The Enchanted Island Part 8

"Another pause, and then a man's voice.

"'My dear, that's been made for something else besides peaches. Look at the opening at the bottom. Why a man could hide in there quite easily, and good gracious! Here's a man's handkerchief, with T on the corner.' (I felt myself turning pale.) 'Do you suppose there is somebody in our stronghold, Mary? Good Bowser, where is the tramp?

That's it. Bowser get him, old boy! Bring him here.'

"I shrunk away from the hedge, and was just turning to look for a place where I could hide, for I had no mind to be dragged forth in this unceremonious way, when a dark form appeared over me, seized me around the middle, and the next moment I was lifted through the air and laid in a heap on the other side of the hedge.

"I jumped to my feet, not knowing who or what I should see, drawing my sword as I did so, but when I caught a glimpse of a nice motherly looking woman and a mild-looking old gentleman standing before me apparently very much alarmed, I hastily stepped forward and made a low bow, begging their pardon for having intruded in this unseemly fas.h.i.+on.

I explained my errand, told them who I was, and how I had contrived to get there, and when I had finished they both looked much relieved.

"'That is quite all right, Prince Tasmir,' said the old gentleman, 'and now if you will come into the house and partake of some refreshment I will tell you about the Wonderful Plant which you have come so far to seek.'

"'First, may I ask,' I said, 'does Bowser bite?'

"'No,' said the old gentleman, 'he is quite good natured, and besides he has no teeth.'

"'Well,' I said, 'I am rather grateful to him for carrying me safely here, and I should like to give him those peaches, but did not wish him to bite me in two while I was doing it.'

"So saying I went to the peach basket, where Bowser was vainly endeavoring to get the peaches out, and opened the fastenings, while he hopped around me on his huge legs and uttered his strange chuckling laugh. I picked out a few dozen of the ripest for the old lady, and let Bowser have the rest, which we left him swallowing greedily.

"They took me around to a s.p.a.cious veranda, where a dark-skinned maid served us with delicious iced drinks, fruit and small cakes, and then the old gentleman told me about the Wonderful Plant."

CHAPTER XIV

"'You are no doubt wondering,' he said with a smile, 'who we are and what manner of oasis this is, and I am going to tell you about ourselves first.

"'To begin with, we are not fairies, but quite ordinary mortals, and we live here alone. We have no children, and no pets but Bowser, but we are never lonesome. Now Bowser is just a common toucan, and I found him on the ground under a big tree one morning, where a bad storm the night before had tossed him out of the nest. We brought him in and my wife cared for him, and the only reason he is so big is that he has such a voracious appet.i.te and eats ten meals a day. In fact he is eating practically all the time, and I believe is still growing. I suppose his brothers and sisters might be as large as he if they could get enough to satisfy their appet.i.tes the way Bowser does. He would eat most families out of house and home, but as our store-room never gives out it does not matter. But although we do our best to feed him enough to satisfy his appet.i.te we cannot cure him of stealing peaches.

We are very sorry for the poor farmers whose orchards he raids, but in one sense it is rather a good thing, as it serves to keep people afraid of him, and he is our only watchdog.

"This desert around us was not always here. The whole valley was once much higher than now, and was a happy little kingdom where we all dwelt in peace and prosperity until the unlucky day when the Evil Magician came this way and swept the whole kingdom out to sea, drowning everyone, including the king and queen and their little son and daughter, and leaving nothing here but bare sand.

"'We were absent from home when it happened. I was a merchant, and had gone to buy a new supply of goods, and my wife accompanied me, otherwise we would have met the same fate as our friends and neighbors.

"'You can imagine the sight which met our eyes when on our return we came out at the head of the pa.s.s on yonder mountain and looked over the valley. At first we thought we must surely have lost our way and come upon some strange barren place, but on looking about we saw certain familiar landmarks which made it clear to us that a hurricane must have swept our kingdom away, and of course all our possessions.

"'We rode on, trying to find some trace of our house, but nothing could be seen on the bare sands but a clump of bushes and a few small trees which had somehow escaped the force of wind and water.

"'On reaching this spot we thought it better to stay and camp for the night, as the day was fast fading and we would have to wait until daylight to go back through the mountains.

"'Fortunately we had plenty of food left, and after tying our horses and giving them their supper I went to gather some dead twigs to make a fire while my wife unpacked our camp outfit.

"'While we were thus engaged I thought I heard a sound of crying. We both listened, and it came again. Leaving our tasks we followed the sound and behind a scrubby willow tree came upon a most beautiful young woman crouched on the ground weeping and moaning, and at the same time digging into the earth with a small wand as if in search of something.

She did not appear to heed our approach.

"'"What have you lost, my dear? Is it money?" asked my wife, thinking that she like ourselves was homeless on account of the storm. She jumped and looked at us in a startled manner, then rising to her feet answered sadly:

"'"No, it is not money, but something much more precious. It is a little black seed, and I am afraid I shall not find it again."

"'"Oh, if that is all, perhaps you can get another," I said, thinking that misfortune had probably affected their reason.

"'"Come," I continued, "we will have to remain here to-night, but in the morning we will help you to find it if it can be found," and I left my wife to comfort her while I went back to see to my fire. We soon had our kettle boiling and supper laid out, and the strange young lady seemed very grateful for our hospitality. After supper she sat and looked into the flames for a long time in silence while we discussed our plans for the future.

"'By and by we too became quiet, and then she spoke.

"'"I am not a mortal like yourselves," she said, "I am the fairy who is called 'Peaceful,' and my home is in the island of Laurels, far from here. Your good Queen was my very dear friend, and I was on my way to pay her a visit and show her a precious seed which I had just brought with me from a distant land when I came upon this scene of desolation.

"'"The seed I carried was a present from an owl who is over a thousand years old, and wiser than any fairy I know. It was the seed of the Wonderful Plant. Wherever it grows there it will remain for all time.

It cannot be dislodged, and the owner of it will be rich and influential forever. Its flowers are of the purest gold, and can be taken off and sold to the goldsmith. I was going to take the seed to my home and plant it in my garden, so that I would have at least one spot on earth where the Evil Magician could not endanger my good influence. He is the terror of my life, and I see that he has been even here, for it was he that swept your kingdom out to sea, and this little clump of earth and bushes is only a fragment that broke off one corner.

"'"I heard about it from the eagle that dwells on that high mountain top. When I reached this spot to-day my distress was so great that I dropped my precious seed, and now I must leave it here for I know I will not find it."

"'I tried to comfort her by saying we would help her to look for it as soon as it was light, but she shook her head.

"'"No," she said, "it is of no use to look further. The seed sprouts immediately if the ground is damp, as this is. It will be sprouted by morning, and I must protect it here."

"'She said no more, and as our own troubles filled our minds we fell to talking again and making plans and did not notice that she disappeared.

"'We must have fallen asleep shortly afterwards, as we were both awakened by a sound of swis.h.i.+ng and neighing. We jumped to our feet.

The blackness of the night surrounded us. Our fire had died down to ashes. Suddenly the noise came again, and our two horses dashed past us at a gallop as if being chased. "Horse thieves," we whispered, and turned to follow, but after running for several minutes over the sand we found ourselves entering what seemed to be a dense wood, as we came into rather sharp contact with large trunks and heavy branches of trees.

"'How we had got there, we did not know, and visions of mountain robbers filled our minds. We threaded our way between the trees as well as we could and ran on over smooth turf until we came to an avenue, down which a light shone brokenly through the trees. Here we could run much faster, and turning a corner, saw our horses trotting quietly some distance ahead. The light showed brighter, and then as we emerged from the trees we found that it came from the windows of a long low building. As we stood, dazzled by the brightness, and wonderstruck, a voice beside us made us turn in alarm. It was the fairy, who we now remembered, had not been with us since early in the evening.

"'"Do not be afraid," said she, "I could not rest until I had safely protected my Wonderful Plant, so I have built this house around it and enclosed the grounds with a high brick wall. There is a good stable at the back and I have just shut your horses in for the rest of the night.

Come now and I will show you the house."

"'She took us in at the front door and showed us through the house. It was magnificently finished and beautifully furnished, as you shall see for yourself presently, and my wife and I declared that we had never seen anything to equal it. When she had finished she said:

"'"I have a proposition to make. I cannot remain in this country. I must go home at once, as I am needed. You have lost your home and all you possessed. Will you not stay in this beautiful house and tend my Wonderful Plant? It must be watered and carefully pruned each day in order to keep it at its best, and someone must remain here to gather the seeds as they ripen and hide them, lest at any time the Evil Magician or his emissaries come and steal one. The plant they cannot touch, and only myself can pluck the blossoms, but the seeds, which are so precious, may be taken by anyone.

"'"This oasis is now a pleasant place surrounded by fine lawns and planted with beautiful trees, and I will give you plenty of servants, a cellar full of provisions which will never run out, a library full of books, and all sorts of amus.e.m.e.nts. You will have everything but human companions.h.i.+p. No stranger must ever enter these gates, for I must guard against any possibility of having a seed stolen. What do you say, will you accept my offer?"

"'We considered a few moments. Our friends and possessions were gone, and we stood indeed alone in the world and quite dest.i.tute. The thought of seeing no human being did not affect us, as we had each other, so we very gratefully accepted the good fairy's offer, and when she had given us a few more instructions and told us that she would visit us twice a year she departed. Here then we have lived ever since in peace and comfort.'

"'But the Wonderful Plant, where is it? May I see it?' I asked, 'or am I to meet with some misfortune for having dared to enter upon this oasis?'

"The old gentleman laughed.

"'You are not to meet with anything here but good fortune, my dear Prince,' said he, 'for the last time the fairy paid us a visit she told us you were looking for a seed of the Wonderful Plant for your father, and that if you succeeded in reaching this spot alone I was to give you one. To tell you the truth we did not think much more about it, as we did not believe anyone would ever reach here. Now you shall see the plant itself.'

"He and the little old lady led the way into the great front hall and through a long pa.s.sage. Stopping at a heavily carved door he took a small key from his pocket and unlocked it. The door swung open and we stepped out."

CHAPTER XV