The Enchanted Island Part 2

After searching about for half an hour they suddenly broke through the trees and found themselves on a sh.o.r.e, the like of which they had never seen before. It was wild and rocky and barren, and some of the rocks were of very curious shapes. A few were high and conical, like caves, and had smooth flat floors.

They began to look for a cave in the rocks near the sh.o.r.e, and at last found one at the foot of a great tree which overshadowed it. This cave had an opening in front looking out to the sea.

King Cyril flew into the air as high as he could and looked for the hill where they knew the Magician lived. He was quite breathless when he came down, but he said that the hill was away at the other end of the island, and that they were facing the south.

"Then we must be looking towards the Island of Laurel," said Daimur, "and these must be some of the rocks on which s.h.i.+ps are often wrecked."

"Do you think," he continued as he looked about him, "that if we were to make a fire in the cave the Magician could see the smoke?"

"I do not know," answered King Cyril, "it might be very risky to try; but anyway let us see if there is not another entrance to the cave."

He flew around it carefully, pulling away the bushes which grew close to it with his beak, and at last called Daimur to come and see the nice back door he had discovered, for the cave ran for some distance into the earth, and at the end of it, behind some shrubs, was another opening about five feet high.

"Now," said Daimur, "we can come and go from this end and there will be no danger of the Magician seeing us."

With grateful hearts they went back to get their potatoes.

CHAPTER V

After Daimur had carried all the potatoes into the cave and piled them up in a heap he took King Cyril on his shoulder and went back for the biscuits and water, as he was feeling very hungry and thirsty.

"Can you not call the Queen and the Princess," asked Daimur, "so that they may share some of this food?"

"You are very kind," said King Cyril, "but I am afraid they are both asleep yet. They were so hungry this morning that they ate more fruit than usual, but I will go and see," and off he flew, leaving Daimur to wonder how long it would be before he could get away from this strange and dreadful island.

In a short time King Cyril flew back, followed by a beautiful grey dove, the Queen, whom Daimur perceived through his wonderful spectacles to be a handsome woman dressed in a grey satin gown, and wearing a small crown of gold set with diamonds and sapphires.

Beside her flew a little white dove, the Princess Maya, and Daimur could see that she was a golden-haired young girl, all dressed in white frilly lace.

He asked them to be seated and have some biscuits and water, which though poor fare was at least wholesome and nouris.h.i.+ng.

The Queen wept at the sight of a human being again after such a long time, and the Princess stared at him as much as good manners would let her, and thought him extremely handsome (as indeed he was), for she had seen nothing but doves for the last four years.

King Cyril then told them how Daimur was going to do them a good deal of good, and had already found a hill of potatoes and a cave where they could live so that they might have no fear of animals or birds of prey.

Queen Emily was very much overjoyed, and extremely grateful to Daimur for saving her husband from the hawk, about which he had just told her, and as soon as they had had sufficient to eat she asked to see the cave. Daimur picked up the balance of the biscuits and the jug of water, and they all went to look at it.

The Queen and Princess thought it a lovely place, and volunteered to stay and gather bits of moss and leaves for Daimur to sleep on at night, while he and King Cyril continued their search for food.

Accordingly they set out again, Daimur still wearing his cap and spectacles, the King on his shoulder.

After walking for some time Daimur, who was carrying the old spade, set it down suddenly.

"There are yams here," he said, "lots and lots of them," as he looked about at a ma.s.s of slender vines which twined about the trees and climbed towards the light. He set to work with his spade, and in a few minutes had about a dozen nice big ones lying on the ground.

"We will leave them here for the present," he said to King Cyril, "while we see whether we can discover anything else."

A short distance farther on Daimur stopped again to examine some more vines.

"Why these are peanut plants," he said to King Cyril (though he had never seen peanuts growing in his life before), "we must have some of these," and he dug up enough to fill all his pockets.

Again they continued their walk, and Daimur now began examining the trees. Certainly they were very fine ones, some of them reaching away up into the sky, and taller than the tallest buildings in the Island of Sunne.

They were all hanging full of the most luscious fruits. Monstrous oranges, beautiful peaches, cherries as big as plums, and plums bigger than anything you ever saw, bananas, cocoanuts, dates, figs, breadfruits, and grape vines bearing heavy cl.u.s.ters of black, red, and white grapes, grew in abundance, and although Daimur felt very much tempted to pick some of the lovely things he saw, he did not, as his spectacles showed plainly that they were all poisoned.

"It seems to me," said Daimur, "that everything which grows above the ground is poison, but that everything that grows in the ground is good to eat.

"So you see," he continued, addressing King Cyril, who was fluttering about him in a great state of excitement, "we need not starve after all. Now let us go back to the cave, as it is beginning to grow dusk, and besides I am very thirsty. And good gracious! That reminds me that we have not found any pure water yet, and we have very little left."

They hastened back to where they had left the yams, and taking off his coat Daimur threw them into it and they started off towards the cave.

When they drew near it the Queen and Princess came flying to meet them, and crying that they had found a great treasure.

"What have you found?" asked Daimur in surprise, hoping it was not another of the Evil Magician's wicked devices.

"Water," replied the Queen. "It is just outside the cave and bubbles up from between two rocks. It must be a natural spring as it tastes quite pure and fresh."

Daimur went with the Princess to look at it, and found it was indeed as they had said. Between the cave wall and a rock which jutted from the bank a little spring bubbled up and trickled into a small rocky basin, which it overflowed and so ran into the sea sand.

Daimur knew by his cap that it was pure, and they were all much relieved to think they had been so lucky as to find both pure food and pure water in such a short time.

"Thank goodness," said Daimur, "we are safe for the present at least."

"We found something else, which I am sure will be nice," said the little Princess.

"What is it?" asked Daimur.

"Come and I will show you," she said. "Mother and I discovered them while looking for leaves for your bed, but we could not carry them."

A little distance up the sand the Princess led him to where there was a large nest of turtles' eggs, which Daimur joyfully dug out of the sand and carried to the cave.

"Now we will have a splendid feast," they said.

They waited until it was quite dark and then dug a hole inside the opening at the back of the cave, and made a fire. Luckily Daimur had a little silver box of matches with him. They roasted the potatoes and yams in the coals, toasted the peanuts, and baked the turtle eggs on a hot stone, and thoroughly enjoyed their supper.

Then, as they were all very tired, Daimur jammed some branches across one corner of the cave for the doves to sleep on, and gratefully threw himself down on the nice soft bed which the Queen and the Princess had prepared for him, and they all slept soundly until morning.

CHAPTER VI

Next morning they ate some of the food which they had put aside for breakfast, took a drink of water from their little spring, and then Daimur put on his cap and spectacles, shouldered his spade and filled his pockets with potatoes and peanuts and some of the biscuits.

"Now," he said to the three doves, "I want King Cyril to come with me and see if we cannot locate something like a boat near the Magician's hill so that we may get away from this place."