_Bedelia Takes a Sea Voyage._
THE absence of the twins caused a good deal of consternation in the
nursery, and although Peter Pan had searched the house from attic
to cellar on the night of their disappearance, he had, of course,
discovered nothing. He now knew enough to turn out the lights, and
so returned to the nursery, leaving no tracks behind him. Bedelia
was frantic over the loss of her cubs. She stormed in private and
went into hysterics in public, applying to her husband a series of
appellations that were anything but conjugal. Moreover, she accused him
of driving away her children by his cruelty, a charge which he could
not truthfully refute.
In short, a lioness bereft of her cubs was as water to wine compared to
Bedelia deprived of hers.
Peter Pan was driven almost to the verge of lunacy, not because he had
any especial affection for either the cubs or Bedelia, but because his
wife was managing to make things so very uncomfortable for him.
Naturally everybody sympathized with her attitude in regard to her
children and Peter Pan began to discover that society was giving him
the cold shoulder.
There was really no foundation for his ridiculous jealousy. His wife
had a perfect right to make friends where she chose just the same as he
did. This was the general verdict.
Peter Pan, who by this time was really very miserable, redoubled his
efforts in searching and researching the house, but as his attempts at
discovery met with no results whatever he was forced to discontinue
them, hoping that chance which seemed to have spirited away the cubs
would some day return them in an equally mysterious manner.
Meanwhile Bedelia pined and fretted incessantly. She refused to eat and
grew thin and yellow. The loss of her appetite, which had always been
a most robust one, was indeed an alarming symptom. And what to do to
improve matters remained for some time a problem.
Finally an idea, a big, brilliant idea, dawned upon the Teddy bear’s
mind, and he proceeded at once joyfully to put it into execution.
The North family had been discussing, in Peter Pan’s hearing, the
probability of a trip to Europe the following summer, and the Teddy
bear decided at once that a sea voyage would go far toward restoring
Bedelia’s mental and physical balance.
To be sure, the only sheet of water available was the bath tub and the
only craft in the nursery the Noah’s ark. This latter Mr. Noah was
willing and even eager to lend, while Bedelia herself hailed the plan
with delight and immediately forgot her grouchiness in her excitement
over the proposed trip.
But upon taking measurements it was discovered that Bedelia was almost,
if not quite, as large as the proposed pleasure craft. This difficulty
was gotten out of the way, however, by Mrs. Noah, who suggested that
the voyager should sit firmly on top of the ark, drawing up her hind
paws so that they should not trail in the water. This plan was hailed
with joy by all, especially by Bedelia, who had, for the moment,
greatly feared that her excursion was on the eve of a miserable failure.
The bath-room was a fine large room with tiled floor and walls and
equipped with every modern convenience for bathing.
The great marble bath itself was sunk in the floor and one descended
into it by means of several steps. Thither Peter Pan and a score of
assistants dragged the creaking ark, while others turned on the cold
water and attended to minor details. Finally Bedelia herself arrived,
supported by Mrs. Noah and looking pale and interesting in a tourist
hat and veil, the loan of which had been offered by one of the dolls.
The ark was ready, anchored at the foot of the steps. It had been
decorated with a number of tiny flags and looked superb as it rocked on
the restless waves of the bath tub, as if impatient to be gone.
There now arose some difficulty in getting the passenger aboard, for
the ark tipped absurdly whenever she essayed to step upon the gang
plank, which had been improvised from a couple of long handled bath
brushes. The difficulty was finally overcome by the rubber Brownies,
who swam gallantly out and clung to the opposite side of the ark,
thus nicely balancing things. Bedelia was then assisted to her seat
on the roof, in which lofty position she appeared rather as if riding
cross-saddle.
But now arose another unforeseen obstacle. The boat, when pushed off
by a dozen pairs of willing hands, refused to go. And there was really
nothing very odd in this, as it contained no motive power of any
description whatever. To be sure, its usual method of locomotion was
to be dragged about the nursery floor with a string, where it traveled
smoothly enough on its little wooden wheels.
Finally the big papier-mache alligator that Bob had brought from
Florida threw himself into the breach, and gallantly offered to tow the
boat, an offer that was joyfully accepted.
Bedelia, who by this time was in tears, plucked up her spirits, and
after some little delay, caused by the necessary search for a piece of
string, the ark moved majestically off, while Bedelia gaily waved her
handkerchief from her airy perch.
[Illustration]
Twice did they circle grandly around the bath, Bedelia calling out
to the admiring crowd which lined the shore that she was already
experiencing much benefit from the cool breezes. But as they started
for a third trip the baby cub, animated, no doubt, by the Imp of the
Perverse, leaning far out over the water as if to wave to her mother
suddenly smote the alligator full in the neck with a large cake of
Turkish bath soap which she had purloined from the near-by wash stand.
Now the alligator was without a doubt a fine fellow, but he had never
been intended to stand such a soaking as he was now getting. As the
fearsome missile, hard as Pharaoh’s heart, took him in his tenderest
spot, silently, and without a quiver, his head separated from his body
and sank gently but firmly to the bottom.
The ark, thus suddenly arrested in its course, spun around and tilted
over crazily, sending poor Bedelia flying off at a tangent.
At this awful exhibition a dreadful cry went up from the horrified
crowd that lined the banks. The next moment Bedelia was seen waddling
toward the shore and crying lustily to be pulled out. To be sure, the
water was not deep enough to drown her and she could easily enough have
scrambled up the steps had she not been too thoroughly terrified to
attempt to help herself, and she was naturally very wet and draggled,
when hauled out with some difficulty by her almost demented better half.
The poor alligator, now reduced to a shapeless pulp, floated idly on
top of the water, while his beautifully varnished complexion slowly
soaked off and stained the tide in every direction. It was indeed a
piteous spectacle. As it was impossible to do anything with him at
so late an hour, it was decided to leave him where he was for the
night, and on the following evening to fish him out and give him a
grand funeral. These most laudable intentions were, however, foiled
by Betty, the housemaid, who coming in early to clean the bath-room,
discovered the remains of the departed and promptly deposited them in
the kitchen coal scuttle, whence they were ingloriously cremated by
cook the very next time she put coal on the fire.
Meanwhile Bedelia had been dried and put to bed. Her plush coat had
suffered considerably from the wetting and she was in a decidedly
hysterical condition. Therefore, the canary bird who could hop around
in his cage and sing after being wound up, made a flying trip to the
library to consult Dr. Owl, who sat all the time perched on the helmet
of Minerva over one of the book cases.
[Illustration]
The Doctor never made outside cases, as he found it quite impossible to
fly while hampered with such an incumbrance as the head of Minerva, to
which an unkind fate had firmly attached him.
Dr. Owl listened to the canary bird’s message with a very wise
expression, after which he closed his eyes, ruffled up his feathers and
to all intents and purposes went to sleep. Only he could not stand on
one foot as owls usually do at such a time as both of his claws were
solidly annexed to Minerva’s helmet.
Presently the canary bird grew impatient and as he was still more
than half wound up began to sing at the top of his voice. This had an
immediate effect, for Dr. Owl promptly sat up and inquired sweetly if
the canary bird had supposed him to be asleep. And before the bird had
time to answer that it looked very much like it, had hastily added that
in moments of deep meditation over complicated cases he always closed
his eyes. He then selected a prescription, picking it out at random
from a little basket at his side and remarking as he did so, “It really
doesn’t matter in the least which one you take, you know. There isn’t
the smallest chance in the world of your ever getting it put up. Fifty
dollars, please.” The canary having come without his pocketbook, he had
been in such haste, requested that it be charged to Peter Pan, Esq.,
Left Window Seat, The Nursery. After which he bowed very politely and
flew away with the precious and rather costly bit of paper in his beak,
and reached the nursery in a somewhat anxious frame of mind, as he felt
himself rapidly running down and feared that he would not have time
enough to get to his cage before giving out altogether.
[Illustration]