Now, when Harold was about twelve years old, a terrible thing befell his
city. Red Rex, ruler of the neighboring land across the border, decided
to make war on this peaceful Kingdom, just for fun. He was a fierce and
powerful King, and he had a fierce and powerful army, always ready,
night and day. One morning, without any warning whatever, they marched
right up to the walls of Kisington, which were never defended, and laid
siege to the city. They began to batter the gates and mine the walls and
fire into the city arrows and cannon-balls, or whatever were the
fashionable missiles of that long-past day. The peaceful city was in
danger of being utterly destroyed.
The people of Kisington were greatly distressed. Though they were brave,
they did not want to fight. They had no time for fighting, there were so
many more interesting things to attend to: agriculture and commerce,
science and art and music, study and play and happiness, all of which
come to an end when fighting begins. They did not want to fight; but
neither did they want their beautiful city destroyed, with all its
treasures.
There was no telephone, no telegraph in those days. Messages went by
horses. It would be days before help could come from their own King
Victor, who lived in the Capital City. In the mean time what could be
done to save Kisington? The Lord Mayor set the great bell to tolling in
the belfry, and this called together the Chief Citizens in the hall of
the library to consider the emergency.
"Alas!" quoth the Lord Mayor, trying to make himself heard in the horrid
din that was arising from the city gates, "our fair city is threatened,
and will be taken in a few hours unless we can devise some plan of
wisdom. Force we have not, as you all know. Force is the argument of
barbarians. Already a missile has knocked down the statue of Progress
from the portal of the library, and I fear that the whole building is
doomed. For it is at our library that the enemy seem to be directing
their malice."
A groan of anguish answered him. Then the Librarian spoke up. "Ah! the
misguided King! He does not love books. If only he knew the treasures he
is threatening to destroy! He cannot understand."
"No. He knows not what he does," said the Lord Mayor solemnly. "He is
war-mad and cannot understand anything else. If he had been brought up
to love peace and learning and progress better than war and blood, he
would be a different man. He would be seeking to know our books in love,
not to destroy them with hate. If he had but read our Chronicles, surely
he would not wish to put an end to this our unique treasure."
The Librarian started at his words and jumped to his feet. "You give me
an idea, my Lord Mayor!" he cried. "Can we not cause him to change his
mind? Can we not interest him in our books, enthrall him in the
Chronicles of Kisington, so that he will cease to make war? Can we not
at least gain time until our King Victor and his allies shall come to
our aid?"
_Boom!_ went the cannon, and _Crash!_ the statue of a great poet fell
from the portal of the library.
The Lord Mayor shuddered. "It is an idea," he agreed. "There is a faint
hope. Something must be done, and that quickly. How shall we begin, Sir
Librarian?"
The Librarian turned to the shelves behind him and took down at random a
book bound in red-and-gold. "Here, let us begin with this," he said. "It
may not be the best of all our Chronicles, but if the warlike King can
be induced to read it through, it may serve to hold his wrath for a
space."
"Who will go with the volume into the enemy's camp?" asked the Lord
Mayor dubiously.
"We must send our best reader," said the Librarian. "Red Rex must hear
the tale read aloud, the better to hold his unaccustomed attention."
"Surely, you are the best reader, Sir Librarian," urged the Lord Mayor
generously. "How we all admire your style and diction!"
_Crash!_ The rainbow window above their heads was shivered into a
thousand pieces.
The Lord Mayor turned pale. "We must make haste!" he urged, pushing the
Librarian gently by the elbow.
"Nay," said the Librarian coolly, releasing himself. "There is one who
reads far better than I. It is a young boy, the son of a poor widow
living on the High Street. Harold is his name, and he reads as sweetly
as a nightingale sings. Let us send for him at the same time when our
messenger goes to King Victor."
"Let it be done immediately!" commanded the Lord Mayor.
This happened on a Saturday, when the boys were not at school. But on
account of the bombardment of the city, the Lord Mayor had already given
orders that every child should remain in his own home that morning. So
Harold was with his mother when the messenger from the Lord Mayor
knocked on the door of the little cottage in the High Street, and Robert
and Richard did not know anything about it.
"Come with me!" said the messenger to Harold. "You are needed for
important service."
"Oh, where is he going?" cried the poor, trembling mother, holding back
her boy by the shoulders.
"He is to come directly to the library," said the messenger. "The
Librarian has a task for him."
"Ah! The Librarian!" The mother sighed with relief, and let her hands
fall from the shoulders of Harold. "To that good man of peace I can
trust my son, even amid this wicked bombardment."
When Harold came to the library with the messenger, they found the
beautiful portal of the building quite destroyed, and the windows lying
in pitiful shattered fragments. They entered under a rain of missiles,
and discovered the Leading Citizens gathered in a pale group in the
center of the hall, under a heavy oak table.
"My boy!" said the Librarian, with as much dignity as possible under the
circumstances. "We have sent for you, believing that you only can save
our beautiful library, our books, our city, our people, from immediate
destruction. Will you risk your life for all these, Harold?"
Harold looked at him bravely. "I do not know what you mean, sir," he
said, "but gladly would I risk my life to save the precious books
alone. Tell me what I am to do, and I will do it as well as a boy can."
"Well spoken, my brave lad!" cried the Librarian. "You are to do this";
and he thrust into the hand of Harold a red-and-gold volume. "Even as
the boy David of old conquered the Philistine with a child's toy, so you
may perhaps conquer this Philistine with a story-book. Go to the savage
King yonder, with a flag of truce; and if you can win his ear, beg to
read him this, which is of an importance. If you read as well as I have
heard you do ere now, I think he will pause in his work of destruction,
at least until the story's end."
Harold took the book, wondering. "I will try my best, sir," he promised
simply.