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"The dying does not amount to much," he said; "it is thethinking about it that hurts you mortals most. I've watched many a shipwreck at sea, and the people would howl and scream for hours before the ship broke up. Their terror was very enjoyable. But when the end came they all drowned as peacefully as if they were going to sleep, so it didn't amuse me at all."
"I'm not worrying," said Trot.
"Ner me," said Cap'n Bill. "You'll find we can take what comes jes' as easy as anybody."
"I do not expect to get much fun from you poor mortals," said Zog, carelessly. "You are merely a side show to my circus—a sort of dessert to my feast of vengeance. When the time comes I can find a hundred ways to kill you. My most interesting prisoners are these pretty mermaids, who claim that none of their race has ever yet died, or been destroyed. The first mermaid ever created is living yet—and I am told she is none other than Queen Aquareine. So I have a pretty problem before me, to invent some way to destroy the mermaids, or put them out of existence. And it will require some thought."
"Also, it will require some power you do not possess," suggested the Queen.
"That may be," replied Zog, softly; "but I am going to experiment, and I believe I shall be able to cause you a lot of pain and sorrow before I finally make an end of you. Ihave not lived twenty-seven thousand years, Aquareine, without getting a certain amount of wisdom, and I am more powerful than you suspect."
"You are a monster and a wicked magician," said the Mermaid Queen.
"I am," agreed Zog; "but I cannot help it. I was created part man, part bird, part fish, part beast and part reptile, and such a monstrosity could not be otherwise than wicked. Everybody hates me, and I hate everybody."
"Why don't you kill yourself?" asked Trot.
"I've tried that, and failed," he answered. "Only one being in the world has power to destroy me, and that is King Anko, the sea serpent."
"Then you'd better let him do it," advised the little girl.
"No; much as I long to die, I cannot allow King Anko the pleasure of killing me. He has always been my worst enemy, and it would be such a joy to him to kill me that I really cannot allow him. Indeed, I have always hoped to kill Anko. I have now been three thousand six hundred and forty-two years, eleven months and nine days figuring out a plan to destroy old Anko, and as yet I have not discovered a way."
"I'd give it up, if I were you," advised Trot. "Don't you think you could get some fun out of trying to be good?"
"No!" cried Zog, and his voice was not so soft as before. "Listen, Aquareine: You and your attendants shall be prisoners in this castle until I can manage to stop you from living. Rooms will be placed at your disposal, and I wish you to go to them at once, as I am tired of looking at you."
"You're no more tired than we are," remarked Trot. "It's lucky you can't see yourself, Zog."
He turned his glowing eyes full upon her.
"The worst of my queer body I keep concealed," he said. "If ever you see it, you will scream with terror."
He touched a bell beside him and the girl was surprised to find how clearly its tones rang out through the water. Inan instant the boy Sacho appeared and bowed low before his dreadful master.
"Take the mermaids and the child to the Rose Chamber," commanded Zog; "and take the old man-fish to the Peony Room."
Sacho turned to obey.
"Are the outer passages well guarded?" asked the monster.
"Yes; as you have commanded," said the boy.
"Then you may allow the prisoners to roam at will throughout the castle. Now, go!"
The prisoners followed Sacho from the room, glad to get away. The presence of this evil being had grown oppressive to them, and Zog had himself seemed ill at ease during the last few minutes. The robe so closely wound around his body moved jerkily, as if something beneath disturbed it, and at such times Zog shifted nervously in his seat.
Sacho's thin little legs trotted through the water, and led the way into a different passage from the one by which they had entered. They swam slowly after him and breathed easier when they had left the golden domed chamber, where their wicked enemy sat enthroned.
"Well, how do you like him?" asked Sacho, with a laugh.
"We hate him!" declared Trot, emphatically.
"Of course you do," replied Sacho. "But, you're wasting time hating anything. It doesn't do you any good, or him any harm. Can you sing?"
"A little," said Trot; "but I don't feel like singing now."
"You're wrong about that," the boy asserted. "Anything that keeps you from singing is foolishness, unless it's laughter. Laughter, joy and song are the only good things in the world."
Trot did not answer this queer speech, for just then they came to a flight of stairs, and Sacho climbed up them, while the others swam. And now they were in a lofty, broad corridor having many doors hung with seaweed draperies. At one of these doorways Sacho stopped and said:
"Here is the Rose Chamber, where the master commands you to live until you die. You may wander anywhere in the castle as you please; to leave it is impossible. Whenever you return to the Rose Chamber you will know it by this design of roses, sewn in pearls upon the hangings. The Peony Room, where the man-fish is to live, is the next one farther on."
"Thank you," replied Queen Aquareine. "Are we to be fed?"
"Meals will be served in your rooms. If you desire anything, ring the bell and some of the slaves will be sure to answer it. I am mostly in attendance upon my master, but whenever I am at liberty I will look after your comfort myself."
Again they thanked the strange boy, and he turned and left them. They could hear him whistle and sing as he returned along the passage. Then Princess Clia parted the curtains that her queen and companions might enter the Rose Chamber.
Chapter fourteen
The rooms Zog had given his prisoners were as handsome as all other parts of this strange, enchanted castle. Gold was used plentifully in the decorations, and in the Rose Chamber occupied by the mermaids and Trot, golden roses formed a border around the entire room. The sea maidens had evidently been expected, for the magician had provided couches for them to recline upon, similar to the ones used in the mermaid palaces. The frames were of mother-of-pearl and the cushions of soft, white sponges. In the room were toilet tables, mirrors, ornaments and many articles used by earth people, which they afterward learned had been plundered by Zog from sunken ships and brought to his castle by his allies, the sea devils.
While the mermaids were examining and admiring their room, Cap'n Bill went to the Peony Room to see what it waslike, and found his quarters very cosy and interesting. There were pictures on the walls—portraits of grave-looking porpoises, bashful seals, and smug and smiling walruses. Some of the wall panels were formed of mirrors and reflected clearly the interior of the room. Around the ceiling was a frieze of imitation peonies in silver, and the furniture was peony-shaped, the broad leaves being bent to form seats and couches.
Beside a pretty dressing table hung a bell cord, with a tassel at the end. Cap'n Bill did not know it was a bell cord, so he pulled it to see what would happen and was puzzled to find that nothing seemed to happen at all, the bell being too far away for him to hear it. Then he began looking at the treasures contained in this royal apartment, and was much pleased with a golden statue of a mermaid, that resembled Princess Clia in feature. A silver flower vase upon a stand contained a bouquet of gorgeous peonies, "as nat'ral as life," said Cap'n Bill, although he saw plainly that they must be made of metal.
Trot came in just then to see how her dear friend was located. She entered from the doorway that connected the two rooms, and said:
"Isn't it pretty, Cap'n? And who'd ever think that awful creature Zog owned such a splendid castle, and kept his prisoners in such lovely rooms?"
"I once heard tell," said the sailor, "of a foreign peoplethat sacrificed human bein's to please their pagan gods; an' before they killed 'em outright they stuffed the victims full o' good things to eat, an' dressed 'em in pretty clothes, an' treated 'em like princes. That's why I don't take much comfort in our fine surroundin's, Trot. This Zog is a pagan, if ever there was one, an' he don't mean us any good, you may depend on't."
"No," replied Trot, soberly; "I'm sure he doesn't expect us to be happy here. But, I'm going to fool him and have just as good a time as I can."
As she spoke they both turned around—an easy thing to do with a single flop of their flexible tails—and Cap'n Bill uttered a cry of surprise. Just across the room stood a perfect duplicate of himself. The round head, with its bald top and scraggly whiskers, the sailor cap and shirt, the wide pantaloons—even the wooden leg—each and every one were exact copies of those owned by Cap'n Bill. Even the expression in the light blue eyes was the same, and it is no wonder the old sailor stared at his "double" in amazement. But the next minute he laughed, and said:
"Why, Trot, it'smereflected in a mirror. But, at first, I thought it was some one else."
Trot was staring, too.
"Look, Cap'n!" she whispered; "look at the wooden leg."
"Well, it'smywooden leg, ain't it?" he inquired.
"If it is, it can't be a reflection in a mirror," she argued, "foryouhaven't got a wooden leg. You've got a fish's tail."
The old sailor was so startled by this truth that he gave a great flop with his tail that upset his balance, and made him keel a somersault in the water before he got right side up again. Then he found the other sailorman laughing at him, and was horrified to find the "reflection" advancing toward them, by stumping along on its wooden leg.
"Keep away! Git out, there!" yelled Cap'n Bill. "You're a ghost—the ghost o' me that once was—an' I can't bear the sight o' you. Git out!"
"Did you ring jes' to tell me to git out?" asked the other, in a mild voice.
"I—I didn't ring," declared Cap'n Bill.
"You did; you pulled that bell cord," said the one-legged.
"Oh; did pullin' that thing ring a bell?" inquired the Cap'n, a little ashamed of his ignorance and reassured by hearing the "ghost" talk.
"It surely did," was the reply; "and Sacho told me to answer your bell an' look after you. So I'm a-lookin' after you."
"I wish you wouldn't," protested Cap'n Bill. "I've no use fer—fer—ghostses, anyhow."
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The strange sailor began to chuckle at hearing this, and his chuckle was just like Cap'n Bill's chuckle—so full of merry humor that it usually made every one laugh with him.
"Who are you?" asked Trot, who was very curious and much surprised.
"I'm Cap'n Joe," was the reply. "Cap'n Joe Weedles, formerly o' the brig 'Gladsome' an' now a slave o' Zog at the bottom o' the sea."
"J—J—Joe Wee—Weedles!" gasped Cap'n Bill, amazed; "Joe Weedles o' the 'Gladsome'! Why, dash my eyes, mate, you must be my brother!"
"AreyouBill Weedles?" asked the other. And then he added: "But, no; you can't be. Bill wasn't no merman. He were a human critter, like myself."
"That's whatIam," said Cap'n Bill, hastily; "I'm a human critter, too. I've jes' borrered this fishtail to swim with while I'm visitin' the mermaids."
"Well, well," said Cap'n Joe, in astonishment; "who'd 'a' thought it! An' who'd ever 'a' thought as I'd find my long lost brother in Zog's enchanted castle, full fifty fathoms deep down in the wet, wet water!"
"Why, as fer that," replied Cap'n Bill, "it'syouas is the long lost brother, not me. You an' your ship disappeared many a year ago, an' ain't never been heard of since; while, as fer me, I'm livin' on earth yet."
"You don't look it, to all appearances," remarked Cap'nJoe, in a reflective tone of voice. "But I'll agree it's many a year since I saw the top o' the water, an' I'm not expectin' to ever tramp on dry land again."
"Are you dead, or drownded, or what?" asked Cap'n Bill.
"Neither one nor t'other," was the answer. "But Zog gave me gills, so's I could live in the water like fishes do, an' if I got on land I couldn't breathe air any more 'n a fish out o' water can. So I guess as long as I live I'll hev to stay down here."
"Do you like it?" asked Trot.
"Oh, I don't objec' much," said Cap'n Joe. "There ain't much excitement here, fer we don't catch a flock o' mermaids ev'ry day; but the work is easy an' the rations fair. I might 'a' been worse off, you know, for when my brig was wrecked I'd 'a' gone to Davy Jones's Locker if Zog hadn't happened to find me an' made me a fish."
"You don't look as much like a fish as Cap'n Bill does," observed Trot.
"P'raps not," said Cap'n Joe; "but I notice Bill ain't got any gills, an' breathes like you an' the mermaids does. When he gets back to land he'll have his two legs again, an' live in comfort breathin' air."
"I won't have two legs," asserted Cap'n Bill, "for when I'm on earth I'm fitted with one wooden leg, jes' the same as you are, Joe."
"Oh; I hadn't heard o' that, Bill; but I'm not surprised," replied Brother Joe. "Many a sailor gets to wear a wooden leg, in time. Mine's hick'ry."
"So's mine," said Cap'n Bill, with an air of pride. "I'm glad I've run across you, Joe, for I often wondered what had become of you. Seems too bad, though, to have you spend all your life under water."
"What's the odds?" asked Cap'n Joe. "I never could keep away from the water since I was a boy, an' there's more dangers to be met floatin' on it than there is soakin' in it. An' one other thing pleases me when I think on it: I'm parted from my wife—a mighty good woman with a tongue like a two-edge sword—an' my pore widder'll get the insurance money an' live happy. As fer me, Bill, I'm a good deal happier than I was when she kep' scoldin' me from mornin' to night every minute I was home."
"Is Zog a kind master?" asked Trot.
"I can't say he's kind," replied Cap'n Joe, "for he's as near a devil as any livin' crittercanbe. He grumbles an' growls in his soft voice all day, an' hates himself an' everybody else. But I don't see much of him. There's so many of us slaves here that Zog don't pay much attention to us, an' we have a pretty good time when the ol' magician is shut up in his den, as he mostly is."
"Could you help us to escape?" asked the child.
"Why, I don't know how," admitted Cap'n Joe. "There's magic all around us, and we slaves are never allowed to leave this great cave. I'll do what I can, o' course; but Sacho is the boy to help you, if anyone can. That little chap knows a heap, I can tell you. So now, if nothin' more's wanted, I must get back to work."
"What work do you do?" Cap'n Bill asked.
"I sew buttons on Zog's clothes. Every time he gets mad he busts his buttons off, an' I have to sew 'em on again. As he's mad most o' the time, it keeps me busy."
"I'll see you again, won't I, Joe?" said Cap'n Bill.
"No reason why you shouldn't—if you manage to keep alive," said Cap'n Joe. "But you mustn't forget, Bill, that Zog has his grip on you, an' I've never known anything to escape him yet."
Saying this the old sailor began to stump toward the door, but tripped his foot against his wooden leg and gave a swift dive forward. He would have fallen flat had he not grabbed the drapery at the doorway, and saved himself by holding fast to it with both hands. Even then he rolled and twisted so awkwardly before he could get upon his legs that Trot had to laugh outright at his antics.
"This hick'ry leg," said Cap'n Joe, "is so blamed light that it always wants to float. Agga-Groo, the goldworker, has promised me a gold leg, that will stay down; but he never has time to make it. You're mighty lucky, Bill, to have a merman's tail, instead o' legs."
"I guess I am, Joe," replied Bill; "for in such a wet countrythe fishes have the best of it. But I ain't sure I'd like this sort o' thing always."
"Think o' the money you'd make in a side show," said Cap'n Joe, with his funny chuckling laugh. Then he pounded his wooden leg against the hard floor, and managed to hobble from the room without more accidents.
When he had gone, Trot said:
"Aren't you glad to find your brother again, Cap'n Bill?"
"Why, so-so," replied the sailor. "I don't know much about Joe, seein' as we haven't met before for many a long year; an' all I remember about our boyhood days is that we fit an' pulled hair most o' the time. But what worries me most is Joe's lookin' so much like me myself—wooden leg an' all. Don't you think it's rather cheeky an' unbrotherly, Trot?"
"Perhaps he can't help it," suggested the child. "And, anyhow, he'll never be able to live on land again."
"No," said Cap'n Bill, with a sigh, "Joe's a fish, now, an' so he ain't likely to be took for me by any of our friends on the earth."
Chapter fifteen
When Trot and Cap'n Bill entered the Rose Chamber they found the two mermaids reclining before an air fountain that was sending thousands of tiny bubbles up through the water.
"These fountains of air are excellent things," remarked Queen Aquareine, "for they keep the water fresh and sweet, and that is the more necessary where it is confined by walls, as it is in this castle. But, now let us counsel together, and decide what to do in the emergency that confronts us."
"How can we tell what to do, without knowing what's going to happen?" asked Trot.
"Something's sure to happen," said Cap'n Bill.
As if to prove his words a gong suddenly sounded at their door, and in walked a fat little man clothed all in white, including a white apron and white cap. His face was round and jolly, and he had a big mustache that curled up at the ends.
"Well, well!" said the little man, spreading out his legs and putting his hands on his hips as he stood looking at them; "of all the queer things in the sea, you're the queerest! Mermaids, eh?"
"Don't bunch us that way!" protested Cap'n Bill.
"You are quite wrong," said Trot; "I'm a—a girl."
"With a fish's tail?" he asked, laughing at her.
"That's only just for a while," she said; "while I'm in the water, you know. When I'm at home on the land I walk just as you do—an' so does Cap'n Bill."
"But we haven't any gills," remarked the Cap'n, looking closely at the little man's throat; "so I take it we're not as fishy as some others."
"If you mean me, I must admit you are right," said the little man, twisting his mustaches. "I'm as near a fish as a man can be. But you see, Cap'n, without the gills that make me a fish I could not live under water."
"When it comes to that, you've no business to live under water," asserted the sailor. "But I s'pose you're a slave and can't help it."
"I'm chief cook for that old horror, Zog. And that reminds me, good mermaids—or good people, or good girls and sailors, or whatever you are—that I'm sent here to ask what you'd like to eat."
"Glad to see you, sir," said Cap'n Bill. "I'm nearly starved, myself."
"I had it in mind," said the little man, "to prepare a regular mermaid dinner; but since you're not mermaids—"
"Oh, two of us are," said the Queen, smiling. "I, my good cook, am Aquareine, the ruler of the mermaids, and this is the Princess Clia."
"I've often heard of you, your Majesty," returned the chief cook, bowing respectfully, "and I must say I've heard only good of you. Now that you have unfortunately become my master's prisoners it will give me pleasure to serve you as well as I am able."
"We thank you, good sir," said Aquareine.
"What have you got to eat?" inquired Trot. "Seems to me I'm hollow way down to my toes—my tail, I mean—and it'll take a lot to fill me up. We haven't eaten a morsel since breakfast, you know."
"I think I shall be able to give you almost anything you would like," said the cook. "Zog is a wonderful magician, and can procure anything that exists with no more effort than a wiggle of his thumb. But some eatables, you know, are hard to serve under water, because they get so damp that they are soon ruined."
"Ah, it is different with the mermaids," said Princess Clia.
"Yes; all your things are kept dry because they are surroundedby air. I've heard how the mermaids live. But here it is different."
"Take this ring," said the Queen, handing the chief cook a circlet which she drew from her finger. "While it is in your possession the food you prepare will not get wet—or even moist."
"I thank your Majesty," returned the cook, taking the ring. "My name is Tom Atto, and I'll do my best to please you. How would you like for luncheon some oysters on the half shell, clam broth, shrimp salad, broiled turtle steak and watermelon?"
"That will do very nicely," answered the Queen.
"Do watermelons grow in the sea?" asked Trot.
"Of course; that is why they are called watermelons," replied Tom Atto. "I think I shall serve you a water ice, in addition to the rest. Water ice is an appropriate sea food."
"Have some water cress with the salad," said Cap'n Bill.
"I'd thought of that," declared the cook. "Doesn't my bill of fare make your mouths water?"
"Hurry up and get it ready," suggested Trot.
Tom Atto at once bowed and retired, and when they were alone, Cap'n Bill said to the queen:
"Do you think, ma'am, we can manage to escape from Zog and his castle?"
"I hope we shall find a way," replied Aquareine. "Theevil powers of magic, which Zog controls, may not prove to be as strong as the fairy powers I possess; but of course I cannot be positive until I discover what this wicked magician is able to do."
Princess Clia was looking out of one of the windows.
"I think I can see an opening far up in the top of the dome," she said.
They all hastened to the windows to look, and although Trot and Cap'n Bill could see nothing but a solid dome above the castle—perhaps, because it was so far away from them—the sharp eyes of Aquareine were not to be deceived.
"Yes," she announced, "there is surely an opening in the center of the great dome. A little thought must convince us that such an opening is bound to exist, for otherwise the water confined within the dome would not be fresh or clear."
"Then, if we could escape from this castle, we could swim up to the hole in the dome and get free!" exclaimed Trot.
"Why, Zog has probably ordered the opening well guarded, as he has all other outlets," responded the Queen. "Yet it may be worth while for us to make the attempt to get back into the broad ocean this way. The night would be the best time, when all are asleep; and surely it will be quicker to reach the ocean through this hole in the roof, than by means of the long, winding passages by which we entered."
"But we will have to break out of the castle, in some way," observed Cap'n Bill.
"That will not be difficult," answered Aquareine. "It will be no trouble for me to shatter one of these panes of glass, allowing us to pass out and swim straight up to the top of the dome."
"Let's do it now!" said Trot, eagerly.
"No, my dear; we must wait for a good opportunity, when we are not watched closely. We do not wish the terrible Zog to thwart our plan," answered the Queen, gently.
Presently, two sailor boys entered, bearing trays of food which they placed upon a large table. They were cheery-faced young fellows, with gills at their throats but had laughing eyes, and Trot was astonished not to find any of the slaves of Zog weeping or miserable. Instead, they were as jolly and good-natured as could be, and seemed to like their life under the water. Cap'n Bill asked one of these boys how many slaves were in the castle, and the youth replied that he would try to count them and let him know.
Tom Atto had, they found, prepared for them an excellent meal, and they ate heartily because they were really hungry. After luncheon Cap'n Bill smoked his pipe contentedly and they renewed their conversation, planning various ways to outwit Zog and make their escape. While thus engaged the gong at the door sounded and Sacho entered.
"My diabolical master commands you to attend him," said the boy.
"When?" asked Aquareine.
"At once, your Majesty."
"Very well; we will follow you," she said.
So they swam down the corridors, following Sacho, until they again reached the golden domed room they had formerly visited.
Here sat Zog, just as they had left him, seemingly; but when his prisoners entered the magician arose and stood upon his cloven feet, and then silently walked to a curtained archway.
Sacho commanded the prisoners to follow, and beyond the archway they found a vast chamber that occupied the center of the castle and was as big as a ballroom. Zog, who seemed to walk with much difficulty because his ungainly body swayed back and forth, did not go far beyond the arched entrance. A golden throne was set near by, and in this the monster seated himself.
At one side of the throne stood a group of slaves. They were men, women and children. All had broad gold bands clasped around their ankles, as a badge of servitude, and at each throat were the fish's gills that enabled them to breathe, and live under water. Yet every face was smiling andserene, even in the presence of their dread master. In parts of the big hall were groups of other slaves.
Sacho ranged the prisoners in a circle before Zog's throne, and slowly the magician turned his eyes, glowing like live coals, upon the four.
"Captives," said he, speaking in his clear, sweet voice, "in our first interview you defied me, and both the mermaid queen and the princess declared they could not die. But if that is a true statement, as I have yet to discover, there are various ways to make you miserable and unhappy, and this I propose to do in order to amuse myself at your expense.You have been brought here to undergo the first trial of strength between us."
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None of the prisoners replied to this speech, so Zog turned to one of his slaves and said:
"Rivivi, bring in the Yell-Maker."
Rivivi was a big fellow, brown of skin, and with flashing black eyes. He bowed to his master and left the room by an archway covered with heavy draperies. The next moment these curtains were violently pushed aside and a dreadful sea creature swam into the hall. It had a body much like that of a crab, only more round and of a jet-black color. Its eyes were bright yellow balls set on the ends of two horns that stuck out of its head. They were cruel looking eyes, too, and seemed able to see every person in the room at the same time.
The legs of the Yell-Maker, however, were the most curious part of the creature. There were six of them, slenderand black as coal, and each extended twelve to fifteen feet from its body, when stretched out in a straight line. They were hinged in several places, so they could be folded up, or extended at will. At the ends of these thin legs were immense claws shaped like those of a lobster, and they were real "nippers," of a most dangerous sort.
The prisoners knew, as soon as they saw the awful claws, why the thing was called the "Yell-Maker," and Trot gave a little shiver and crept closer to Cap'n Bill.
Zog looked with approval upon the creature he had summoned, and said to it:
"I give you four victims—the four people with fish's tails. Let me hear how loud they can yell."
The Yell-Maker uttered a grunt of pleasure and in a flash stretched out one of its long legs toward the queen's nose, where its powerful claws came together with a loud snap. Aquareine did not stir; she only smiled. Both Zog and the creature that had attacked her seemed much surprised to find she was unhurt.
"Again!" cried Zog; and again the Yell-Maker's claw shot out and tried to pinch the queen's pretty ear. But the magic of the fairy mermaid was proof against this sea-rascal's strength and swiftness, nor could he touch any part of Aquareine, although he tried again and again, roaring with anger like a mad bull.
Trot began to enjoy this performance, and as her merry, childish laughter rang out the Yell-Maker turned furiously upon the little girl, two of the dreadful claws trying to nip her at the same time. She had no chance to cry out, or jump backward; yet she remained unharmed. For the Fairy Circle of Queen Aquareine kept her safe.
Now Cap'n Bill was attacked, and Princess Clia as well. The half-dozen slender legs darted in every direction, like sword thrusts, to reach their victims, and the cruel claws snapped so rapidly that the sound was like the rattling of castanets. But the four prisoners regarded their enemy with smiling composure, and no yell greeted the Yell-Maker's efforts.
"Enough!" said Zog, softly and sweetly. "You may retire, my poor Yell-Maker, for with these people you are powerless."
The creature paused, and rolled its yellow eyes.
"May I nip just one of the slaves, oh, Zog?" it asked, pleadingly. "I hate to leave without pleasing your ears with a single yell."
"Let my slaves alone," was Zog's answer. "They are here to serve me, and must not be injured. Go, feeble one!"
"Not so!" cried the Queen. "It is a shame, Zog, that such an evil thing should exist in our fair sea." With this, she drew her fairy wand from a fold of her gown and waved ittoward the creature. At once, the Yell-Maker sank down unconscious upon the floor; its legs fell apart in many pieces, the claws tumbling in a heap beside the body. Then all grew withered and lost shape, becoming a pulpy mass, like gelatine. A few moments later the creature had melted away to nothing at all, forever disappearing from the ocean where it had caused so much horror and pain.
Zog watched this destruction with surprising patience. When it was all over he nodded his head and smiled, and Trot noticed that whenever Zog smiled his slaves lost their jolly looks and began to tremble.
"That is very pretty magic, Aquareine," said the monster. "I, myself, learned the trick several thousand years ago, so it does not astonish me. Have you fairies nothing that is new to show me?"
"We desire only to protect ourselves," replied the Queen, with dignity.
"Then I will give you a chance to do so," said Zog.
As he spoke the great marble blocks in the ceiling of the room, directly over the heads of the captives, gave way and came crashing down upon them. Many tons of weight were in these marble blocks, and the magician had planned to crush his victims where they stood.
But the four were still unharmed. The marble, being unable to touch them, was diverted from its course, and when the roar of the great crash had died away Zog saw his intended victims standing quietly in their places, and smiling scornfully at his weak attempts to destroy them.
Chapter sixteen
Cap'n Bill's heart was beating pretty fast, but he did not let Zog know that. Trot was so sure of the protection of the fairy mermaids that she would not allow herself to become frightened. Aquareine and Clia were as calm as if nothing had happened.
"Please excuse this little interruption," said Zog. "I knew very well the marble blocks could not hurt you. But the play is over for a time. You may now retire to your rooms, and when I again invite you to my presence I shall have found some better way to entertain you."
Without reply to this threat they turned and followed Sacho from the hall, and the boy led them straight back to their own rooms.
"Zog is making a great mistake," said Sacho, with a laugh."He has no time for vengeance, but the great magician does not know that."
"What is he trying to do, anyway?" asked Trot.
"He does not tell me his secrets, but I've an idea he wants to kill you," replied Sacho. "How absurd it is to be plotting such a thing, when he might spend his time in laughing and being jolly! Isn't it, now?"
"Zog is a wicked, wicked, creature!" exclaimed Trot.
"But he has his good points," replied Sacho, cheerfully. "There is no one in all the world so bad that there is nothing good about him."
"I'm not so sure of that," said Cap'n Bill. "What are Zog's good points?"
"All his slaves were saved from drowning, and he is kind to them," said Sacho.
"That is merely the kindness of selfishness," said Aquareine. "Tell me, my lad, is the opening in the great dome outside guarded?"
"Yes, indeed," was the reply. "You cannot hope to escape in that way, for the prince of the sea devils, who is the largest and fiercest of his race, lies crouched over the opening, night and day, and none can pass his network of curling legs."
"Is there no avenue that is not guarded?" continued Aquareine.
"None at all, your Majesty. Zog is always careful to be well guarded, for he fears the approach of an enemy. What this enemy can be, to terrify the powerful magician, I do not know; but Zog is always afraid and never leaves an entrance unguarded. Besides, it is an enchanted castle, you know, and none in the ocean can see it unless Zog wishes him to. So it will be very hard for his enemy to find him."
"We wish to escape," said Clia. "Will you help us, Sacho?"
"In any way I can," replied the boy.
"If we succeed, we will take you with us," continued the Princess. But Sacho shook his head, and laughed.
"I would indeed like to see you escape Zog's vengeance," said he, "for vengeance is wrong and you are too pretty, and too good to be destroyed. But I am happy here, and have no wish to go away, having no other home or friends, other than my fellow slaves."
Then he left them, and when they were again alone, Aquareine said:
"We were able to escape Zog's attacks to-day, but I am quite sure he will plan more powerful ways to destroy us. He has shown that he knows some clever magic and perhaps I shall not be able to foil it. So it will be well for us to escape to-night, if possible."
"Can you fight and conquer the big sea devil up in the dome?" asked Trot.
The queen was thoughtful, and did not reply to this question at once. But Cap'n Bill said, uneasily:
"I can't abide them devil critters, an' I hopes, for my part, we won't be called on to tackle 'em. You see, Trot, we're in consider'ble of a bad mess, an' if we ever live to tell the tale—"
"Why not, Cap'n?" asked the child. "We're safe enough, so far. Can't you trust to our good friend the queen?"
"She don't seem plumb sure o' things herself," remarked the sailor. "The mermaids is all right an' friendly, mate, but this 'ere magic maker—ol' Zog—is a bad one, out 'n' out, an' means to kill us, if he can."
"But he can't!" cried Trot, bravely.
"I hope you're right, dear. I wouldn't want to bet on Zog's chances, jes' yet, an' at the same time it would be riskin' money to bet on our chances. Seems to me it's a case of luck which wins."
"Don't worry, friend," said the Queen. "I have a plan to save us. Let us wait patiently until nightfall."
They waited in the Rose Chamber a long time, talking earnestly together; but the brilliant light that flooded both the room and the great dome outside did not fade in the least.
After several hours had passed away the gong soundedand Tom Atto again appeared, followed by four slaves bearing many golden dishes upon silver trays. The friendly cook had prepared a fine dinner and they were all glad to find that, whatever Zog intended to do to them, he had no intention of starving them. Perhaps the magician realized that Aquareine's fairy powers, if put to the test, would be able to provide food for her companions; but whatever his object may have been, their enemy had given them splendid rooms and plenty to eat.
"Isn't it nearly night time?" asked the Queen, as Tom Atto spread the table with a cloth of woven seaweed and directed his men to place the dishes upon it.
"Night!" he exclaimed, as if surprised. "There is no night here."
"Doesn't it ever get dark?" inquired Trot.
"Never. We know nothing of the passage of time, or of day and night. The light always shines just as you see it now, and we sleep whenever we are tired and rise again as soon as we are rested."
"What causes the light?" Princess Clia asked.
"It's magic, your Highness," said the cook, solemnly. "It's one of the curious things Zog is able to do. But you must remember all this place is a big cave, in which the castle stands, so the light is never seen by anyone, except those who live here."
"But why does Zog keep his light going all the time?" asked the Queen.
"I suppose it is because he himself never sleeps," replied Tom Atto. "They say the master hasn't slept for hundreds of years; not since Anko, the sea serpent, defeated him and drove him into this place."