The Missing Prince, Page 2

  CHAPTER II.--THE PARTY AT SAND CASTLE.

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  ROWING shorter and shorter as he hurried along, Boy noticed that theMoon had gone back to its usual place in the sky, and that Pierrot wasnowhere to be seen.

  "I suppose he is lying down asleep on the cushions," he thought, as helet himself down from one step to another; for you see he had by thistime become so small that the steps seemed like huge rocks to him.

  When he at last reached the bottom one, he was greatly disappointedto find that there was nobody in sight. From behind a piece of rock,however, half buried in the sand, came the sound of laughter. "Ha, ha,ha! Hee, hee, hee! Ho, ho!" shouted somebody, and when Boy hurried up towhere the sounds proceeded from a curious sight met his eyes.

  A Grig was pirouetting about on the tip of its tail, giggling andlaughing in an insane fashion, whilst a solemn-looking Wooden Soldierwas standing at "attention" and looking straight in front of him, nottaking the slightest notice of the Grig or anything else.

  Presently the Grig caught sight of Boy. "Hee, hee, hee!" he snickered,"here comes a boy! What a jolly lark!" and he capered about more madlythan before.

  The Wooden Soldier, who had a label round his neck with "One-and-Nine"written on it, turned stiffly around, so that he faced Boy, and said ina deep voice,--

  "I wote for you at the bottom of the step for some time, but wasobligated to move to a more shelterous situation, as I am suffering froma stiff neck."

  "You _wote_ for me!" exclaimed Boy, "whatever do you mean?"

  "Wote, past participle of the verb to wait. Wait, wite, wote, you know,"answered the Soldier.

  "Hee, hee, hee! Isn't he a cure?" laughed the Grig, winking at Boy, andtwirling about at such a rate that it made Boy quite giddy to look athim.

  "He's been crossed in love, and it's touched his brain--ha, ha, ha!--hefancies that he has invented a new system of Grammar. What a lark!Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho!" and he rolled about in an uncontrollable fit oflaughter.

  "Well, of all the extraordinary individuals that I have ever met,"thought Boy, "these two are certainly the most remarkable! I wonderwhich of them is to show me the way to Sand Castle. I had better ask."

  "Mr. Officer," he began, for he thought that would be a polite way ofaddressing the Soldier.

  "His name's One-and-Nine," interrupted the Grig "What a name! Ha, ha,ha! Hee, hee!"

  "The vulgarocity of this individual is unbearacious," exclaimedOne-and-Nine angrily. "Let us leave him."

  "Oh! I wish to be directed to Sand Castle," said Boy. "Can you pleaseshow me the way?"

  "That is the purposeness of my being here," replied One-and-Nine. "Stepthis way, please," he said, as he walked stiffly forward.

  The Grig did not seem to mind them going in the least, and kept ondancing about and shrieking with laughter.

  "Good-bye, old Wooden Head!" he shouted. "You are as good as a pantomimeany day, you are! Ha, ha, ha! Hee, hee!" and the sound of his laughtergrew fainter and fainter as they walked quickly away from him.

  "That Grig will come to a lamentuous end unless he reformationises,"remarked One-and-Nine severely.

  "He seems to be in very high spirits about something," said Boy.

  "Yes, that's the worst of these Grigs," replied One-and-Nine, "theynever seem to considerise the unenjoyability of jollyosity; they seem tothink that life is all jubilaceous, whereas it is rather more otherwisethan otherwise."

  "Oh dear! oh dear! I do wish this man would talk in a way that I couldunderstand," thought Boy. "Have we very far to go?" he asked at length,as they walked along in the moonlight.

  "About half as far again as half," answered One-and-Nine absently. "Ibeg your pardon, I mean we shall be there with considerable soonness.You must excuse me being a little upset; I have recently suffered thesame affliction as yourself."

  "What do you mean?" exclaimed Boy.

  "I've been reduced," answered One-and-Nine sorrowfully. "You've beenreduced too," he said, "but only in size. I've come down in price, whichis far more serious. I was once Two-and-Three," he added regretfully.

  "Oh! then you are the _other chap_ that Pierrot sang about," said Boy,"and the Dolly-girl jilted you, didn't she, and----"

  "That's not a matter of the slightest consequentially," interruptedOne-and-Nine; "she was a person of frivolaceous character, and thoughI am bound to admit that at one time I did devotionise her withconsiderable muchness, I have since found out that she wastotally unworthy of my admirosity. Tin Soldier indeed!" he went oncontemptuously, evidently referring to his rival, "why, he couldn'tstand fire at all; he would melt! I don't deny that he looks very wellon parade, but he would be no good in action. However, she has chosen tomarry him and she must abide by the consequences. If people willmarry _tin_, they must be prepared to find that it _melts?_ he addedsententiously.

  "Oh! there's Sand Castle, I suppose!" cried Boy, as some lights appearedin the distance.

  "Yes," replied One-and-Nine, "here we are!"

  Boy could see when they reached the gates that it was the very Castlewhich he had so much admired in the morning. "And I am just the rightsize to go in, just as I wished to do," he thought gleefully.

  A regiment of toy soldiers were drawn up before the gate and saluted asBoy and One-and-Nine entered.

  Mr. and Mrs. Waxxe-Doll stood at the entrance to welcome their guests.Mrs. Waxxe-Doll was a very grand-looking personage in most fashionableattire, whilst her husband was not a wax doll at all, but a wooden andcardboard person with very thin, straight legs, and a large body andhead which wobbled about when he was touched.

  "So pleased to see you," said Mrs. Waxxe-Doll in a languid voice,shaking hands with Boy, and holding her hand nearly on a level withher head in doing so. "My husband," she said, introducing Boy, and thenwalking away.

  "How do you do, sir?" said Boy, holding out his hand politely.

  "What's that to do with you?" exclaimed Mr. Wraxxe-Doll fiercely."People have been asking me that silly question all the evening. Do youthink I've got nothing better to do than stand here and answer foolishconundrums like that? I wonder you don't say it's a fine evening andhave done with it! All the other folks have been saying that too, oneafter the other, like a lot of brainless lunatics. 'How do you do? It'sa fine evening!' Bah! If you haven't anything better to talk about thanthat, you had better have stopped away!" And Mr. Waxxe-Doll glared atBoy till he felt quite alarmed.

  "Don't mind him," said One-and-Nine, "it's his way--come along!" andhe led the way into the Dancing Hall where the festivities were in fullswing. All kinds of toys were represented, and it was indeed, as Pierrothad said it would be, a very mixed gathering.

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  The guests were principally dolls dressed in the most varied ofcostumes, from silks, brocades and satins, to black paint; somefastidious-looking young gentlemen with fair curled hair, and dressedin pale blue knitted suits, were leaning against the wall in affectedattitudes, and a whole group of Dutch dolls were gathered around amilitary-looking person in a cocked hat lolling luxuriously on anottoman at one end of the room. There was a Toy Band at the other end,which looked very imposing, but which Boy found out was only for show,the Musicians only pretending to perform, while the music was reallysupplied by a musical box hidden away at the back. A number of dollswere dancing a polka when Boy and One-and-Nine entered, so they sat downon a rout-seat near the door and watched them.

  A supercilious-looking doll in evening dress sat next to Boy, fanningherself fussily.

  "Very mixed lot of people here," she began, without the slightestintroduction. "I should not have come if I had known what to expect. Areyou a friend of Mr. Waxxe-Doll's?" she asked.

  "No, I've never met him before," replied Boy.

  "Ah! vulgar person, very--plenty of money, though--likes to be thoughtgrand. Of course he isn't a Waxxe-Doll at all. His wife was a Waxxe andhe took her name--it looks very well joined to his with a hyphen, youknow. Mrs. Waxxe-Doll is of French descent, and gives herself airsin consequence. Th
ey've hired this Castle for the season at enormousexpense, but bless you, they are nobodies! See that vulgar-looking oldlady in the corner--with a pipe in her mouth--they call her Ancient AuntSarah; but she's nothing of the sort. Everybody knows her; she's just'_Old Aunt Sally, three-shies-a-penny_,' so it's no use their trying todisguise the fact. Look at those two," she went on, as two dolls in verystraight narrow dresses danced past, "what guys! But there, what can youexpect? They came out of the ark, I believe."

  And Boy could see that they really did look like the figures out ofNoah's Ark.

  The music stopped just then, and most of the dolls went out into thegrounds to get cool; and Boy, who did not at all care for the spitefullittle person who had been letting him into all the Waxxe-Doll's familysecrets, thought that he would follow their example.

  One-and-Nine had wandered off by himself, so Boy had no one to talk to.

  He found the grounds brilliantly illuminated with little wax vestasstuck in the sand, and the toy trees and rustic bridges looked quitepretty in the light. Three or four Gentlemen dolls were playing a kindof game by the pond, and asked Boy to join them. He found that it wascalled "Stock Brokers," and he soon learned how to play it.

  Each had a large sheet of blue paper which was called a "Stock," andwhich when torn in half became a "Share." These pieces of paper werethrown into the air, and the game consisted in blowing under thesepieces of paper, or "raising the wind," as it was called, in order tokeep them floating: the one who kept his "Share" or "Stock" from fallinglongest won the game. Boy quite enjoyed playing it until one of his"Shares" fell to the ground, and then he was "broke," as they called it,and so he lost the game.

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  A crowd of dolls hurrying back to the Castle next attracted hisattention, and, following them inside, he heard it announced thatSergeant One-and-Nine was about to recite. Boy was very glad to hearthis, and managed to push forward to where One-and-Nine was standing.

  The Master of Ceremonies was bustling about trying to find every one aseat; and at last, when the room was quite quiet, One-and-Nine began thefollowing poem, which had been composed by himself:--=

  THE MUS RIDICULOUS AND THE FELIS DOMESTICA.

  ``"A Cat amidst the Burdock leaves

  ```Sat all disconsolate,

  ``And sadsomely did wop and wole

  ``And role against her fate.=

  ``"'Ah! hollow, hollow,' wole the Cat,

  ```'Is all Societee,

  ``And falshish shamiosity

  ```In all around I see.'=

  ``"'Oh! why,' I crew in sympathy,

  ```'Lamentuate like that?

  ``Pray tell me all your sorrowness';

  ```And down I flumply sat.=

  ``"The Cat did then all sobbishly

  ```Her woesome tale repeat.

  ``'This world is full of mockishness,

  ```And also of deceit.=

  ``"'For why? This mom at dawnitude

  ```A mouse I did espy;

  ``'Twas running whirligigishly

  ```Beneath my very eye.=

  ``'And feeling somewhat breakfastish

  ```I straightway gave a spring,

  ``And landed right upon the back

  ```Of that activeous thing.=

  ``"'To my surprise it did not squeak,

  ```And neither did it squeal;

  ``And as 'twas rather littleish,

  ```I ate it at one meal.=

  ``"'I much regret my hastiness,

  ```For soon, to my dismay,

  ``'Twas acting most unmouseishly,

  ```In an eccentric way.=

  ``"''Twas what they term a _clockwork_ mouse,

  ```And governed by a spring;

  ``Its works behaved revolvingly,

  ```And hurt like anything.=

  ``"'Oh! tell me, is life livable

  ```When things go on like that?

  ``When clockwork mice and feathered shams

  ```Impose upon a Cat?'=

  ``"I could not answer her, and so

  ```I softly snoke away;

  ``I felt that 'twould be synicish

  ``To wish that Cat 'Good-day.'"=

  All the company applauded vigorously at the conclusion of therecitation; and whilst the clapping was still going on a blackindia-rubber doll rushed in with a very scared face and cried out, "Thetide is coming in!" and there was immediately a great commotionthroughout the room.

  The company rushed helter-skelter to the gate, where they could see thatthe tide had indeed risen so high as to cut off all communication withthe shore. Mr. Waxxe-Doll was stamping about in fury.

  "See what comes of all this tomfoolery! Parties, indeed! and hiring SandCastles for a lot of scatterbrains to make idiots of themselves in! Waittill I get safely home again on my shelf, and you don't catch me givingany more parties, I can tell you."

  The remainder of the dolls were rushing madly about, wringing theirhands and crying that they should all be drowned. One-and-Nine seemed tobe the only person able to suggest anything.

  "Here is a plank," he said, pointing to one which had been left on thesand; "we had better all get on to it, and the tide will carry us backto the shore."

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  The proposal was hailed with delight by the rest, and they all scrambledon to the plank and waited events. The elaborately dressed dolls in silkand satin held up their dainty skirts so that they should not get wet;whilst the Dutch dolls sat in a row on the edge of the plank with theirlegs dangling over the side.

  Ancient Aunt Sarah threw conventionality to the winds, and lighted upher pipe, at which Mrs. Waxxe-Doll was so shocked that in her agitationshe dropped her fan over the side of the plank.

  Boy very politely jumped down to fetch it for her, and as he wasstepping back a huge wave came rolling up and carried off the plank withall the dolls on it, wetting Boy through to the skin and leaving himstanding alone on the wet sand. As the plank with its cargo of screamingdolls floated away, One-and-Nine shouted out, "I will meet you again atZum," just as they disappeared behind a rock standing out of the sea.