, especially now I know what she is really like.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps if she had stayed with you she might not have been so wicked,”
+said Wooden; and Peggy thought this was a great compliment from a doll,
+because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span> in some ways they are better than human beings. Of course
+they have not so many temptations to be naughty, but I am not sure
+that they don’t resist the temptations that they do have better than
+a good many humans. Rose was quite an exception, and as for Selim, he
+wasn’t a proper doll at all, and had spent his active life in being so
+harried about a chess board, with hectoring Queens, and heavy Castles,
+and sliding Bishops, and hopping Knights, and perky little Pawns always
+giving him check, and he not able to move more than one square at a
+time, that perhaps it was no wonder that he would do anything to get
+into a position in which he could really act like a King. However, I
+am far from excusing his abominable behaviour at this particular time,
+and think that Peggy was quite right in hoping that he would come to be
+soundly punished for it.</p>
+
+<p>When they had nearly finished their tea, footsteps and voices were
+heard coming up the stairs, and to their surprise the Lord Chancellor
+came into the room, followed by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor looked annoyed, and <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma looked frightened.
+Peggy guessed at once that this was because the Lord Chancellor had
+found out about <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma giving her his keys.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img36">
+<img src="images/img36.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">She was right. As they came into the room, the Lord Chancellor said, “I
+dare say the young lady did want to see your baby. Nobody knows better
+than I do, from long experience of the law, that young ladies like to
+see babies, and you have nothing to teach me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span> about that. But you had
+no right whatever to lend her your keys, and allow her to go in and out
+of this room as she pleases.”</p>
+
+<p>When he had said this he changed his expression of face completely, and
+smiled at Peggy and the four dolls. “Well, ladies,” he said, “I am glad
+to see you all looking so well, and I expect you are glad to see me
+looking well. I should say now that none of you have been in the least
+inconvenienced by your visit to this handsome building.”</p>
+
+<p>He said this as if he were inviting them to agree with him, and added,
+“Why, for part of the time you haven’t even had the door locked, which
+must have taken away the idea of a prison from your minds altogether.”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy thought this was rather cool, considering they had just heard
+him scolding <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma for letting them have the door unlocked. While
+the Lord Chancellor had been speaking, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma had been making signs
+to her in a pathetic imploring sort of way, pointing up to the ceiling
+and at her and himself and the Lord Chancellor and the tea-tray on the
+table, and making words at her with his mouth, none of which she could
+understand. But suddenly she understood by his signs what he wanted to
+convey to her. He was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span> begging her not to tell the Lord Chancellor that
+she had carried the tray up to the top story. So she nodded her head
+and put her finger on her mouth to assure him that she would keep his
+secret, for she did not want to get him into further trouble. He seemed
+a little soothed by this, but still very dejected, as he stood with his
+head on one side behind the Lord Chancellor.</p>
+
+<p>“If I had not made it a rule of life never to take tea twice on the
+same day,” said the Lord Chancellor, “I should feel inclined to ask you
+for a cup. I assure you that this is better tea than I drank at my own
+house half an hour ago. Really, I feel inclined to wish that I could be
+sent to the House of Cards myself, for a short time. I doubt if there
+is a more comfortable place in the whole of Dolltown. Now, confess,
+ladies. Haven’t you found it so?”</p>
+
+<p>“We have nothing to complain of in our treatment,” said Wooden, in a
+polite and simple but yet dignified way. “But nobody likes to be in
+prison, and I would rather go without my tea altogether than have it
+and be shut up.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor seemed delighted with this speech. “Now, it is a
+most extraordinary thing,” he said, “that you should express those
+sentiments. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span> was half afraid, when I came in, that you would be
+so delighted with your present situation that you would not want to
+exchange it for another. In fact, I thought you might even refuse to do
+so. I am very glad indeed that I was mistaken. For I have come to tell
+you that his most gracious Majesty, moved by one or two things that
+I have said to him, has instructed me to release you and Peggy. Now,
+don’t tell me—<em>please</em> don’t tell me—that you would rather stay
+where you are.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I shall not,” said Wooden. “I am very glad to be let out of
+prison. I ought never to have been sent here. None of us ought. Are my
+mother and aunt and Lady Grace still to be kept here?”</p>
+
+<p>“If she and Peggy go, <em>I</em> go,” said Wooden’s aunt. “That’s flat.”</p>
+
+<p>“You will go by-and-by,” said the Lord Chancellor in a soothing voice.
+“Leave it to me, and I will arrange it all. But I’m afraid you three
+others will have to stay here a little longer. Lady Grace is Wax, you
+see, and the order for releasing Waxes has not yet been given. But it
+will be. You needn’t have the slightest doubt about that. Just have
+patience for a little; that’s all.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I ain’t Wax,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I’m<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span> Wood, and proud of it.
+What’s the matter with me being let out?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said the Lord Chancellor, “the fact is that the King is still
+rather annoyed with you for thinking of such a thing as him marrying
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t think of it no more,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I don’t want to
+marry the old heathen image. You tell him that, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Lawyer, with
+Wooden’s aunt’s comps.”</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly, I will,” said the Lord Chancellor, with a polite bow. “It
+may make all the difference; there’s no telling.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I to stay in prison?” asked Wooden’s mother. “If so, I think it is
+very unfair. I’ve done nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hinted as much to his Majesty,” said the Lord Chancellor, “but
+he said two out at a time was enough. So I shouldn’t worry about it
+if I were you. You’ll be let out all in good time, and you are so
+comfortable here that it hardly makes any difference whether it’s
+sooner or later.”</p>
+
+<p>“You keep on saying that like a Poll-parrot,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I’ve
+no patience with you. You go back and tell your master that if I ain’t
+let out of this in an hour’s time I’ll yell the place down. So there
+now!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I will be sure to convey your message, madam,” said the Lord
+Chancellor, as politely as before. “Now, I think we might make a start,
+eh?” He turned towards Emma, and his face became severe once more. “As
+for you, sir,” he said, “I shall have you dismissed from your post. You
+have given your keys to a prisoner. That is the most serious offence
+you could have committed.”</p>
+
+<p>Poor <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma threw himself on his knees and held up his hands in
+supplication. “Oh, don’t dismiss me, your Honour,” he cried, “I’ve got
+a wife and a dear little baby, and you wouldn’t want them to starve,
+now would you? You’ve got a kind face; and a kind heart goes with it—I
+know it do. Don’t turn me off; please don’t.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor’s face became softer. “It is quite true that I have
+a kind face,” he said. “Many people have remarked the same thing before
+now, and some of them have even gone so far as to say that for my age
+it is a handsome face. Of course that was only said in compliment, I
+know; I don’t wish to make too much of it; but it does show that there
+is something in my face that strikes people, and I don’t wonder that it
+has struck you. Well, now, about dismissing you from your post—if I
+<em>could</em> find a way out of it——!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span></p>
+
+<p>He looked at Peggy, as if he expected her to help him, but for the
+moment she couldn’t think of anything.</p>
+
+<p>“Of course you have committed a serious fault,” he said to <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma,
+who had risen from his knees and was waiting to hear what was to be
+done to him, with a mournful expression on his face. “Prisoners are
+entrusted to you, and you are right in treating them as well as you
+can. But you have treated this young lady as if she weren’t a prisoner
+at all.”</p>
+
+<p>“But I am not a prisoner,” said Peggy. “You have said yourself that I
+am not.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor’s face lightened. “Now, why didn’t I think of
+that?” he said. “It makes all the difference. <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, you have
+committed no fault whatever. In fact, by carrying out his Majesty’s
+wishes at the earliest possible moment, you have shown yourself a
+zealous servant of the Crown, and I shall have much pleasure in
+recommending you for a rise in wages.”</p>
+
+<p>So that matter was settled in the most satisfactory fashion, and Peggy
+was pleased to see <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma cheer up and look proud of himself, as if
+he had done something particularly clever.</p>
+
+<p>She and Wooden said good-bye to the others, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span> did not seem so
+disappointed at still being kept in prison as might have been expected.
+There are many advantages in being a doll, and one of them is that they
+have such a lot of time before them that they are a good deal more
+patient than we are when things are not going well for them. They know
+that the bad time will end, and are content to wait till it does. Peggy
+managed to whisper to Lady Grace that she would do all she could to
+set things right and get the Queen out of prison. Then, of course, she
+would come out, too, and be restored to her post as lady-in-waiting.
+Wooden’s aunt was still eating and drinking in great enjoyment, and
+Wooden’s mother, after kissing them farewell, said that she should have
+a little nap, and when she woke up perhaps she would be let out.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img37">
+<img src="images/img37.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XII">XII
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">PEGGY STAYS IN A REAL DOLLS’ HOUSE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">Peggy had only stayed a very short time in prison, and had been so much
+interested in all that had happened there that she had hardly been able
+to think of herself in prison at all, but she was none the less pleased
+to be in the open street and free to go anywhere. They were going first
+of all to Wooden’s house, which was in the chief residential quarter of
+Dolltown, near the royal palace.</p>
+
+<p>The news of the imprisonment of a human child, and of four dolls, two
+at least of whom were highly respected, must have spread; for as they
+walked along everybody seemed to recognize them, and they were followed
+by an ever increasing crowd of dolls, who seemed to be greatly excited
+by their reappearance. The Lord Chancellor was in a high state of
+delight at the attention they were receiving. If he had a fault, it
+was a slight but excusable vanity. By his own labours he had raised
+himself to his present proud position, and thought it only natural that
+everybody who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span> saw him should be extremely interested in him. He was
+generally accompanied by his secretary when he walked about the streets
+of Dolltown, so that if he happened to go unrecognized the secretary
+could tell the people who he was. But this time he had left him behind,
+to write out the notes he had taken in the Hall of Audience, and walked
+alone with Peggy and Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>He certainly received a great deal of attention, and was at first very
+pleased with it, as I have said. But by-and-by he became a good deal
+less pleased.</p>
+
+<p>For the crowd was not so good-tempered as it had been when they had
+all walked to prison together. Most of the dolls that composed it made
+a lot of fuss over Peggy and Wooden, whom they were pleased to see
+let out of prison, but they did not seem at all pleased to see the
+Lord Chancellor, and he had to listen to some unpleasant remarks about
+himself for his share in what had happened.</p>
+
+<p>These remarks caused him a good deal of pain, and, when he understood
+that he was not sharing in the popularity that Peggy and Wooden
+enjoyed, he began to explain to everybody who would listen to him that
+he had been against sending anybody to prison from the first, and that
+it was entirely owing to him that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span> Peggy and Wooden had been let out.
+But nobody did listen to him very carefully, and one rather rude Dutch
+doll actually said to him, “Oh, dry up, you silly old fool, and don’t
+talk so much.” This distressed him very much. He had never in his life
+been called a silly old fool before, and the phrase rankled. He did not
+try to excuse himself any more, but kept on repeating “silly old fool”
+under his breath, so as to see if it was really as bad as it sounded.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden’s house was situated in a handsome terrace, which had a gate and
+a little wooden lodge at each end of it, to keep the houses private.
+This was a good thing, for the crowd had to stay outside the gates.
+It was nice to have them so enthusiastic, but they might have made
+themselves a nuisance if they had swarmed about the house itself, and
+looked in at the windows, and dirtied the front door steps.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden had told Peggy what a nice house she had, and was pleased to be
+able to show it to her. It was a handsome, rather old-fashioned, wooden
+dolls’ house of three stories and six rooms, with a staircase running
+up the middle. It was nicely furnished, too, with beautifully-made
+dolls’ furniture and ornaments. Any little girl would have been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span>
+overjoyed at having such a dolls’ house given to her to play with. To
+Peggy it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span> was even more delightful than if she had had it as a toy,
+because it was of a size that made it possible for her to use it as a
+real house. Instead of putting her hand inside the rooms with great
+care, so as not to disturb the arrangements, she could go into all the
+rooms herself and use the things in them.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img38">
+<img src="images/img38.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">It was a handsome house of three stories</p>
+
+<p class="p2">I know that it is not customary in stories to talk about the rooms and
+furniture of a house before your characters have entered it; but in
+this case it is all right, because the front of the house stood open,
+and Peggy saw nearly everything inside it before they went in.</p>
+
+<p>The rooms were a good deal larger than those in most dolls’ houses. I
+mean not only larger because the house had grown up, so to speak, but
+because they would hold more dolls and more furniture. In a dolls’
+house it is sometimes awkward to have a doll or a piece of furniture
+that takes up nearly the whole of a room, and even in good ones it does
+not often happen that the rooms are big enough to accommodate many
+dolls, or more than a few pieces of furniture. But there was quite a
+lot of furniture in the rooms of Wooden’s house, and although they were
+all square, and of the same size, which gave them a certain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span> lack of
+variety, they would comfortably hold quite a large number of dolls.</p>
+
+<p>On the ground floor were a kitchen and a dining-room, on the first
+floor a drawing-room and the best bedroom, and on the top floor a
+servants’ room and a spare room. Wooden pointed them out as they walked
+up the terrace, and said that as long as Peggy stayed with her she
+should give her the best bedroom, because it had the best furniture in
+it, and use the spare room for herself.</p>
+
+<p>It was just like Wooden to offer to do this, but Peggy said no, she
+wouldn’t hear of it. She could not see the furniture of the spare room
+from where they were, as it was too high up, but she was sure it was
+good enough for her.</p>
+
+<p>It may seem a little odd that Wooden should have spoken as if they were
+going to stay in Toyland, if not for ever, at least for some time.
+For Peggy had understood that the dolls who were still played with
+by children only went to Toyland when it was night—“over there,” as
+they would have said. But it did not seem odd to her, and in fact she
+never thought about it. Once in Toyland, the dolls who inhabited that
+pleasant country behaved as if they always lived there. It seemed to
+come from the air of the place; and that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span> explains why Peggy never once
+thought of going home again as long as she was there, any more than
+Wooden or any of the other dolls did.</p>
+
+<p>The weather was fine and warm, which would have made it nice to have
+the front of the house open, although a little wanting in privacy. But
+Wooden said, “I should like you to go in through the front door, dear.
+It is a beautiful door, and it seems a pity not to use it. So I think I
+will have the front of the house shut.”</p>
+
+<p>Two wooden servant dolls, a cook and a housemaid, dressed one in a
+blue, the other in a black frock, with snowy white caps and aprons,
+had been standing in front of the kitchen looking out for them. Wooden
+told them to shut the front of the house, and they came out and did so,
+pushing it back quite easily. For they were good servants and devoted
+to their mistress, and kept the hinges well oiled.</p>
+
+<p>When the front of the house was shut it looked very handsome indeed.
+The door that Wooden was so proud of was inside a fine porch, and had
+a brass knocker on it. All the windows had little panes of glass, kept
+beautifully clean, and white curtains looped up inside them. And each
+of them had a neat iron railing in front of it to hold flowers. It was
+like a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span> real house, and yet it was like a dolls’ house, too, which made
+it all the more fascinating.</p>
+
+<p>They went up two steps under the porch, and Wooden knocked with the
+knocker, to show that it was a real knocker. The doll housemaid opened
+the door, and they went in. For the first time in her life, naturally,
+Peggy was inside a real dolls’ house, with the front shut and even the
+door shut. Hitherto she had only been able to see what it was like by
+peeping in through the windows; for of course you know that a dolls’
+house can never be quite the same with its front open. It takes away
+from the make-believe. She felt frightfully pleased; and it really was
+nice, and not a bit like a real house, although everything in it was of
+an ordinary real size.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor had come in with them. He had told Wooden that he
+had had a lot of running about and should like to rest a little. But,
+of course, what he really wanted was to get away from the crowd, and go
+home later on when it should have dispersed. But Wooden said that it
+was an honour to entertain him in her own house, which pleased him, and
+by the time they had got inside he had recovered some of his spirits,
+and seemed ready to be as talkative as ever.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img39">
+<img src="images/img39.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">Wooden led the way up to the drawing-room, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span> had a carpet of a
+very large pattern and a wall paper with enormous roses on it. The
+furniture was beautifully made, but Peggy felt that she was really
+sitting on a dolls’ sofa and not on an ordinary one, although it was
+comfortable, and of an ordinary size. Nothing was quite the same. The
+mirrors had tin frames, the books on the tables were evidently toy
+books, with thick leaves and bindings that did not keep quite flat;
+and there were some packs of cards and some dominoes on another table
+looking exactly like those very tiny ones which you can buy in shops,
+but are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span> so small that you do not want to play with them more than once.</p>
+
+<p>They had hardly sat down, Peggy and Wooden on the sofa and the Lord
+Chancellor on a large chair, before the doll housemaid opened the door
+and announced a visitor, by the name of <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred was a mature-looking Dutch doll. Most of the wooden dolls
+in Toyland were of Dutch extraction, even Wooden herself, just like
+many of the old families of New York, but they were no more Dutch than
+the New Yorkers are. She came forward and kissed Wooden, and said she
+was very glad she had come out of prison, and she felt that she must
+come round at once and tell her so.</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred had hardly been accommodated with a seat before <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Hilda was announced, and when <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Hilda had said the same as <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Winifred, Captain and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Louisa were announced. Captain Louisa was
+an officer in a regiment of wooden soldiers, and wore his uniform. His
+wife and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Hilda were wooden dolls like <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred. These were
+followed by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Joyce, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Ida, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Mollie, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Jane, and one or two more, all of the best wooden families of Dolltown,
+and it was evidently a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span> source of great pride to Wooden that they
+should show such a nice feeling towards her.</p>
+
+<p>She introduced them all to Peggy, and those who did not know him to the
+Lord Chancellor. There were so many of them that it was like a sort of
+party. The dolls sat rather stiffly in their chairs, and there were
+other little points about them, such as their knees showing rather
+prominently through their skirts and trousers, which made it seem like
+a dolls’ party, and as if they were all playing at something. This
+pleased Peggy. She felt as if she had set them all down herself on
+their chairs and on the sofas, exactly where she wanted them to be, as
+she did sometimes with her smaller dolls in her dolls’ house at home,
+and pretended that they were talking politely to each other.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img40">
+<img src="images/img40.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIII">XIII
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE DOLLS TALK IT ALL OVER</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The late imprisonment of Peggy and Wooden, and especially of Wooden,
+naturally formed the chief subject of conversation.</p>
+
+<p>“I must say,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred, “that I was surprised to hear that
+<em>you</em> had been sent to prison, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Wooden. We had all heard that
+such a <em>very</em> different lot had been prepared for you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Hilda. “What we heard was that you were to be made
+Queen and live in the palace.”</p>
+
+<p>“And we were very <em>glad</em> to hear it,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Joyce, a thin,
+rather vinegary-looking doll, whom Peggy did not very much take to.
+“We knew that if <em>you</em> were made Queen there would be no more
+high-and-mightiness at the palace, and you wouldn’t give yourself airs
+with <em>us</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>“It would be the beginning of a new era,” said <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Joyce, who was a
+members of the Dolls’ Parliament. “The Woodens would be no longer
+oppressed by the Waxes, and peace and contentment would reign, where
+before there had been strife and inequality.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I’m not sure,” said the Lord Chancellor, “that I quite agree with that
+observation. As Woods, all this extremely intelligent and entertaining
+company is naturally pleased at having a Wooden King to reign over
+Toyland. But under our late lamented Queen Rosebud, as far as my memory
+carries me back, there was no oppression. And personally I boast
+intimate friends amongst dolls of all varieties, from Wax to Rag.”</p>
+
+<p>“What I think,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Mollie, a severe-looking doll with a long
+upper lip, “is that we were a good deal better off under Queen Rosebud
+than we are likely to be under King Selim. I don’t hold with these
+foreigners.”</p>
+
+<p>The other dolls seemed to be rather taken aback by this plainness of
+speech, and the Lord Chancellor said, “Tut, tut! You mustn’t say things
+like that, my dear lady. It isn’t respectful to the Crown.”</p>
+
+<p>“But it’s what a good many of us are feeling,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred. “At
+first it was very nice to feel we were considered as good as the Waxes.
+In this company there’s no harm in saying that Waxes do give themselves
+airs, and it isn’t nice to feel you are considered common, when you
+know you are nothing of the sort, but quite the opposite.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img41">
+<img src="images/img41.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">“But <em>all</em> Waxes don’t give themselves airs,” said Wooden,
+speaking for the first time. “There’s Lady Grace, now. Both of us live
+with this dear little girl when we’re over there, and we are real
+friends, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span> there’s never a word awry between us. And it’s the same
+here.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m sure,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Ida, a young-looking doll who was dressed more
+fashionably than the rest, “that I have always got on as well as
+possible with the Waxes. In fact, most of my friends were Wax before
+they were all sent to prison.”</p>
+
+<p>“I should think you must feel a bit lonely, then,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Jane.
+“I’ve always associated with Woods myself, and prefer their company.”</p>
+
+<p>“The best company in Toyland,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred, “is to be found
+amongst the higher classes of Woods. Still, I’m against this sending to
+prison of all Waxes, whether they give themselves airs or not.”</p>
+
+<p>“It isn’t so much the shutting up of Waxes that I object to,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Louisa. “It’s the shutting up of Woods. How did it come about, Wooden,
+that instead of marrying the King you were sent to prison?”</p>
+
+<p>Captain Louisa cleared his throat behind his hand. “Manners, my dear,
+manners!” he whispered to his wife.</p>
+
+<p>“We don’t want to go into all that,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Perhaps
+a slight mistake was made; but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span> it has now been put right, chiefly
+owing to representations made to his Majesty by myself.”</p>
+
+<p>“It hasn’t been put right, and we do want to talk about it,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Mollie. “There are two Wooden dolls still locked up in the House of
+Cards, to say nothing of a Wax one. What were they locked up for, and
+when are they going to be let out?”</p>
+
+<p>She addressed her question directly to the Lord Chancellor, and there
+seemed to be a general opinion amongst the other dolls that it was
+right to ask it, and that it wanted an answer.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor gave one. He gave it at great length, but there was
+not much in it. It seemed that all they had to do was to trust to him,
+and everything would come right in the end.</p>
+
+<p>“That doesn’t satisfy <em>me</em>,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Mollie, when he had
+quite finished. “And it isn’t only Woods either that have been sent
+to prison, and are being kept there for nothing at all. What about
+this human child? What was <em>she</em> sent to prison for? I’m against
+sending human children to prison when they are allowed to come over and
+visit us. It’s likely to make bad feeling over there.”</p>
+
+<p>There were murmurs of approval at this, and all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span> the dolls looked
+sympathetically at Peggy, who felt rather shy.</p>
+
+<p>“You are quite right, <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Mollie,” said Captain Louisa. “And I may
+tell you in strict confidence that the army feels with you about it.
+It is the best army to be found anywhere. Leads and Woods alike are
+devoted to their duty, and quite ready for a war, if a war is forced on
+us. But we don’t want a war with the people over there. We should win,
+of course, in the long run, but it would leave bad blood behind it, and
+while it was going on our women and children wouldn’t be safe.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a prospect I don’t like at all,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred. “I have
+received nothing but kindness from Humans, myself, and I believe the
+same may be said by most of us here. I say that Peggy ought not to have
+been locked up, and I hope she will remember that I said that when she
+goes back. <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred, 4 Prospect Place, Dolltown, are my name and
+address, and over there I may be found at any time at Top Drawer, Day
+Nursery Chest, 43 Hamilton Square, London, <abbr title="southwest">S.W.</abbr>”</p>
+
+<p>All the other dolls hastened to give Peggy their names and addresses,
+except <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Joyce, who said,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span> “My peace-loving sentiments are well
+known, and nobody over there is likely to make any mistake about them.
+I agree with the opinion of this assembly to this extent: I believe
+that a Wood King is the best kind of King we could have for Toyland,
+but I’m not at all sure that King Selim is the right doll in the right
+place, or that this reign is likely to be an improvement on the last.
+Wax or no Wax, Queen Rosebud would never have made the mistakes in
+foreign policy that have already been made in this reign. If we are not
+very careful, this young lady, and others who may come over to visit
+us, will carry back a report that may bring serious trouble. King Selim
+ought to be told that.”</p>
+
+<p>“For my part, I’ve no patience with King Selim,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Mollie. “I
+heartily wish Queen Rosebud wasn’t dead.”</p>
+
+<p>“But Queen Rosebud <em>isn’t</em> dead,” said Wooden. “She is locked
+up in the House of Cards. Peggy took her tea up to her this very
+afternoon.”</p>
+
+<p>She spoke in a tone of surprise, as if everybody ought to know that
+Queen Rosebud was alive. Peggy had been wondering whether it would be
+a good thing to tell the dolls what she had discovered, and now that
+Wooden had let it out, she was rather glad. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span> didn’t much like
+keeping such a secret to herself, and, of course, a doll is hardly
+capable of keeping any secret, and Wooden had only not spoken before
+because she had got used to the idea of Queen Rosebud being alive, and
+had not thought much about it since.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, my dear lady!” said the Lord Chancellor, before anybody could
+speak. “You mustn’t say a thing like that, you know. King Selim has
+said that Queen Rosebud is dead and of course she must be dead.”</p>
+
+<p>“But she isn’t,” Wooden persisted. “Peggy has seen her.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I did,” said Peggy. “She is in the top story of the House of
+Cards. Selim and Rose had her locked up there, and they said that if
+she told anybody who she was they would put her in a dark dungeon. They
+are both very wicked.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, that’s beyond everything!” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred. “And I should
+like to know who Rose is, to go locking up the Queen.”</p>
+
+<p>“If Waxes like to give themselves airs, that’s one thing,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr>
+Ida. “But for a Composition——! That’s what nobody can stand.”</p>
+
+<p>“There are Compositions and Compositions,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Mollie. “But Rose
+would be a disgrace to <em>any</em> class. She ought to be locked up
+herself.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span></p>
+
+<p>“And I think you ought to see to it, Lord Norval,” said <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Jane.
+“According to Peggy, she has told a deliberate falsehood, and that is
+punishable by law, as I’ve always understood.”</p>
+
+<p>They seemed to be in danger of forgetting all about Queen Rosebud in
+their disgust for Rose. But this brought them back to the subject.</p>
+
+<p>“I quite agree with you,” said the Lord Chancellor. “It is a most
+disgraceful affair altogether. I shall inform his Majesty about it at
+once, and request him to see that Rose is properly punished. What I
+shall suggest is that she shall take Queen Rosebud’s place in prison.
+I fancy that would be rather neat, eh? I shall press the point on his
+Majesty.”</p>
+
+<p>“But Selim is just as bad as she is,” exclaimed Peggy. “<em>He</em> ought
+to be sent to prison, too. Why do you call him ‘His Majesty’? He isn’t
+a King at all.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush, hush, my dear young lady!” said the Lord Chancellor, much
+shocked. “I know you are human, and to be excused on that account, but
+if one of <em>us</em> had said that, it would be punishable, you know.
+Selim is a King. He wears a crown. We have all seen it.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is only a chess king,” said Peggy. “I meant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span> that he isn’t King of
+Toyland. He can’t be, if Queen Rosebud is still alive.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s one way of looking at it, certainly,” said the Lord Chancellor,
+in a puzzled kind of way. “I shall have to think about it very
+carefully when I go home. He <em>says</em> he’s King of Toyland. I shall
+get at it better when I’ve slept over it.”</p>
+
+<p>“But aren’t you going to do anything now?” asked Peggy. “There’s Queen
+Rosebud still locked up in the House of Cards. <em>I</em> think Captain
+Louisa ought to take his soldiers at once, and let her out.”</p>
+
+<p>All the dolls had sat with puzzled faces, looking at Peggy and the Lord
+Chancellor. They had all been ready to talk a great deal, but when it
+came to doing something they seemed quite at a loss.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Louisa started when his name was mentioned. “If it was my duty,
+I should do it,” he said. “I should do it very well—nobody better.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I think it is your duty,” said Peggy. “Don’t you, Wooden?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, dear,” said Wooden, “if we all did our duty as well as Captain
+Louisa, we might be very proud of ourselves.”</p>
+
+<p>Captain Louisa looked proudly at Peggy. “You see what she thinks of
+me,” he said. “And it isn’t only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span> me either. My men would follow me
+anywhere.”</p>
+
+<p><abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Winifred rose from her seat. “I’m afraid I must say good-bye, dear
+<abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Wooden,” she said. “I am so glad you have been let out of prison.
+And I’m so glad that Queen Rosebud isn’t dead. Somehow, I could never
+feel that she was.”</p>
+
+<p>All the dolls rose one after the other to say good-bye. They all
+said they were glad that Queen Rosebud was alive, and some of them
+said that she ought not to stay in prison a moment longer. But none
+of them seemed interested in how she was to be got out, or in what
+should happen afterwards, except that <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Mollie said she hoped Rose
+would get her deserts, and <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Ida said that they saw now what came
+of Compositions giving themselves airs. However much they seemed to
+be different from one another in their way of talking and looking
+at things, they all seemed alike in having no idea of acting for
+themselves. They were very nice, but Peggy thought that if she had been
+the Queen in prison she would hardly have felt so confident as Queen
+Rosebud had been of her doll subjects getting her out again.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img42">
+<img src="images/img42.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">All the dolls rose to say good-bye</p>
+
+<p class="p2">However, the Lord Chancellor, who stayed behind, did seem to think that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span>
+<em>something</em> ought to be done, though he seemed disinclined to
+do it himself. “When the people get to know of this,” he said, “I’m
+afraid there will be trouble. The question is, how to act so as to save<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span>
+trouble.”</p>
+
+<p>“<em>I</em> should think the question was how to get poor Queen Rosebud
+out of prison as soon as possible,” said Peggy.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, certainly there is that side of it,” he said. “The only thing
+is that if she comes out of prison and goes back to the palace, there
+will be two of them—a King and a Queen—and that is something that it
+is very difficult to know how to deal with, without a great deal of
+careful thought. If King Selim could marry Queen Rosebud, now! How does
+that strike you as a way of getting over the difficulty?”</p>
+
+<p>“It doesn’t strike me at all,” said Peggy. “Selim has done a very
+wicked and horrible thing. Queen Rosebud was ill, and she <em>might</em>
+have died, and if she had it would have been all his fault. He has
+told heaps of stories about her. She never told him that he was to be
+King after her at all. That’s one story. And he told the people she
+was dead. That’s another. And he has sent a lot of dolls to prison for
+nothing at all. He has done very wrong, and he ought to be punished.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is a very eloquent speech,” said the Lord<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span> Chancellor. “Very
+eloquent indeed. I wish I could make one like it. But you see the
+trouble is that the King can do no wrong; so of course you can’t punish
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>“But he <em>has</em> done wrong,” said Peggy. “And he <em>isn’t</em> the
+King. You keep on talking about him as if Queen Rosebud wasn’t alive.
+<em>She</em> is the Queen. Selim is only a usurper.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m beginning to see it,” said the Lord Chancellor. “It’s a very
+subtle point, but I’m beginning to see it, or at least some of it.”</p>
+
+<p>Whether he would have seen all of it in time cannot be known, for just
+at that moment the door was opened by the housemaid doll, and in came
+Colonel Jim and Teddy.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img43">
+<img src="images/img43.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIV">XIV
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE ESCAPE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The moment Teddy came into the room, Peggy felt that the time for
+action had come. And she had never felt more pleased with him than when
+he addressed himself straight to the Lord Chancellor, and said, “Now,
+then, old man, you come along with us to the House of Cards. We’re
+going to get the Queen out of prison, and we want you with us.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m sure I’m very glad that you propose to adopt that course,” said
+the Lord Chancellor, speaking quickly and nervously. “It is exactly
+what I should have recommended myself. But why do you want me with you?
+I should have thought—”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind what you would have thought,” said Teddy. “We want you with
+us because, now the people have found out that old Selim’s a rascal,
+and the Queen isn’t dead, they’ve got their dander up. They’ll have
+some questions to ask, and you can answer them. Colonel Jim and me will
+be too busy.”</p>
+
+<p>This did not seem to suit the Lord Chancellor at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span> all. He began to
+protest vigorously that he had had no more to do with the fraud that
+Selim had practised than anybody else. But Teddy cut him short. “If you
+won’t come of your own accord,” he said, “Colonel Jim has a couple of
+troopers outside who will make you. You’d like to come, too, Peggy and
+Wooden. We’ve brought gees for everybody. Come along quick. We don’t
+want to waste any time.”</p>
+
+<p>He led the way downstairs, and the others followed him, Colonel Jim
+bringing up the rear, and keeping an eye on the Lord Chancellor to see
+that he did not escape.</p>
+
+<p>Waiting outside the house were several horses. There was Colonel Jim’s
+black charger, and those of his two troopers. These were of lead. There
+were also some composition horses, and a couple of shaggy ponies, made
+of wood and covered with hair, and a beautiful cream-coloured one, with
+a bridle and saddle-cloth sewn with gold embroidery. They were all toy
+horses and ponies, but they looked splendidly alive, and Peggy was
+quite delighted to see that the two shaggy ponies had side-saddles, for
+she knew at once that one must be meant for her and one for Wooden. She
+loved riding, and thought it would be great fun to ride through the
+streets of Dolltown on a toy pony.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span></p>
+
+<p>Wooden was not used to riding, although Peggy had sometimes put her on
+her rocking-horse at home, so she was not altogether without practice.
+But Teddy assured her that he had chosen her a very quiet pony, and
+she was so nice, in the way that she always did what people wanted
+her to, that she made no trouble about it, and got on very well when
+she was once helped into the saddle. Peggy felt quite at home on her
+pony, and patted its nice shaggy neck. She would have liked to have
+a gallop on it, but that would not be possible in the streets of the
+town. Colonel Jim and his troopers mounted their chargers, the Lord
+Chancellor got on to one of the composition horses, and Teddy leapt
+on to another straight from the ground, without using the stirrup. A
+royal servant-doll, dressed in scarlet and gold, led the beautiful
+cream-coloured pony, which was evidently meant for Queen Rosebud. It
+was a good idea to have a sort of little procession on horseback to
+take her from her prison to her royal palace again, and no doubt Teddy
+had thought of it, for he seemed to be the only one who really did
+things, while the other dolls only talked about them.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img44">
+<img src="images/img44.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">What Teddy said about the inhabitants of Dolltown being excited over
+what had happened was quite true. The crowd outside the gates of the
+terrace was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span> larger than ever, and when Peggy and the dolls appeared
+amongst them on horseback there was quite a commotion. They cheered
+them all except the Lord Chancellor, and they were so angry with him
+that they would probably have pulled him off his horse if he had not
+been riding between the two troopers, who protected him. They seemed
+to have taken the affair much more seriously than the dolls who had
+come to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span> visit Wooden, but then a crowd always is more excited about
+things than a few people, because they work each other up. Very likely,
+if this crowd of dolls had had to do something of their own accord,
+instead of shouting at those who were doing it, they would not have
+been very good at it. And if they <em>had</em> pulled the Lord Chancellor
+off his horse, it is doubtful if they would have known what to do next.</p>
+
+<p>The poor Lord Chancellor was terribly upset at the way the crowd hissed
+and booed at him. Peggy heard him explaining to the troopers who rode
+on either side of him that nobody was more surprised than he was, or
+more glad either, that Queen Rosebud was alive. But they took no notice
+of him, and the crowd went on booing and hissing all the same.</p>
+
+<p>When they arrived at the market-place, there was a square of lead life
+guardsmen all round the door of the House of Cards, to keep the crowd
+off. The market-place was packed full of dolls, shouting and singing,
+and looking up to the top story, where they had heard that the Queen
+was imprisoned. Peggy could see the open window at which she had sat;
+but she did not appear at it.</p>
+
+<p>What seemed more remarkable still was that there was nobody on the
+balcony of the first floor, either.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span> It might have been thought that
+Wooden’s aunt, at least, would have been there, watching what was going
+on. But there was nobody to be seen.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img45">
+<img src="images/img45.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">There was nobody on the balcony of the first floor either</p>
+
+<p class="p2">They rode into the empty space kept by the soldiers. Teddy whispered
+something to Colonel Jim, who got off his charger and went up the
+steps and knocked at the door. As he waited for a minute before it
+was opened, all the dolls on that side of the market-place were quite
+silent.</p>
+
+<p>The door was opened by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma. Peggy could not hear what passed
+between him and Colonel Jim, but presently Colonel Jim turned sharp
+round and came down the steps again. “The Queen’s gone,” he said. “So
+are the other prisoners. Selim and Rose came and fetched them half an
+hour ago.”</p>
+
+<p>Here was a piece of news! <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma was summoned, and made to tell
+exactly what had happened. The Lord Chancellor asked most of the
+questions, for he was out of reach of the crowd and had somewhat
+recovered from his fright. Besides, he was used to asking questions,
+and liked doing it.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed that Selim had come to the prison in a closed carriage,
+accompanied by Rose; and another empty carriage had come with them.
+He had seemed to <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma to be in a very nervous state, but he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span>
+not seen much of him, because he had sat in the carriage all the time,
+while Rose had gone in to the House of Cards, and fetched the Queen
+down. <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma had not known it was the Queen until this moment, for
+he had kept himself shut up in the House of Cards, with <abbr title="Missus">Mrs.</abbr> Emma and
+the baby, and had not tried to find out what the crowd outside was so
+excited about.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor asked him what the Queen had said when she had come
+downstairs.</p>
+
+<p>“She didn’t say nothing, your Honour,” said <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma. “She looked kind
+of proud-like, and held her head high. If she’d had her crown on I
+should have knowed it was the Queen by the way she behaved.”</p>
+
+<p>Well, the Queen had got into the carriage where Selim was, and then
+Rose had gone upstairs and fetched down Lady Grace, and Wooden’s mother
+and aunt. Wooden’s aunt had seemed very pleased with herself, according
+to <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma. She had imitated a grand lady mincing down the steps, and
+said to him, “Out of the way, Bobby, we’re going to the palace. Haw!
+Haw!” This had offended <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma, for he had left the police force some
+time before.</p>
+
+<p>Rose had got into the first carriage, with the Queen and Selim, and the
+other three had got into the second carriage. Then they had all driven
+away.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span></p>
+
+<p>That was <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Emma’s story, and about all that could be got out of
+him. The two carriages had driven off in the direction of the palace,
+and Rose must have told Wooden’s aunt that that was where they were
+going to. The carriages were not the gilt and glass coaches that were
+generally used from the palace, but ordinary landaus. They had not
+stood before the House of Cards very long, and nobody had taken much
+notice of them. A few dolls had seen the Queen come out and get into
+the carriage, but they had not known who she was.</p>
+
+<p>Well, what was to be done now? It seemed plain that Selim had found
+out somehow that the people were beginning to find out all about his
+wickedness, and had kidnapped the Queen. Why he had also taken off
+Lady Grace, and Wooden’s mother and aunt, was not quite so plain, but
+perhaps it was because he thought they knew too much, and he wanted to
+get them out of the way.</p>
+
+<p>“What we had better do,” said the Lord Chancellor, “is to go back to
+the palace and interview King Selim. I’m all for prompt action in these
+matters, and I propose we start at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, you silly old thing!” said Teddy. “As if he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span> had gone to the
+palace! You ought to know better than that, at your age.”</p>
+
+<p>“But Wooden’s aunt said they were going to the palace,” said the Lord
+Chancellor. “You wouldn’t accuse her of telling a lie, I suppose!”</p>
+
+<p>“Rose told her so,” said Wooden. “You can’t believe <em>anything</em>
+that <em>she</em> says. Aunt would like to think she was going to the
+palace, and Rose must have told her that to quiet her.”</p>
+
+<p>It was rather clever of Wooden to think of this, for dolls are apt to
+believe everything they are told. But when a doll has once made herself
+disbelieved, as Rose had done, there is an end of their trusting her.</p>
+
+<p>“There is a good deal in what you say,” said the Lord Chancellor. “But
+if they have not gone to the palace, where <em>have</em> they gone? It
+might be as well to go there and see if anybody knows.”</p>
+
+<p>They might perhaps have done this, for, although Selim would not have
+been likely to tell anybody where he meant to go, still, they might
+have picked up some sort of a clue. But just as they were discussing
+it, our old friend <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah pushed his way through the soldiers who
+were guarding the square. He was, of course, a royal servant, and wore
+a medal to show it,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span> so they let him through. He brought the important
+information that the two carriages had been seen driving fast through
+the town on the road to the sea.</p>
+
+<p>Directly Teddy heard this, he gave a whoop, and said, “Let’s after
+them, then, as fast as we can go. Come on, all!” He dug his heels into
+his horse’s sides, and galloped off. The soldiers parted to let him
+through, and the crowd scattered away from him on all sides, as he
+galloped through the streets and was lost to sight.</p>
+
+<p>Now this was all very well. Teddy was anxious to catch up the
+fugitives, but if he did catch them up he couldn’t very well do
+anything all by himself. Besides, he seemed to be about the only one
+who had any ideas in his head—or, at least, ideas that were worth
+anything—and if he went off all by himself, the others were likely to
+make a muddle of things. It was his “flightiness” coming out, but he
+had done so well already that he might be forgiven for it.</p>
+
+<p>However, his going off like that was not so bad as it might have been.
+If it had been left to the Lord Chancellor to say what was to be done
+next, it would have taken a long time to do anything, and then very
+likely what would have been done would have been wrong. And Colonel
+Jim, though brave as a lion, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span> handsome, too, was not intellectual.
+But <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah seemed to have a few ideas in his head, and some spirit to
+carry them out. Of course he was not exactly a doll, though he lived
+in Dolltown, and he had Oriental blood in his veins, or whatever fluid
+dolls do have, and this made him rather more clever than might have
+been expected from his wooden expression. He was angry, too, at having
+had orders given him about his Ark by Selim, and wanted to get at him
+and tell him what he thought of him.</p>
+
+<p>Anyhow, as the Lord Chancellor was talking and talking, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah cut
+him short. “What are you wasting all this time for?” he asked. “What
+we’ve got to do is to go after them as quick as we can, and take the
+soldiers with us. Give me a horse, and let’s be off.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a horse to spare, and <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah got on to it. He looked rather
+funny in his long yellow robe, and being a sort of sailor he was not
+used to horses. But he managed to stick on all right, and as the horse
+was fortunately a quiet one, he soon got used to the unusual motion. He
+said to the others, “Now, you come after me!” and without waiting any
+longer he trotted off.</p>
+
+<p>The others all followed him. Colonel Jim gave some orders to his men,
+and they formed themselves into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span> fours and fell behind. It was quite a
+gay cavalcade that went trotting through the streets of Dolltown, and
+this time the crowd cheered them to the echo, and forgot to hiss and
+boo at the Lord Chancellor.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img46">
+<img src="images/img46.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XV">XV
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE PURSUIT</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">They trotted along through the streets of the town, and soon got clear
+of the crowd. But the news of what had happened had spread all over
+Dolltown by this time, and there were many dolls at the windows and on
+the pavements to see them pass. They did not know yet that Selim had
+kidnapped Queen Rosebud, but they knew that she was alive, and that he
+was a usurper. When they saw all the soldiers they knew that something
+stirring was going to happen, and by the way they shouted and waved
+their hands it seemed that Selim had very few friends in Dolltown, and
+had better look out for himself if he ever came back there.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the town, where the country began, there was a gate,
+and a sentry box beside it, where a wooden sentry was keeping guard.
+They stopped to question him. He remembered the two carriages driving
+through the gate, and had wondered who they belonged to. It was not his
+duty to challenge them, as he was there chiefly for ornament; but when
+Teddy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span> had galloped up, he had asked him, more out of curiosity than
+anything else, why he was going so fast. Teddy had said, “Open the gate
+and I’ll tell you.” So he had opened the gate, and the moment Teddy had
+got through it he had galloped off again, shouting out to the sentry,
+“I’m going fast because my horse is.” Of course this was true, but it
+had made the sentry angry; and he had been still more annoyed when
+Teddy had jumped himself round on his horse, just as if he had been a
+rider in a circus, and ridden away backwards, making long noses at him.
+The sentry said that this was disrespectful to a servant of the Crown,
+and asked the Lord Chancellor to send Teddy to prison for it. But they
+had no time to waste over his grievances, and set off again.</p>
+
+<p>They trotted through the country roads, and Peggy enjoyed the ride very
+much. She felt quite safe, with all the soldiers riding behind them,
+but thought it was hardly necessary to have brought so many of them, as
+<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah and Teddy, to say nothing of Colonel Jim and his two special
+troopers, would have been enough to take Selim prisoner when they
+caught up with him. But it was a good thing that they had brought the
+soldiers, as will presently appear.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by they came to an inn, which was a farm as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span> well, and looked
+very peaceful and comfortable, with its neat toy barns and outhouses
+among the trees and fields, and the toy animals feeding all about them.
+They stopped for a minute or two to ask questions of the innkeeper,
+who was a wooden doll of a rather stolid appearance. When the Lord
+Chancellor began to ask him questions he went and fetched his wife, and
+she was more intelligent, and gave her answers well.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img47">
+<img src="images/img47.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">He went and fetched his wife</p>
+
+<p class="p2">She said that the two carriages had stopped at the inn, and a lady in
+the first one had put her head out and asked for a glass of water. The
+blinds of the carriage were drawn down, but when the innkeeper’s wife
+had brought the glass of water she had seen the lady who asked for it
+give it to another lady inside the carriage. She thought that this
+second lady had tried to say something to her, but the first lady had
+put her hand over her mouth and stopped her, and then somebody else in
+a corner of the carriage—she thought it was a man by the size of his
+hand—had passed the glass out to her, with a piece of money, and the
+window had been pushed up at once and the carriages had driven off.</p>
+
+<p>She was rather confused about it all, as it had passed so quickly; but
+it seemed plain that Queen Rosebud had thought of this way of making
+it known that she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span> was being carried off. She must have said that she
+didn’t feel very well, and would like a glass of water at the next
+house they stopped at, meaning to tell whoever brought it who she was.
+But Rose had prevented her. This was one more thing against Rose.</p>
+
+<p>That was not all the innkeeper’s wife told them. As the carriage drove
+off, a wooden lady had put her head out of the second one and called
+out, “Here we go round the mulberry bush!” The innkeeper’s wife had
+thought afterwards that perhaps these were some lunatics—for there
+are a few lunatics amongst dolls—being taken out for an airing. But,
+of course, it had only been Wooden’s aunt acting in her usual silly
+fashion.</p>
+
+<p>But the odd thing was that the innkeeper’s wife had seen nothing of
+Teddy. She said she must have seen him if he had passed along the road,
+as she had been in her kitchen, which was in front of the house, all
+the time. So as they went on they had something to wonder about, as to
+what had become of Teddy. Wooden thought he had missed the way, but
+this seemed impossible, as the road ran straight towards the sea. The
+Lord Chancellor thought that he might have tumbled off his horse, but
+this seemed more unlikely still, as he was clever enough to jump about
+on it and ride backwards. What Peggy thought she kept to herself. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span>
+was that Teddy had some clever plan in his head, which they would hear
+about all in good time, and had never meant to catch up the carriages
+all by himself. For of course he could easily have done so if he had
+liked, as he could go much faster than they could.</p>
+
+<p>They went up the road over the hills, which you remember that the river
+had come through in a gorge, and when they came to the top of it they
+could see the sea a few miles away. The road ran straight down to it.
+They could see several specks on the road at a good distance off, but
+there was nothing that looked like the two carriages.</p>
+
+<p>This was a disappointment, as they had quite expected to catch sight of
+the fugitives from the top of the hill, and to come up with them before
+they could reach the sea. If they had already got there, it seemed as
+if they must have escaped them after all.</p>
+
+<p>But it seemed impossible that the carriages should have got so far
+ahead. They had not been more than half an hour behind them at the inn,
+and even if they had not gained on them since, they must have seen them
+on the road in front, if they had been there. So they must have left
+the straight road, and the question was what to do next.</p>
+
+<p>As they were talking it over, Peggy thought she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span> heard a cry in the
+wood on their right. She listened with all her ears, and then thought
+she heard another. She told Wooden, and all of them listened.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, there was no doubt about it. The noise was some distance off,
+and could not be heard very plainly; but it kept on, and seemed to be
+somebody calling for help. They got off their horse and went into the
+wood, in the direction from which the call seemed to be coming. As they
+got farther in among the trees it became louder. It was like a woman
+calling “Help! Help!” every second or two, but in a strangled voice, as
+if there were something in the way.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden called out “Coming! Coming!” and they ran on as fast they could.</p>
+
+<p>They came to a little clearing in the wood, and there, sitting on the
+ground with her back against a great fir-tree, was Wooden’s unfortunate
+aunt. She had a handkerchief tied over her mouth, and a rope went round
+her body and tied her tight to the tree. Her hands were behind her, and
+seemed to be tied too, so that she could not free herself. Altogether,
+she was in a very sorry plight.</p>
+
+<p>But she did not seem to have altogether lost her spirits, for when she
+saw them coming towards her she kicked her legs up and gave a little
+sort of crow, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span> sounded rather pathetic, coming through her
+handkerchief.</p>
+
+<p>Wooden untied the handkerchief, murmuring sounds of distress and
+sympathy all the time, while Colonel Jim busied himself with the rope,
+and when he found he couldn’t untie it cut it with his sword. In a
+very short time, Wooden’s aunt was standing up free, shaking the pine
+needles off her skirts.</p>
+
+<p>“I thought somebody would come if I yelled long enough,” she said, in
+quite a cheerful voice, which did her credit, as it showed she had a
+great deal of pluck, in spite of the numerous faults of her nature.</p>
+
+<p>“But how did you come to be here, dear?” asked Wooden. “And what has
+become of mother?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yer mother’s all right,” said Wooden’s aunt. “She’s with the
+quality. I don’t like their ways of going on, so I asked them to kindly
+drop me anywhere that was convenient.”</p>
+
+<p>“But why did they tie you up like this, dear?” asked Wooden.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, they thought we was playing Blind Man’s Bluff,” said her aunt.</p>
+
+<p>It was all very well for her to take it in this light-hearted spirit,
+and Peggy rather admired her for it. But she must have had a very rough
+time, for her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span> dress was all torn, and her wrists were scarred where
+the rope had bound them. As she spoke she was rubbing them, to restore
+the circulation, and she looked white, and as if she might faint at any
+moment.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img48">
+<img src="images/img48.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">Fortunately, there was a little pool of water quite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span> near, and Colonel
+Jim, who showed himself kind and useful in this emergency, filled his
+helmet with water and gave it to her to drink, as she sat on the ground
+again with Wooden kneeling by her side and holding her.</p>
+
+<p>“Ah, that’s better,” she said, smacking her lips, when she had had a
+good drink. “I’ve been looking at that pond and wishing I could get at
+it. Drat that Selim! I wish I could get at <em>him</em>! <em>I</em>’d mark
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>She said these last sentences in her usual vigorous way, which showed
+that she was recovering; and when she had rested a little longer, they
+got her story out of her.</p>
+
+<p>“They’d said we was going to be took to the palace,” she said, “and at
+first I didn’t think nothing of going such a long way round. None of
+us didn’t. But by-and-by Lady Grace says, ‘I wonder who’s in the first
+carriage,’ she says. ‘Oh, I’ll soon find that out,’ I says, and I pokes
+my head out of window and hollers out to the driver, ‘Hi, Mister! Who
+have you got in front there?’”</p>
+
+<p>“Was that before or after you had passed the inn where they got some
+water?” asked the Lord Chancellor.</p>
+
+<p>“Never you mind whether it was before or after,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span> said Wooden’s aunt.
+“I’m telling this story, and I’m going to tell it in my own way.”</p>
+
+<p>This was not very polite of her, but she had been through a great deal,
+and her nerves were in an irritable state. The Lord Chancellor asked no
+more questions, and she finished her story to the end.</p>
+
+<p>She said the coachman told her that it was the King who was in the
+first carriage, and advised her not to put her head out of window again
+as he had orders to hit anybody who did so with his whip.</p>
+
+<p>This seemed such an extraordinary order for him to have received
+that the three dolls in the carriage began to suspect that there was
+something wrong, especially as they had now been driving for a long
+time, and when Wooden’s aunt had put her head out of window she had
+seen that they were getting near the hills, which she recognized. It
+was not exactly observant of them not to have suspected something
+before, but, as you know by now, dolls are apt to take everything that
+happens as a matter of course.</p>
+
+<p>Well, by the time the carriages had reached the top of the hill, the
+three dolls had come to the conclusion that they were being run away
+with. Wooden’s aunt said she wasn’t going to stand that, and was going
+to ask Selim what he meant by it. She said she would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span> jump out of the
+carriage as it was going, and run forward to the first carriage. The
+others said that the coachman would hit her with his whip, but she said
+she would run the risk of his missing her.</p>
+
+<p>Well, as the carriages came to the top of the hill, she opened the
+carriage door quickly and jumped out, and ran forward to the first
+carriage. The driver shouted at her, and gave her a great cut with his
+whip, which unfortunately did not miss her, but hit her in the face,
+where there was still an ugly-looking mark. But she hardly felt it at
+the time, and ran forward to the first carriage, shouting out, “Hi, you
+there, Selim! Come out and show your ugly face!”</p>
+
+<p>Oh, there was no doubt about the pluck of Wooden’s aunt, in spite of
+the numerous faults of her character.</p>
+
+<p>The rest was soon told. Selim had been furious with her, and he and
+Rose had dragged her into the wood and tied her to the tree, and then
+they had gone off. But before they had left her, Rose had stood in
+front of her and laughed her scornful laugh, and said, “That’s for
+calling me Sawdust. Perhaps you’ll be sorry now for crossing the path
+of Rose, who never forgets and never forgives.”</p>
+
+<p>This was one more thing against Rose.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor asked Wooden’s aunt if she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span> had any idea where
+the carriages were going, and told her they could not see them on the
+straight road to Dollport. This was the name of the little town by the
+sea, where the dolls landed from “over there.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, silly,” said Wooden’s aunt, “if they ain’t on that road, of
+course they’re on the other one. It don’t take a pair of specs to see
+that.”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor, slightly annoyed at being addressed in this
+fashion, said stiffly, “I should have thought of that if I had been
+given time. We have delayed long enough. Let us at once take the road
+to Dollfort.” Now, Dollfort was the place in which the wooden soldiers
+of Toyland were trained. If Selim had gone there, it looked as if he
+expected the wooden soldiers to be on his side.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img49">
+<img src="images/img49.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVI">XVI
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">COLONEL JIM ATTEMPTS A RESCUE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The road to Dollfort turned to the right at the top of the hill, and
+ran for some way through the wood. When it got to the bottom of the
+hill there was a stretch of open country for about a mile; then there
+was another thick wood on another hill.</p>
+
+<p>There was no sign of the carriages on the straight bit of road, but the
+pursuers had been some time freeing Wooden’s aunt and listening to her
+story, and could hardly have expected to catch them up yet. Wooden’s
+aunt was riding between Peggy and Wooden. She had nearly recovered
+from her disagreeable experience, and was inclined to like being on
+horseback. She said the motion reminded her of being in a small boat on
+a choppy sea.</p>
+
+<p>When they had got about halfway between the two woods, Colonel Jim
+halted them with a sharp word of command. “Women and children behind!!”
+he said, and then ordered his men in front.</p>
+
+<p>It was a good thing that this was done, for as they approached the
+second wood two armed wooden soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span> sprang out of it and levelled
+their rifles at them. They did not fire them, but it would have given
+Peggy and the dolls a nasty fright if they had been riding in front.</p>
+
+<p>The wooden sentries challenged Colonel Jim, riding at the head of his
+little troop, with a “Halt!” and a “Who goes there?” He said “Friend!”
+but they did not say “Pass Friend!” as is the usual custom. They told
+him that the King had recently gone through to Dollfort, and had told
+them that they were to let nobody pass until they received further
+orders from the fort.</p>
+
+<p>Now Colonel Jim engaged in the duties of his profession was quite a
+different person from the amiable but rather slow-witted person we have
+hitherto seen. He didn’t tell the sentries that Selim wasn’t the King
+at all, or engage in any argument with them. He said, “I’m an officer
+of the Royal Body Guard, so your orders can’t apply to me.” Then he
+gave them the password for the day, which, as you remember, was the
+word “pot-plants.”</p>
+
+<p>Now, you must also remember that, although Selim had thought he might
+be followed in his flight, which was the reason why he had given orders
+to the sentries to let no one pass the wood, he could not have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span> known
+that he would be immediately followed by a troop of Household cavalry,
+which is, of course, the special protection of a King or Queen. So he
+had naturally not warned the sentries of this, and as Colonel Jim spoke
+with authority, they were inclined to obey him.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I suppose it’s all right for you and your men,” said one of the
+sentries, “but what about these here civs?” He meant civilians.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor now showed considerable resource. The sentries had
+lowered their rifles, which, strictly speaking, they ought not yet to
+have done, so he pushed his way to the front, and said in an important
+voice, “I am the highest official of this country; this gentleman here
+is the Royal Head Bargeman; this lady is the one the King has asked to
+marry him, and this is her aunt; and this little girl is a human being,
+and therefore doesn’t come under your orders at all.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, well, I suppose it’s all right,” said the sentry in a grumbling
+voice. “You can pass through, all of you, and if me and my mate thinks
+it isn’t all right afterwards, why we can shoot after you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you got your rifles in order?” asked Colonel Jim in a sharp
+voice. “Let’s have a look at them.”</p>
+
+<p>Because he was an officer, and had spoken in a voice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span> of command, they
+obediently handed him their rifles to look at.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you,” said Colonel Jim, and handed the rifles to one of his
+men. “Now, you take these two and bring them along with us,” he said
+to another one. The surprised sentries found themselves prisoners, and
+made to walk by the side of the horses, which now proceeded at a foot’s
+pace up through the wood.</p>
+
+<p>So far, all had gone well.</p>
+
+<p>They kept a sharp look-out going through the wood, but saw no more
+soldiers. When they came to the edge of the wood they could see
+Dollfort across the open downs about a mile away.</p>
+
+<p>Dollfort was a very fine toy fort, something like the one Peggy had
+seen driving into Dolltown, but much bigger. There were battlements all
+round it, with gates in them, and on the top of the fort was a large
+citadel. Outside the walls was a little town of dolls’ houses, where
+the families of the wooden soldiers lived. None but wooden soldiers
+occupied this fort, and of course that was why Selim had taken refuge
+there. He would tell them a great many lies and get them on his side.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img50">
+<img src="images/img50.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">Dollfort was a very fine toy fort</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The pursuing party remained in the shelter of the wood, where they
+could not be seen from the fort, even<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span> with a telescope, but they
+could see the fort themselves quite plainly, and the country that lay
+between. This was all open grass-land, and woolly sheep were feeding on
+it. There were no houses between the wood and the fort.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim at once announced that he was going to take his soldiers
+to the fort and summon Selim to surrender. The Lord Chancellor thought
+this was a dangerous proceeding, but Colonel Jim refused to listen to
+him. “I’m in military command here,” he said, “and that is what I am
+going to do.” No doubt he was in a hurry, not only because of the Queen
+being shut up there, in the power of Selim, but because his dear Lady
+Grace was also shut up there. But he did not say this. He left <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr>
+Noah in charge, and set off with his gallant little band. They watched
+them ride down the hill, and trot across the open road over the downs,
+and very fine they looked on their splendid black chargers, with the
+sun glittering on their helmets and cuirasses, and their white plumes
+waving in the breeze.</p>
+
+<p>The two captured wooden soldiers had had their hands tied, but when
+<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah told them all about Selim’s wickedness, and about the Queen
+being still alive, they expressed such horror that he allowed them to
+be untied. They said that if the soldiers in the fort<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span> knew what had
+happened none of them would be on Selim’s side. They had only been
+prepared to obey him as King because he was of wood, but they were
+loyal to Queen Rosebud, and would be glad to have her reigning over
+them again. They were none of them pleased at the shutting up of all
+the Waxes, who had done them no harm, and rumours had come through
+to Dollfort that not only Waxes but some Woods also had been sent to
+prison, and this had pleased them still less. When the sentries were
+told that Wooden and her aunt had been two of the dolls in question,
+they were very interested, and said that their comrades would never
+fight for Selim, if it came to fighting. Whether this was true or not,
+you will soon see.</p>
+
+<p>They watched the little troop of soldiers get smaller and smaller,
+and at last disappear among the houses outside the fort. Then they
+waited for a long time, while the sheep fed peacefully on the downs in
+the evening sunlight, and no other signs of life could be seen at all
+except the smoke rising from the houses round the fort.</p>
+
+<p>They had finished talking, and had been sitting silent for about five
+minutes, when Wooden’s aunt, whose ears were very sharp, said suddenly,
+“Hark! What’s that?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span></p>
+
+<p>Nobody else had heard anything, but almost immediately <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah said,
+“There are guns firing.” And then Peggy distinctly heard some faint
+pops coming from the direction of the fort.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img51">
+<img src="images/img51.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">This was serious, because the life guardsmen had no rifles, but only
+their swords, and if they were being fired upon by the wooden soldiers
+it would be difficult for them to defend themselves.</p>
+
+<p>“Look!” cried Peggy in great excitement.</p>
+
+<p>Just where the houses began, a mile away, there was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span> a flash of sun
+on bright metal, and no sooner had she spoken than they could all see
+that it was on the helmets and breastplates of the soldiers. Then they
+saw the life guardsmen galloping towards them, and directly they had
+got clear of the houses, they saw the scarlet and white of the wooden
+soldiers following them, and heard their guns shooting. But none of the
+horse-soldiers seemed to be hit, and on they came, galloping along the
+road, and on the grass on either side of it. The foot-soldiers came
+running after them, but of course they could not go nearly so fast, and
+presently Colonel Jim and his men galloped up the road into the wood.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the wooden soldiers were about a quarter of the way
+between the fort and the wood. There seemed to be an enormous number of
+them. They had left off firing their rifles, but were coming on at a
+good pace. In not so very long they would reach the wood, and it really
+seemed as if they must capture not only Colonel Jim and his troop, but
+Peggy and the Woodens and all the rest of them. Peggy <em>was</em> a
+little frightened then, for the red and white was coming towards them
+like a great wave, and all the soldiers had rifles, which they would
+certainly use if any resistance were offered to them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span></p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim cast one hurried glance round him. “If we had axes,” he
+said, “we could make a barricade, and keep them at bay until we could
+send for reinforcements. As it is, I’m afraid we must clear out.”</p>
+
+<p>“What, and leave my sister-in-law shut up there!” exclaimed Wooden’s
+aunt. “Never! If nobody else stays, I shall. I’ve got a sharp pair of
+nails, and I can give them a few scratches.”</p>
+
+<p>Now, this was plucky of Wooden’s aunt, and loyal too. She had only
+mentioned Wooden’s mother, but no doubt she had had the Queen in her
+mind as well. But she had left out of account the military situation,
+not knowing much about that sort of thing, and her opinion could not be
+allowed to stand against that of Colonel Jim, who was quite as brave as
+she was, but knew when there was a chance of fighting successfully and
+when it was better to retreat.</p>
+
+<p>“We shall have to go,” he said decidedly. “If they take us prisoners we
+can’t do any more good, but if we get back to Dolltown we can bring out
+reinforcements and take the fort. To horse, all of you!”</p>
+
+<p>The wooden soldiers were now about halfway across the stretch of open
+country. They were not running so fast now, as they must have got
+rather winded with their first effort, but more and more of them were
+coming<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span> out of the fort, and it was quite plain that the little band in
+the wood would have no possible chance against them.</p>
+
+<p>They untied the horses and ponies, and were just preparing to mount,
+when Wooden’s aunt said, “Hark! I heard a shout.”</p>
+
+<p>She turned towards the interior of the wood, and they all listened.
+Yes, there was somebody shouting, and they heard the noise of a horse
+galloping furiously, besides. In a moment there came into sight, among
+the trees—who do you think? None other than Peggy’s faithful old Teddy.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img52">
+<img src="images/img52.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVII">XVII
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE BATTLE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">Teddy galloped up to them and threw himself off his horse. One glance
+at the advancing wave of wooden soldiers showed him what the position
+was. There was no time to explain what he had been doing. Every moment
+was of value. “There’s cavalry and infantry coming up,” he said to
+Colonel Jim. “We can make a stand here. Better send one of your men
+back to hurry up the guns.”</p>
+
+<p>But there was no necessity to do this, for as Teddy was speaking they
+could hear the noise of horses trotting along through the wood, and
+almost immediately a lot of lead soldiers made their appearance, and
+came rapidly towards them. They were Lancers, on bright bay horses, and
+very smart they looked with the little flags fluttering at the tops of
+their lances.</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel of the regiment rode at the head of them. He came up to
+Colonel Jim, and saluted. “Just in time, eh, sir?” he said. Colonel Jim
+saluted,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span> too, and said, “Are your men ready for a charge, sir? If so,
+we can keep them off till the guns come up.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img53">
+<img src="images/img53.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">The Colonel of the Lancer regiment threw one glance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span> at the approaching
+wooden soldiers. There were thousands and thousands of them, and only
+a few of his men could come up at a time, by the narrow road through
+the wood. But odds did not daunt him, and he at once gave the order to
+charge.</p>
+
+<p>The Lancers who had gathered at the edge of the wood immediately
+charged down the hill, shouting and singing in the most gallant
+fashion, the Colonel at their head; and the others who were coming
+up behind quickened their pace and followed them. They spread out as
+they got into the open, so as to charge the whole front of the wooden
+infantry. Colonel Jim held his own little troop back, partly out of
+politeness to the Colonel of Lancers, partly because their horses were
+blown.</p>
+
+<p>It had all happened so quickly that Peggy had not had time to be
+frightened yet. But the noise of the horses galloping and the men
+shouting got louder and louder, and the wooden soldiers had now got so
+near that their shouts could be heard too, as they stood to receive the
+shock of the cavalry. She suddenly shrieked, and clung to Wooden. “Oh,
+they’re not going to kill each other, are they?” she cried. “Do let’s
+go away!”</p>
+
+<p>Wooden soothed her. “Of course they’re not going<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span> to kill each other,
+dear,” she said. “Soldiers don’t do that in Toyland. They only knock
+each other down; and whichever side knocks most down wins.”</p>
+
+<p>This relieved Peggy’s fears a little, and in any case she was in the
+thick of it now, and had to see it through. She was really a plucky
+little girl, and by the time the cavalry got to the bottom of the hill
+she had partly recovered from her fright, and did not shut her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>The cavalry rode gallantly at the thick mass of soldiers, with their
+lances levelled, and whenever they hit a wooden soldier, down he went.
+The wooden soldiers fired their rifles at them as they came down the
+hill, and knocked over a few. But the bullets, which were small peas,
+of a kind grown specially for rifle ammunition, were not big enough
+to do much damage against men and horses coming so fast. It was only
+when several bullets hit the same soldier, or his horse, that they were
+knocked over. But the foot-soldiers left off firing and began to use
+their bayonets when the cavalry got amongst them, and then they did
+knock over a large number of men and horses, though not nearly so many
+as the Lancers knocked over of them.</p>
+
+<p>It was most fascinating to watch. The Lancers went on and on through
+the masses of infantry, and wherever they went, down fell heaps of
+wooden soldiers.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span> And when they were knocked down they lay quite still
+on the ground, and took no further interest in the proceedings. But the
+farther in the Lancers went the less they became, as men and horses
+were bowled over in their turn. It was just as if they were being
+swallowed up in the great mass of red and white, and there were so many
+of the wooden soldiers that it soon became plain that in a short time
+the Lancers would all disappear.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy watched the Colonel, who was always in front, fight his way
+steadily on, dealing lightning blows to right and left of him. But at
+last he went down, and the red coats were almost as thick as before,
+and still more were always coming up from the fort.</p>
+
+<p>It was then that Colonel Jim rallied his little troop for a last
+gallant charge. Teddy had galloped back through the wood, while the
+Lancers were charging, to hurry up the guns. He now came tearing back,
+and said to Colonel Jim in a hurried voice, “The guns will be here in
+a couple of minutes. If you can keep them back till then we shall have
+them beaten.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll try,” said Colonel Jim, looking at his little troop, which seemed
+almost nothing at all compared to the masses of soldiers advancing on
+them; and then he gave the word to charge.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was a desperate effort. The shock of the Lancers’ charge had now
+spent itself. The wooden soldiers, who had been kept back by it for a
+time which was short measured by minutes, but of inestimable value to
+the defenders of the wood, were now forming at the foot of the hill.
+If they succeeded in getting to the top of it, the little party in
+the wood would be surrounded and taken prisoners. Could Colonel Jim’s
+handful of men save them?</p>
+
+<p>The troopers were given instructions to form themselves into a line at
+the edge of the wood, and then to charge down the hill all together.
+They rode out of the shelter of the trees, and formed their line with
+as much coolness as if they were on parade. The foot-soldiers began
+firing again, and the bullets pattered on their cuirasses like hail,
+but had no effect upon these heroes, except to sting them up when they
+caught them in their faces, and to make their horses restive. Peggy
+could hear the bullets whistling and pattering amongst the leaves of
+the trees over her head, but she and the dolls had been withdrawn a
+little into the wood. Owing to the angle at which the wooden soldiers
+fired, there was no danger for them as long as the firing was from the
+bottom of the hill.</p>
+
+<p>It took the life-guardsmen a very short time to form<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span> into line, and,
+as the wooden soldiers had halted to fire at them, the time was not
+wasted. The moment they were in line, Colonel Jim, who was in the
+middle, slightly in advance of the rest, gave the word to charge.</p>
+
+<p>Down swept the splendid little band, in an irresistible charge. It
+was no good firing at them any longer, and the wooden soldiers stood
+with bayonets fixed to receive the shock. Wooden’s aunt, who had been
+getting more and more excited at what was happening, ran forward to the
+edge of the wood to watch, and Peggy and the others went with her.</p>
+
+<p>The sudden leaving off of the firing made a lull, in which the noise of
+the horses’ hoofs could be heard thundering down the hill. When they
+reached the bottom, the shock of the encounter was just like hammer
+blows, as wood met metal.</p>
+
+<p>The front line of wooden soldiers seemed to waver a little as the
+horsemen approached them. And no wonder! The wooden soldiers were brave
+enough, and they did not yet know that they were fighting in a bad
+cause, so there was nothing to make them cowards. But the first line
+of them, at least, must have known that they would all go down before
+the irresistible charge, and it spoke well for them that they stood and
+waited for it, instead of running away.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was not only the front line that went down under the weight, but the
+second and third. It really looked for a moment as if that single line
+of heavy cavalry would push the opposing host back all by itself. And,
+so far, not a single man or horse of them had fallen.</p>
+
+<p>But the impetus of the furious charge was bound to spend itself. A
+life-guardsman went down, and then another. But still they struggled
+on, Colonel Jim in front of them fighting desperately, as the Colonel
+of the Lancers had done. It was no longer a line of steel destroying
+everything in front of it as it swept on, but a few scattered horsemen,
+fighting gloriously against overwhelming odds.</p>
+
+<p>But still they did advance, and for every horse and rider that went
+down a score or more of foot soldiers bit the dust.</p>
+
+<p>“They’ll do it! They’ll do it!” yelled Wooden’s aunt, dancing about in
+a state of tremendous excitement.</p>
+
+<p>Teddy, sitting on his horse, was no less excited. “They’re giving way!”
+he cried. And Peggy distinctly saw a quiver run through the mass of
+wooden soldiers, like wind passing over a field of corn.</p>
+
+<p>At this very moment there was a roar and a rumble from the wood behind,
+and the artillery came galloping<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span> up, just in the nick of time. A great
+shout was raised, which struck terror into the hearts of the wooden
+soldiers down below. Before the first gun could be unlimbered and
+pointed at them, the great mass of red coats turned and broke. Colonel
+Jim, and all that was left of his little troop, took up the shout, and
+redoubled their efforts. They had it all their own way now. The enemy
+was flying, and not one wooden soldier tried to knock them down any
+more, but only to escape their blows, and get back in safety to the
+fort.</p>
+
+<p>The big guns got to work. One of them was quite near to where Peggy and
+the Woodens were standing. It was quickly loaded with gunpowder and an
+enormous pea. She stopped her ears as it was fired, but the noise was
+not so bad as if it had been a real gun. She distinctly saw the great
+pea fall in the middle of the fleeing army, and then go bowling along,
+knocking over lots of soldiers before its force had spent itself.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img54">
+<img src="images/img54.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">The big guns got to work</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Orders soon came, however, for the artillery to cease firing. More
+regiments of cavalry were coming up through the wood. As they arrived
+they were sent down to pursue the wooden soldiers, and also to ride
+round them, and cut them off from the fort. There was no necessity to
+knock down any more of them. If they were surrounded they would be
+obliged to surrender,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span> and this would come to the same thing. The guns
+would be wanted to reduce the fort, and, until further supplies of
+ammunition came up, they did not want to waste it.</p>
+
+<p>It was a pretty sight to see the cavalry galloping over the downs,
+outflanking the flying red coats, and presently getting between them
+and the fort. But a good many wooden soldiers who had only got a little
+way out when the rout began had already succeeded in making their way
+back. There would be plenty to defend the fort, if Selim should decide
+to try to hold it.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img55">
+<img src="images/img55.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XVIII">XVIII
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE SIEGE</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The great contest that would be known in the history of Toyland as the
+Battle of the Downs had been fought and won. But Queen Rosebud was not
+yet set free, and Selim was not yet captured. There was still stern
+work to be done. Dollfort must be taken at all costs, and as it was one
+of the strongest forts in the country that would be no light matter.</p>
+
+<p>The affair, however, was set in hand at once. The artillery limbered
+up and galloped down the hill and trotted across the downs, making a
+fine show. There were about twenty guns—quite enough to make a breach
+in the walls. But when they had done so, infantry would be required
+to pour in through the breach and complete the work that the guns had
+begun. The cavalry had already done their share, and would not be of
+much use for this task For in the valiant army of Toyland it was not
+customary to use horse-soldiers apart from their horses.</p>
+
+<p>But Teddy, who seemed to have thought of everything,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span> had asked for
+infantry to be sent from Dolltown, as well as cavalry and artillery,
+and almost as soon as the guns had thundered off down the hill the
+first detachment of foot-soldiers came up through the wood.</p>
+
+<p>If they had had to march from Dolltown they could not have been there
+in time; but all the available conveyances had been used to bring
+them up. The first lot arrived in toy motor-cars, and then followed
+carriages and cabs and carts in quick succession, until quite enough
+men were there to overcome any resistance the fort might make.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy, and the little group of civilian dolls watched the first
+regiment form up and march away towards their task at Dollfort. It was
+a regiment of wooden soldiers, and the Lord Chancellor said he thought
+that was a mistake, as they would not like fighting against their
+own sort. But Teddy, who came up to say a word to them now and then,
+laughed at this. “They are all loyal,” he said. “So will the soldiers
+at Dollfort be, when they know the truth.”</p>
+
+<p>There was certainly no lack of eagerness shown by this fine regiment,
+as it marched down the hill with its flag at its head. Peggy was
+interested to see Captain Louisa marching with one of the companies. He
+had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span> said that his men would follow him anywhere, and she was glad to
+see that he was prepared to fight on the side of the right.</p>
+
+<p>When the first regiment had marched off, Teddy came up to them and
+said, “I think we might go now. You’d like to see the guns knock the
+fort down, wouldn’t you?”</p>
+
+<p>Peggy said she should like it very much. She had always liked playing
+with her boy cousin with his soldiers, and this was just like one of
+the battles and sieges that they had arranged, only on an enormous,
+glorious scale. Since she had seen that there was no horrible
+bloodshed, but only fair and square knocking down, from which none of
+the soldiers would be much the worse afterwards, she had ceased to feel
+any alarm at the fighting, and was quite ready to see some more of it.</p>
+
+<p>They rode across the downs towards Dollfort, and now Teddy had time to
+tell them how he had so luckily been able to bring up the troops, and
+spoil Selim’s little game.</p>
+
+<p>He had been galloping along the road after the two carriages and must
+have nearly caught them up, when he had met Japhet, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah’s third
+son. He had been just about to pass him with a wave of the paw,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span> when
+Japhet had stopped him, and told him some most important news.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img56">
+<img src="images/img56.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">Now Japhet was a mild-mannered, studious young man, whose great hobby
+was the collection of wildflowers, which he pressed in a book. Whenever
+he was off duty on the royal Ark, he used to wander about the country
+picking flowers. Sometimes he went alone, and sometimes with a friend,
+who shared the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span> tastes. This friend was also in the royal service.
+In fact, he was none other than the driver of the carriage in which
+Selim had run away with Queen Rosebud. Japhet had made arrangements to
+meet him that very evening on the road between Dolltown and Dollfort,
+and have a good long ramble with him.</p>
+
+<p>It was fortunate that it was just on this road that Japhet had arranged
+to meet his friend. Of course, if he had not come, Japhet would have
+known that it was because he was on duty; but he would not have known
+where he was going.</p>
+
+<p>As the carriage passed, Japhet waved to his friend, and asked him where
+he was going. His friend said “Dollfort.” They both spoke under their
+breaths, making great movement with their mouths, and the driver also
+made a movement with his head towards the carriage behind him, and said
+in the same way, “I’ve got the old man with me.” This was how these two
+talked to each other about Selim, and was not meant for disrespect, as
+they would not have done it in public.</p>
+
+<p>Teddy said, “Are you sure he said Dollfort and not Dollport?”</p>
+
+<p>Japhet said he was quite sure, because he had jerked his thumb to the
+right, where Dollfort was. If he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span> meant Dollport, he would have
+pointed straight ahead.</p>
+
+<p>Then Teddy had seen it all. Selim was not going to try to escape by
+sea, with Queen Rosebud, but was going to rouse the wooden soldiers
+of Dollfort, and perhaps try to get the kingdom back with their help.
+So Teddy turned sharp round, and rode back to Dolltown—but not along
+the road by which he had come—leaving Japhet standing there in
+considerable surprise.</p>
+
+<p>When he had told his story, the Lord Chancellor asked him why he had
+not come back and told them what he had found out. He was annoyed about
+it. “If it had not been for our own extreme cleverness,” he said, “we
+might have gone off on a false scent to Dollport, and not known where
+they had gone to at all.”</p>
+
+<p>Teddy grinned up at him rather impudently. “You wouldn’t have been much
+loss,” he said. “I knew it would take you about a month to start, if
+you started at all; and I wanted to take the short cut to the barracks.
+There was no time to be lost.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s as well you did,” said <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Noah. “The troops only came up just
+in the nick of time. Five minutes more, and the enemy would have been
+entrenched in the wood.”</p>
+
+<p>As they rode across the downs, they passed heaps<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span> of soldiers lying on
+the ground, most of which were wooden soldiers of the attacking party;
+but some were men and horses of the Lifeguards and the Lancers. None of
+them were much damaged, but they hated lying there and doing nothing,
+and implored to be picked up.</p>
+
+<p>But they were told that there wasn’t time for that. The ambulance corps
+would be sent out as soon as possible, and they must wait for that.
+The only soldier they did pick up was the Colonel of Lancers, who rode
+along with them, very glad for his horse to be on its feet again. He
+was proud of the charge that his regiment had made, but would not take
+any credit for his own share of it. He said that he had only done his
+duty as a soldier should.</p>
+
+<p>When they arrived at the houses in front of the fort, the guns had
+already got to work. The cavalry had gone into the streets, and told
+all the inhabitants to come away, as in five minutes their houses were
+going to be knocked down. It was necessary to destroy them, in order to
+have a clear range at the walls of the fort, and as our little party
+came up the dolls’ houses of the town were toppling down in dozens as
+the guns fired at them. All the poor dolls who had been told to leave
+them were gathered in a body on a low hill<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span> to the right, watching
+the destruction of their homes, and it was sad to hear the wails and
+lamentations that arose from them; for they had not had time to bring
+anything away. Perhaps their possessions were not worth very much, but
+still, a home is a home to those who live in it. Be it ever so humble,
+there is no place like it, as the song says, and it was not nice for
+these poor people to see their homes knocked down by great peas as big
+as wardrobes. However, the houses would all be put up again as soon as
+the siege was over, and the poor dolls would not be any the worse off.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img57">
+<img src="images/img57.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">All the poor dolls were gathered in a body</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The hill on which the refugees were crowded was out of the line of
+fire, and our party went there to watch what was going on.</p>
+
+<p>It was not quite such an easy matter to reduce the fort as it first
+appeared. For one thing, the walls had been built to resist such
+attacks, and would be more difficult to demolish than the houses
+outside them. And for another thing, the artillery did not have it all
+its own way. There were, of course, guns in the fort itself, and they
+were already doing great damage to the attacking forces. The shooting
+was not quite so good as it might have been, and the artillery-men in
+the field were very clever in moving their guns about quickly, so that
+whenever they had fired they would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span> move away to a new position, and
+the guns in the fort always had to be finding new ranges.</p>
+
+<p>Still, one field-gun after another was put out of action, and now there
+were only about half of them left to do the work.</p>
+
+<p>The situation was as follows. The houses in the way had all been
+knocked down, leaving the battlements of the fort open to attack, but
+it had cost half the artillery to do it. Would the other half be enough
+to make a breach in the walls, through which the infantry could pour
+in and do their work, before they were put out of action, too? And
+supposing they did, would enough infantry arrive in time to do the
+pouring in? It was touch and go, as all the episodes of this great
+battle had been.</p>
+
+<p>As for the infantry, the wooden regiment in which Captain Louisa served
+had already come up, and was resting under cover waiting till the time
+came for it to make its attack. And across the downs were marching more
+regiments, all of lead soldiers. Yes, the infantry would be ready, if
+the guns could do their work in time.</p>
+
+<p>The artillery now changed its tactics. The time had gone by for moving
+about and firing guns singly. They would never make a hole in those
+stout walls,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span> unless all of them fired at one place together. This then
+was what they had to do. It was costly, because when once the guns of
+the fort had found the range, they could knock them all out pretty
+quickly. But it was the only way.</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel of Lancers explained all this very politely to Peggy, and
+she watched with breathless interest this exceedingly important phase
+of the battle.</p>
+
+<p>There was silence from the field artillery while the guns were all
+being trained on to one place in the walls. But the guns from the fort
+redoubled their efforts. One of them had the good luck to find the
+range immediately. The moment the field-guns had galloped up to the
+position that had been decided on, a great bullet came bounding along
+and knocked one of the batteries down. Then the others found the range.
+The field-guns were pointed and loaded wonderfully quickly, but before
+any of them could actually fire, five of them had been knocked out.
+Just as the order to fire was given, two more were knocked out. So the
+great blow was only delivered by three guns.</p>
+
+<p>They might just have done it if the balls had all hit exactly the same
+spot in the walls. Two of them hit it exactly, but the third went a
+little wild. Peggy distinctly heard them hit the wall. There was a
+little fall<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span> of masonry and a cloud of dust. When this cleared away,
+she looked eagerly for a hole in the wall. But no hole was there. Those
+frowning battlements stood as whole and nearly as strong as before.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately afterwards the remaining field-guns were put out of action
+by the guns of the fort. The artillery attack had failed, and a
+tremendous cheer arose from the soldiers who were crowding the walls of
+the fort watching the Homeric contest.</p>
+
+<p>But their cheering soon died away, for this was not the end of it. What
+followed happened so quickly that Peggy could not afterwards remember
+exactly how it did happen. But almost before she could draw breath the
+wooden regiment which had come up first was charging towards the fort
+with lusty shouts. Shots from the guns in the fort mowed them down in
+long lanes, but still they charged on. They swarmed over the ruins of
+the houses, and reached the very walls of the fort; and when they got
+there they began swarming up the walls themselves, just like flies.</p>
+
+<p>It was a most gallant assault. They were under shelter from the guns
+of the fort, but the soldiers on the battlements could reach them,
+and made great havoc in their ranks. They climbed up on each other’s
+shoulders, but directly one of them reached the top<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span> he was knocked
+down, and then the next one was knocked down, and sometimes a whole
+line of men was toppled over.</p>
+
+<p>But there were always more to take the place of those who fell. A
+regiment of lead soldiers came dashing up to help them, and then
+another and then another still. The advantage of numbers was on the
+attacking side now, but the advantage of position was very much with
+the soldiers of the fort, and it seemed impossible that anybody should
+ever succeed in climbing over the top of the wall.</p>
+
+<p>But a lot of sharpshooters were told off to aim at the soldiers who
+were manning the walls, and they did their work very cleverly, picking
+them off one by one. The guns of the fort were trained on them, and
+they went down in large numbers, but they imitated the tactics of the
+artillery, and never fired twice from the same spot; and gradually they
+made an impression. There came a moment when the soldiers on the top of
+the wall did not seem quite so thick as before. And when that moment
+came there was a great shout from the regiments below, and from the
+onlookers. For at last a soldier attacking the wall scrambled on to the
+top of it.</p>
+
+<p>They saw him stand for a second laying about him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span> at the defenders, and
+then he went down. But not before two or three more had climbed over.</p>
+
+<p>After that it was quickly finished. More and more soldiers reached
+the top, until presently the defence almost ceased, and the defendant
+forces were driven away from the top of the walls altogether.</p>
+
+<p>Another shout went up when the great gate in front of the fort was seen
+slowly to roll open. And then the gallant soldiers ceased climbing up
+over the wall, and poured in through the gate, to finish the work that
+had been so splendidly begun.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img58">
+<img src="images/img58.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XIX">XIX
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">SELIM IS CAPTURED</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">The final reduction of Dollfort would have taken longer than it
+actually did if the citadel at the top of it had not been closed for
+spring cleaning. Selim and Rose would certainly have taken refuge
+there, and would have been defended by those that remained of the
+wooden soldiers. The citadel was very strong, and it might not have
+been possible to take it by assault at all. They might have had to
+starve it into surrender, and that would have taken a long time.</p>
+
+<p>However, by a lucky chance, the commander of the fort, who was rather
+fussy, had said the day before that he couldn’t have the place
+looking like a pig-sty, and it was to be thoroughly cleaned out and
+white-washed. This was being done when Selim drove into the fort, and
+the fighting had followed so soon that there had been no opportunity of
+putting the citadel into any sort of shape to resist attack.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the fort was taken, Peggy and the others were allowed to
+ride into it through the gateway that had been opened by the attacking
+party. As they came<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span> into the first narrow street of the fort a wooden
+officer was standing by the gate. It was none other than Captain
+Louisa, who saluted his old friends, and said he was very glad to see
+them there.</p>
+
+<p>Another officer who was standing with him, patted him on the back, and
+said, “You haven’t told them that it was you who was first over the
+wall.”</p>
+
+<p>“That was nothing,” said Captain Louisa modestly. “I was only doing my
+duty as a soldier should.”</p>
+
+<p>They congratulated him heartily on his gallant feat of arms. He had
+said nothing about it himself, but it was plain that he was pleased
+at having it known to them. Peggy had thought it rather boastful of
+him when he had said in Wooden’s drawing-room that nobody would do his
+duty as a soldier better than he should, but it had turned out to be
+quite true. Wooden said how pleased his wife would be to hear what he
+had done, and his friend said that he would be made a Major for it, or
+perhaps even a Colonel.</p>
+
+<p>They got off their horses at the entrance to the fort, for the streets
+were too narrow and steep to let them ride any more.</p>
+
+<p>Dollfort was an old-fashioned though a very powerful fort. There were
+houses and shops in the narrow streets, and as they went up through
+them they saw<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span> the soldiers taking refreshment in the inns, which were
+rather foreign-looking, and made Peggy think of the places she had seen
+in France.</p>
+
+<p>The two sides had already made friends again, and Leads and Woods were
+eating and drinking at the same tables, and talking in an eager way
+about the glorious fight they had had. That is the best of a toy army.
+When one side wins, the other side bears no malice, and of course the
+regiments that have fought each other today may very well be fighting
+on the same side tomorrow.</p>
+
+<p>The ambulance corps had already finished its work inside the fort, and
+was on its way out to the soldiers still lying on the downs. All the
+defenders of the fort who had fallen had been picked up again, and, to
+judge by the merry noise they were making, were none the worse for the
+experience.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Louisa and his friend walked up through the streets with them,
+and Peggy was interested to learn that the friend, whose name was
+Lieutenant Napoleon, belonged to a regiment which had defended the
+fort. He was very indignant at what he had heard about Selim. “Still,
+it was a good thing we didn’t know what a rascal he was,” he said, “or
+we shouldn’t have had this glorious scrap.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span></p>
+
+<p>That was the spirit of all the soldiers who had been fighting. They
+often had sham battles, but this had been a real one, and they had
+thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the knocking down of the houses
+outside the fort. They would not have been allowed to knock them down
+in a sham fight.</p>
+
+<p>The exciting and interesting thing now was to find Selim and Rose, and
+get to know where they had hidden the Queen and Lady Grace and Wooden’s
+mother.</p>
+
+<p>Lieutenant Napoleon told them that the two carriages had come driving
+quickly into the fort, and the King had put his head out of the window
+of the first and told the sentries to close the gates, and to send the
+Commander of the fort to him at once at the Busby Arms, which was the
+chief inn in the place. Then they had driven into the courtyard of the
+inn, and the gates of that had been closed too.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img08">
+<img src="images/img08.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">The chief inn of the place</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The commander of the fort was General Wellington-Vera. He was an
+uncle of Lieutenant Napoleon’s, and had taken his wife’s name upon
+marriage, as is the custom in Toyland. General Wellington-Vera was a
+brave and capable officer, and had hurried at once to the King, as
+of course he thought him, to take his orders. These were that the
+fort was to be stoutly defended to the last man and the last ounce of
+powder,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span> against a cowardly and treacherous attack that would shortly
+be made upon the King’s life by the lead soldiers of Dolltown, who
+had revolted. That was what Selim had told him, and of course he had
+believed it.</p>
+
+<p>Orders had quickly been given out that every man should be found at his
+post. Then General Wellington-Vera had made up his mind that he would
+not wait to be attacked, but would himself attack first; and Selim had
+approved of this. The result had been as we have already seen, and we
+need not go over the same ground again.</p>
+
+<p>Lieutenant Napoleon was his uncle’s aide-de-camp, and had been by his
+side during the greater part of the battle and the siege. He was now
+free for a time, because the General, who was an old man, had been
+somewhat exhausted by his exertions, and had gone home to lie down.
+He said that his uncle had told him nothing about any ladies being
+with Selim. He had talked to him in a room alone. In fact, Lieutenant
+Napoleon was surprised to hear that there were any ladies there at all,
+and still more surprised to hear that one of them was Queen Rosebud.
+He had known by this time that she was alive, and that Selim was a
+usurper, but not that he had tried to run away with her.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We ought to find them at once,” he said. “I am in command here as long
+as uncle is lying down, and I shall be pleased to put myself at your
+disposal.”</p>
+
+<p>They went first of all to the Busby Arms. The gate of the courtyard was
+still shut, and Lieutenant Napoleon banged on it with the hilt of his
+sword, and called out that if it was not opened at once he would give
+orders for it to be blown up with gunpowder.</p>
+
+<p>“You had all better take shelter,” he said, as he was waiting for a
+reply. “They might try sniping at us. I don’t mind for myself, but I
+shouldn’t like to see any of you hit.”</p>
+
+<p>So they went behind a wall, all except Colonel Jim and the Colonel of
+Lancers and Captain Louisa, who, being soldiers, scorned to shelter
+themselves, and waited with Lieutenant Napoleon.</p>
+
+<p>But there was no occasion for alarm. The gate was soon opened by the
+innkeeper, who had been terrified by the bombardment of the fort,
+especially as one of the cannon balls had fallen into the garden behind
+the inn and broken a cucumber frame.</p>
+
+<p>The innkeeper was as shocked as all the rest when he heard how wicked
+Selim had really been, and very surprised at being told that one of the
+ladies who had come in the carriage with him was Queen Rosebud.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span></p>
+
+<p>“She must have been the one they said was ill,” he said. “Her head was
+all covered up when they brought her in. They asked for a cup of tea
+for her, so I went down into the kitchen myself, because, you see, the
+girl what——”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind about all that,” said the Lord Chancellor. “Where are they
+now? Take us to them at once.”</p>
+
+<p>But alas! the innkeeper could only tell them that they had gone.</p>
+
+<p>“The King,” he said—“well, I suppose I mustn’t call him that now—but
+Selim, he went out with the General when the firing began, and soon
+after he’d gone the ladies must have slipped off. That’s how I think
+it must have happened. Anyhow, when I went up to tell them about my
+cucumber frame they’d gone, and I haven’t set eyes on them since.”</p>
+
+<p>They did not waste much more time at the inn. They set out to make
+a thorough search of the houses in the fort, under the direction of
+Lieutenant Napoleon, who now showed himself very zealous on the scent.</p>
+
+<p>There were not, after all, a great many hiding places. It was only in
+the lower streets of the fort that there were shops and houses. Above
+that there were only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span> barracks and defence works, and the citadel at
+the top of all.</p>
+
+<p>None of the soldiers whom Lieutenant Napoleon questioned had seen
+anything of Selim since the taking of the fort. Up to that time he had
+been with General Wellington-Vera, overlooking the defence, and many of
+them had seen him. Of the Queen, and the other lady dolls, nobody had
+seen anything, from first to last.</p>
+
+<p>“The only thing left is to search the citadel,” said Lieutenant
+Napoleon. “I don’t suppose they are there, but I don’t see where else
+they can be.”</p>
+
+<p>So they set out, and climbed the steep streets up to the top of the
+fort.</p>
+
+<p>As they went up, they met a lot of female dolls coming down with pails
+and mops and brooms. These were the char-dolls who had been cleaning up
+the citadel, and it speaks well for their sense of duty that they had
+not left off their work during the bombardment. But they were all wives
+of soldiers, and had been trained to do their duty, whate’er befell.</p>
+
+<p>Peggy was interested in these dolls, who were chattering away at a
+great rate, and anxious to know what had been happening while they were
+busy. But, being wives of soldiers, they were too well disciplined to
+ask<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span> questions of the officers, and nobody took much notice of them
+except Peggy.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img59">
+<img src="images/img59.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">They were mostly dressed in print gowns, but some of them wore big
+cloaks, because the evening was beginning to get a trifle chilly. Peggy
+noticed in the crowd of them two who had the hoods of their cloaks
+right over their heads. One of them was very tall, but was bent, as if
+she had rheumatism. She had the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span> arm of the other one, who was carrying
+a pail, and they were talking with their heads close together, but not
+speaking to anybody else.</p>
+
+<p>They had just passed, rather quickly, when an idea suddenly sprang into
+Peggy’s mind. She clutched at Wooden’s arm, and said, “Look at those
+two! I believe they are disguised.”</p>
+
+<p>It was the remembrance of Colonel Jim’s cloak when he had got in to
+them in the House of Cards that had made the idea come into her head.
+And perhaps the same connection of ideas made Colonel Jim himself
+sharper than he generally was; for the moment Peggy had spoken he
+called out to the char-dolls to stop.</p>
+
+<p>Most of them, being well disciplined, stopped at once, at the word
+of command, but the two in cloaks went on, as if they had not heard,
+slightly quickening their pace, but not running.</p>
+
+<p>That was enough for Teddy. He sprang after them. “Here, you two!” he
+said. “Let’s have a look at your faces. I’m sure you’ve no reason to be
+ashamed of them.”</p>
+
+<p>They began to run. But Teddy ran after them, and put his foot in front
+of the tall one, who tripped and fell sprawling in the road. Teddy tore
+off the cloak,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span> and disclosed, not an inoffensive char-doll like the
+rest, but the gross form and sinister features of the rascally Selim.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img60">
+<img src="images/img60.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="XX">XX
+<br />
+<span class="center vsmall">THE LAST</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p2">There lay the villain who had worked such mischief among the simple and
+generous inhabitants of Toyland, and, above all, to their noble Queen,
+who had loaded him with benefits. He lay on the muddy road, blinking
+and scowling at his captors, well knowing that his game was up and his
+doom would soon fall. He was a sorry spectacle, in his discovery and
+disgrace. It was checkmate for him finally, and no further move was
+left to him.</p>
+
+<p>As for the chief partner in his crimes, who had tried to escape with
+him—the renegade Composition doll Rose, who had so completely failed
+to obey the natural instincts of upright dollhood—it was easy enough
+to recognize her in the other cloaked figure, when once Selim’s
+disguise had been torn from him. It was Wooden’s aunt who sprang
+forward and snatched the cloak away from Rose. “So here you are, my
+beauty!” she exclaimed exultantly. “Got you at last! And if you try to
+get away I’ll scratch your eyes out.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span></p>
+
+<p>But Rose made no effort to get away. She did not cower before them, as
+the wretched Selim did. He made no effort even to rise from the ground
+until Lieutenant Napoleon called up two soldiers to seize him and hold
+him fast. But Rose drew herself up to her full height, and flashed
+scorn upon her captors from her dark eyes. There was something grand
+in her, in spite of the wickedness of her behaviour, but it was not
+the sort of grandeur that it does anybody any good to admire. The only
+thing that can be said about her is that with such a bold character
+it is a pity that she had not used her powers to do right instead of
+wrong. Then they might have led her to great heights. As it was, they
+had brought her down to ruin.</p>
+
+<p>They questioned her as to what had been done with the Queen and the
+other dolls who had been carried off; but she would answer them
+nothing. Her contemptuous look seemed to say, “You may do what you like
+with me, and I shall only go on despising you. But you will get nothing
+out of me, so it is waste of time to try.”</p>
+
+<p>The wretched Selim, however, was more amenable to pressure. “If you
+will let me free to go away,” he whined, “I will tell you everything.”</p>
+
+<p>“Give him a twist of the arm,” said Lieutenant Napoleon,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span> “and see if
+that will make him tell us. He isn’t going to be let free.”</p>
+
+<p>One of the soldiers screwed Selim’s arm, not very hard, because it
+wasn’t necessary. Directly he felt the slightest pain, Selim gave way
+at once. “Oh, don’t hurt me!” he cried out—the wretched, cowardly
+creature! “They are in the citadel—quite safe and comfortable. I might
+have executed them all, but I haven’t touched a hair of their heads.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bring the prisoners along with us,” said Lieutenant Napoleon. “We will
+go up to the citadel at once.”</p>
+
+<p>They mounted to the top of the fort. The citadel was a great barrack
+of a place, with one fine hall, and a regular hive of smaller rooms,
+besides the fortified works. If it could have been used for a final
+defence of Dollfort there would have been room in it for lots of
+soldiers, and everything would have been there to enable the defenders
+to support a long siege. But it had all been cleared out. The courtyard
+inside the gates was encumbered with furniture, and even the guns had
+dust-sheets over them. The great hall and the lower rooms had all been
+thoroughly cleaned, but the char-dolls had not reached the upper rooms
+yet, and it was to one of these that Selim, who was now eager to tell
+everything, led them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span></p>
+
+<p>He had locked the door, and thrown away the key out the window, as he
+was obliged to confess, but it did not take long to break it open.
+Colonel Jim, who was the biggest and strongest of them all, and who
+was very anxious to rescue Lady Grace as quickly as possible, put his
+shoulder to the door and gave one mighty push, and it flew open.</p>
+
+<p>The room was very small. It had a narrow, barred window, and the only
+furniture in it was a low bed and a wooden chair. It was, in fact, a
+prison cell, used for locking up soldiers who had committed offences.
+And this was the place in which Selim had locked up the unfortunate
+Queen, and the other two dolls, without any food or even water.
+Supposing he had escaped, as he had hoped to do! They would have stayed
+there all night, and could only have been released if they had managed
+to attract the attention of the char-dolls who would come to the
+citadel the next morning.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Jim was not very quick at understanding things, as we have
+seen, but he understood this directly his eyes took in what was inside
+the door he had burst open. He turned round and gave Selim a violent
+buffet on the side of his face, which made the miserable creature cower
+away and cry out. He had still to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span> punished for his crimes, but this
+first instalment of his punishment made everybody feel better.</p>
+
+<p>Queen Rosebud was sitting on the chair with her hands on her lap,
+the picture of stately patience; Lady Grace and Wooden’s mother were
+sitting on the bed, and it was evident that Lady Grace had been crying.</p>
+
+<p>The Queen rose slowly from her chair. “I wish to be taken away from
+this place,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>She was very royal, even under the dreadful circumstances in which she
+found herself, and after all she had gone through. The Lord Chancellor
+advanced towards her and bowed very low. “If your Majesty will deign to
+lead your loyal subjects to the great hall,” he said, “justice can be
+done at once on these malefactors, and in the meantime preparations can
+be made for your Majesty’s convenience for the night. It will be too
+late to go back to your Majesty’s Capital until tomorrow.”</p>
+
+<p>The Queen simply said, “Come, Lady Grace,” and walked out of the
+cell. The wretched Selim tried to draw her attention to himself with
+a whining prayer for mercy, as she passed him. But she took not the
+smallest notice. She did, however, make a slight inclination of the
+head towards Peggy, as she passed her; and Peggy felt proud and
+honoured, just as if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span> it had been a real Queen who had taken notice
+of her. But it cannot be too often repeated that Queen Rosebud was
+<em>like</em> a real Queen, in all her ways and in all her deeds.</p>
+
+<p>They went into the great hall, and a seat was brought for the Queen at
+the top of it. All the rest of them stood. Selim, between two soldiers,
+and Rose, between two others, were brought up before her.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord Chancellor cleared his throat, as if it lay with him to open
+the proceedings, but he was a very different Lord Chancellor before
+Queen Rosebud from what he had been in the Hall of Audience before
+the usurping Selim. When the Queen held up her hand he stopped his
+preparations for speech at once, and listened respectfully to what she
+had to say.</p>
+
+<p>She spoke slowly, in a low musical voice, and every word she said could
+be heard plainly by everybody in the great hall.</p>
+
+<p>“King Selim is to be taken at once to the coast,” she said, “and put
+into a boat, with oars and a sail, and enough food for several days. He
+is to row or sail away from my kingdom, and never to come back here. If
+he does so, he is to be executed. Take him away.”</p>
+
+<p>That was all, and she waited for her commands to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span> be carried out before
+speaking again. She had given the miserable creature his title. He was
+a King, though not King of Toyland. He had been cast on the shores of
+her island destitute and solitary, and had been right royally treated.
+And he had repaid her as we have seen. But she made no accusation
+against him. He was simply to be sent away.</p>
+
+<p>The wretched being was led off by the two soldiers who had guarded him.
+He went without a word. He knew that his life had been most mercifully
+spared, for he could row or sail to land in a few hours, or be picked
+up by a ship. Let us hope that he felt some compunction for his many
+crimes. He passed out of the hall between the two guards, the great
+door clanged after him, and he was seen no more.</p>
+
+<p>The Queen’s face changed as she turned towards Rose. Selim was a
+foreigner, and in getting rid of him she had done all that she needed
+to do. But Rose was her own subject, and must be dealt with in a
+different fashion.</p>
+
+<p>“As for you,” she said, “you must stand your trial according to the
+laws of the land. If you choose to stand it now, with me for your
+judge, you may do so. Say whatever you please in your own defence, and
+I will listen to you. If not, I wash my hands of you,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span> and you will be
+sent to prison to await your trial by jury.”</p>
+
+<p>It was an extraordinary act of clemency for the Queen to deal with
+Rose’s case herself, and no doubt Rose knew that she would get more
+merciful treatment than if her crimes were left to the judgment of a
+jury of dolls, who could not help being furious with her for what she
+had done.</p>
+
+<p>But all she said, in a voice of scorn, was, “Oh, try me now, and finish
+it. I have done what I have done, and I wish I had succeeded. As I’ve
+failed, do what you like with me.”</p>
+
+<p>The Queen looked at her with her calm, steady gaze, and Rose’s eyes
+dropped before it. “I am more sorry for you than you are for yourself,”
+the Queen said. “I know that you have been led away by spite and
+jealousy, and those are feelings that cause great unhappiness to
+whoever possesses them. It is your misfortune that you have those bad
+qualities, but it is in your power to conquer them. It is my hope that
+you will succeed in doing so. Go! You are free.”</p>
+
+<p>The guards on either side of Rose fell away from her. She stood staring
+at the Queen with wide eyes, as if she could hardly believe what had
+been said to her. Then she realized that she was free, to go where<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span> she
+liked, and that she was not to be punished at all. She covered her face
+with her hands and burst into tears, and then hurried away out of the
+hall. Her proud and rebellious spirit would not have quailed before any
+punishment that might have been meted out to her, but the punishment
+would have left her no better than she had been before. But the free
+pardon, which she could never have expected, had broken her down. It
+was to be hoped that she would really repent of her bad ways now, and
+be a better doll than she had ever been before.</p>
+
+<p>When Rose had left the hall, the Queen’s face lightened. “All that is
+left for me now,” she said, “is to thank such of my subjects as have
+been so active and successful in setting me free from the plots that
+have surrounded me. And first of all, I must thank the dear little
+girl who is not my subject, but has come here on a visit to find us in
+trouble that is now at an end. She must come again. That is the only
+way in which I can reward her.”</p>
+
+<p>She smiled graciously and sweetly at Peggy, who felt extraordinarily
+pleased.</p>
+
+<p>Then she turned to Wooden. “You have always had my respect and
+liking,” she said, “and I had intended to have appointed you today to
+a post of honour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span> about my person. I do so now, under the title of
+Lady-in-Waiting in Ordinary, and Extra Bed-doll of the Royal Chamber.
+Your duties will bring you into constant relationship with me, and I
+look forward with pleasure to making you my friend.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img61">
+<img src="images/img61.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">It was most graciously said, and Wooden was so overcome with pride and
+pleasure that she could only stammer out her thanks, and promise to
+perform her duties as well as ever she could.</p>
+
+<p>The Queen then called for a sword. Colonel Jim handed her his, and to
+his great surprise she knighted him with it, and then conferred the
+same honour upon Teddy, who was even more surprised, as he was the
+first bear in Toyland who had ever received it.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img62">
+<img src="images/img62.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+<p class="center caption">She conferred the same honour upon Teddy</p>
+
+<p class="p2">When she had done this, she rose from her seat, and intimated that she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span>
+wished to retire for the night, but before doing so she said a few
+gracious words to all who were in the hall. She said with a smile to
+Colonel Jim that she hoped soon to know him under the title of Sir Jim
+Lady-Grace, which was a happy way of saying that she would forward a
+marriage between him and her favourite lady-in-waiting. And she told
+Teddy, who was so overcome with the honour that had been conferred on
+him that his customary flightiness had departed for the moment, that
+she thought he ought to get married too, and she should always be
+pleased to welcome to her Court Sir Teddy and Lady Bear-Wooden’s-Aunt.</p>
+
+<p>It may readily be guessed into what a flutter this suggestion put
+Wooden’s aunt. While the Queen was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span> talking to her, and hearing about
+her having been tied up to the tree by Selim and Rose, she was quiet
+and respectful. But directly the Queen’s back was turned, and Teddy
+came up to her with a grin to see whether she liked the idea of
+marrying him, she cut a caper, and Teddy cut another, so that Wooden’s
+mother had to remind them both that they would belong for the future to
+the Upper Ten Thousand, and must learn to behave themselves.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>The shades of evening were beginning to close in as the Queen left the
+hall, and suddenly Peggy began to feel as if she had had a very long
+day, and would like to go to sleep in her own little bed at home, if
+only she could get there. She began to wonder if it would be necessary
+to go over again all the long journey between Toyland and her home, and
+turned to ask Wooden how they were to get back.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>But as she turned, the hall and all the dolls in it seemed to be fading
+away, and as she opened her mouth to speak——</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>She awoke, to find herself lying in her own little white bed, with dear
+Wooden in her arms, and Teddy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span> with his impudent face lying on the
+pillow, pointing one paw towards the open window, into which the happy
+morning sun was shining.</p>
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img63">
+<img src="images/img63.jpg" class="w50" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="endimage">
+<img src="images/endimage.jpg" class="w100" alt="" />
+</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter transnote">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Note">Transcriber’s Note:</h2>
+
+<p>Minor errors and omissions in punctuation and spelling have been fixed,
+otherwise the text has been left in original condition, except for the
+below</p>
+
+<p><a href="#Page_126">Page 126</a>: “to use pass-word” changed to “to use the pass-word”</p>
+</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEGGY IN TOYLAND ***</div>
+<div style='text-align:left'>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-02 21:23:35 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-02 21:23:35 -0800
commit	da375cd2a0c00a4e8dc438f184dee9751d72ed09 (patch)
tree	2352c0d6b8222d6b1d55c25e06dbf983880bf809