The Island Queen Part 5

"Rather a noisy and bustling fairyland too," said Otto, referring to the numerous sea-birds that inquisitively came to look at them, as well as to the other waterfowl that went about from isle to isle on whistling wings.

The boy spoke jestingly, but it was clear from his heaving chest, partially-open mouth, and glittering eyes, that his little heart was stirred to an unwonted depth of emotion.

"Alas! that we have lost our boat," exclaimed Dominick.

To this Otto replied by expressing an earnest wish that he were able to swim as well as a South Sea islander, for in that case he would launch forth and spend the remainder of that day in visiting all the islands.

"Yes; and wouldn't it be charming," responded his brother, "to pay your aquatic visits in such pleasant company as that?"

He pointed to an object, which was visible at no great distance, moving about on the surface of the gla.s.sy sea with great activity.

"What creature is that?" asked Pauline.

"It is not a creature, Pina, only part of a creature."

"You don't mean to say it's a shark!" cried Otto, with a frown.

"Indeed it is--the back-fin of one at least--and he must have heard you, for he seems impatient to join you in your little trip to the islands."

"I'll put it off to some future day, Dom. But isn't it a pity that such pretty places should be spoiled by such greedy and cruel monsters?"

"And yet they _must_ have been made for some good purpose," suggested Pauline.

"I rather suspect," said Dominick, "that if game and fish only knew who shoot and catch them, and afterwards eat them, they might be inclined to call man greedy and cruel."

"But we can't help that Dom. We must live, you know."

"So says or thinks the shark, no doubt, when he swallows a man."

While the abstruse question, to which the shark had thus given rise, was being further discussed, the explorers returned to the thicket, where they buried the skeleton beside the other graves. A close search was then made for any object that might identify the unfortunates or afford some clue to their history, but nothing of the sort was found.

"Strange," muttered Dominick, on leaving the spot after completing their task. "One would have expected that, with a wrecked s.h.i.+p to fall back upon, they would have left behind them evidences of some sort-- implements, or books, or empty beef-casks,--but there is literally nothing."

"Perhaps," suggested Pauline, "the men did not belong to this wreck.

They may have landed as we have done out of a small boat, and the vessel we now see may have been driven here after they were dead."

"True, Pina, it may have been so. However, the matter must remain a mystery for the present. Meanwhile we will go and explore the low land behind our reef."

"Isn't it strange, Dom, that we should become landed proprietors in this fas.h.i.+on?" remarked Otto, as they walked along.

"And that, too," added Pauline, "at a time when our hopes were lowest and our case most desperate."

"'Tis a magnificent estate," said Dominick, "of which we will const.i.tute Pina the Queen, myself the Prime Minister, and Otto the army."

To this Otto objected that, as it was the business of an army to defend the people and keep them in order, there was no use for an army, seeing that there were no people; but Dominick replied that a queen and prime minister formed part of a people, and that an army was required to defend _them_.

"To keep them in order, you should say," retorted Otto, "for that will clearly be my chief duty if I accept the situation. Well, I've no objection, on the whole, to be an army; but, please, remember that in time of peace an army is expected to do no laborious work, and that at all times it is clothed and fed by the State. Now, Queen Pina the First, what would your Majesty wish the army to do?"

"Go forth and subdue the land," replied Pina the First, promptly, with quite a regal sweep of her hand towards the low ground and the lagoon beyond.

"Will your Majesty deign to instruct me how I am to begin?"

The Queen hesitated. She was rather puzzled, as rulers sometimes are when required to tackle details.

"May it please your Majesty," said Dominick, coming to the rescue like a true premier, "it is the chief duty of a prime minister to advise his sovereign. If it be your pleasure, I would recommend that the army should be sent down into yonder clump of reeds to ascertain what revenue is to be derived from the inhabitants thereof in the shape of wildfowl, eggs, etcetera, while I visit the sh.o.r.e of the lagoon to ascertain the prospects of supply, in the form of sh.e.l.lfish, from that quarter.

Meanwhile, I would further advise your Majesty to sit down on this coral throne, and enjoy the contemplation of your kingdom till we return."

With a dignified bow and a little laugh Queen Pina a.s.sented, and the Prime Minister went off to the sh.o.r.e, while the army defiled towards the marsh.

Left alone, Pina the First soon forgot her royal condition in contemplation of the lovely prospect before her. As she gazed over the sand, and across the lagoon, and out on the gleaming sea, her thoughts a.s.sumed the wings of the morning and flew away over the mighty ocean to old England. Sadness filled her heart, and tears her eyes, as she thought of a mild little mother who had, since the departure of her three children, been reduced for companions.h.i.+p to a huge household cat, and who would ere long be wondering why letters were so long of coming from the dear ones who had left her.

Pauline had a vivid imagination and great power of mental abstraction.

She summoned up the image of the little mother so successfully that she felt as if she actually saw her knitting her socks, sadly, with her head on one side. She even heard her address the cat (she was accustomed to address the cat when alone), and express a hope that in the course of a month or six weeks more she might expect to have news of the absent ones. And Pauline almost saw the household cat, which occupied its usual place on the table at the old lady's elbow, blink its eyes with sympathy--or indifference, she could not be quite sure which. Then Pauline's wayward thoughts took a sudden flight to the island of Java, in the China seas, where she beheld a bald little old gentleman--a merchant and a s.h.i.+powner--who was also her father, and who sat reading a newspaper in his office, and was wondering why his good s.h.i.+p _Flying Fish_--which was bringing his children to him besides a quant.i.ty of other goods--did not make its appearance, and she plainly saw the look of disappointment as he threw the paper down, exclaiming, "Odd, very odd, but she _must_ turn up soon."

Pauline saw nothing more after that for some time, because her eyes were blinded with tears.

Then Queen Pina cheered up again, for she thought that surely a s.h.i.+p would soon pa.s.s the island and take them off. As this last thought became more definite (for Pina was very young and hopeful) her eyes dried and permitted her to observe her kingdom more clearly.

The Prime Minister, she observed, was still busy on the sh.o.r.e, and, from his frequently stooping to pick up something, she argued that the affairs of State in that quarter were prospering.

Presently, from the midst of a ma.s.s of reeds not far off, there arose a shout, easily recognisable as that of the army, which was followed by cries of a stupendous, yet extremely familiar, kind. Pauline started up in considerable haste, and a moment later beheld the chief authors of the noise burst from the clump of reeds in the form of a large sow and a troop of little pigs.

They were evidently in a state of wild alarm, for, besides squealing with a degree of intensity possible only to pigs, they ran in such furious haste that they stumbled over sticks and stones in reckless confusion, scrambling to their feet again in such a hurry as to ensure repeated falls, and, generally, twirling themselves and their tails in a manner that was consistent with nothing short of raving madness.

Little wonder that those creatures acted thus, for, close on their heels, gasping and glaring, the army burst forth and fell on them-- literally fell on one of them, for Otto in his anxiety to catch the hindmost pig, a remarkably small but active animal, tripped over a root just as he was about to lay hold of its little tail, and fell on the top of it with fearful violence. The mechanical pressure, combining with the creature's spiritual efforts, produced a sudden yell that threw the cries of its companions quite into the shade. It might have sufficed to blow Otto into the air. Indeed, it seemed as if some such result actually followed, for, after turning a complete somersault, the boy was on his feet again as if by magic; but so also was the little pig, which, being thus forcibly separated from its family, turned aside and made for the main thicket. To cut off its retreat, the army made a sudden flank movement, headed the enemy, grasped it by the curly tail, and sought to lift it into his arms, but the curly tail straightened out, and, being exceedingly thin as well as taper, slipped from his hand. Need we say that the little pig came to the ground with a remonstrative squeal? It also rolled over. Otto, unable to check himself, flew past. The pig rose, diverged, and resumed its headlong flight. Otto doubled, came close up again, "stooped to conquer," and was on the point of coming off victorious, when, with a final shriek of mingled rage and joy, the enemy rushed through a hole under a p.r.i.c.kly bush, while the discomfited army plunged headlong into the same, and stuck fast.

Meanwhile the rest of the porcine family had found refuge in an almost impenetrable part of the thicket.

"Pork, your Majesty," said Otto, on returning from the field of battle, "may at all events be counted as one of the products of your dominions."

"Truly it would seem so," responded the Queen, with a laugh; "nevertheless there does not appear to be much hope of its forming a source of supply to the royal larder."

"Time will show," said Dominick, coming up at the moment; "and see, here are several kinds of sh.e.l.lfish, which will form a pleasant addition to our fare."

"Ay, and I saw eggs among the reeds," said Otto, "some of which--"

"Not pigs' eggs, surely?" interrupted Dominick.

"They may be so," retorted Otto; "the fact that English pigs don't lay eggs, is no argument against South Sea pigs doing so, if they choose.

But, as I was about to say, your Majesty, when the Premier interrupted me--some of these eggs I gathered, and would have presented them as an offering from the army, if I had not fallen and crushed them beyond repair."

In corroboration of what he said, Otto opened his coat pocket and revealed in its depths a ma.s.s of yellow substance, and broken sh.e.l.ls.

"Horrible!" exclaimed Pauline; "how will you ever get it cleaned?"

"By turning it inside out--thus, most gracious Queen."

He reversed the pocket as he spoke, allowing the yellow compound to drip on the ground, and thereafter wiped it with gra.s.s.