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[Illustration: The Rose Wreath]
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The Sixteenth Chapter.
_The bestowing of the Rose Wreath. Also of two surprising Rewards.
And of the New Joy that came to the Miller of Dee, and the Toy
People._
[Illustration]
Rolie Polie could not understand why the Toy people cheered, and he
wondered at their hasty departure. Then he crawled out from behind the
bags and went to the door of the mill. There the returning Toy people
found him, his clothes powdered white with barley meal and his face
full of wonderment.
Well, the end of the matter was just this: Rolie Polie, astride his
little donkey and loaded down with garlands of roses, was carried off
to the Castle. By his side walked the Miller, now wearing his best
clothes, and as happy a little body as there was in all the town. {122}
On the way the people told him of what had happened, and how, when the
gates were opened, the water ran out from the lake and made the river
so shallow, that the first thing the Buccaneers knew, the _Black Rover_
stranded high and dry on a gravelly sand bar, with no possible chance
to escape capture.
“But,” interrupted one of the Toy people, “Buccaneers are clever ones
when it comes to getting out of a tight place, and it did not take them
long to climb over the side of their ship and run for the woods.”
“The four rogues had good legs for running, too,” said another of the
Toy people.
“Had any harm come to Queen Helen?” asked the Miller of Dee.
“Oh no,” answered one of his companions. “You see the _Royal Yacht_
grounded at the mouth of the river, and King Tommy jumped quickly over
the side into the shallow water and was the first to reach the _Black
Rover_. He found Queen Helen tied to the mast with a rope. The Queen
acted bravely, and the Buccaneers, seeing that she was no cry baby, did
not treat her roughly; for although they had tied her to the mast, the
ropes were not tight enough to really hurt.”
“Buccaneers always treat brave captives that way,” said another of the
Toy people. “It is only the scarey ones that they handle roughly.”
“Probably Queen Helen couldn’t help being a little frightened though,”
said the Barley Miller.
“But perhaps she bit her lip and did not show one single particle of it
to the Buccaneers,” said Rolie Polie. “That would be just like Helen.”
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“Yes,” said one of the Toy people, “I think she was somewhat
frightened, because that would be enough to scare any Queen; and
when Tommy cut her bonds and set her free, she looked so glad and so
excited, that I think she would have cried if there had not been so
many people about.”
“When the gates were closed and the lake began to fill, you should have
seen the people on the sand bar run!” said a Toy man who was walking by
the donkey; and then he laughed long and heartily. “Why, in a jiffy the
water was up to their ankles, and I think it would have soon been to
their knees had they not waded to the shore, or hastily clambered over
the side of the _Black Rover_.”
“That was a fine race the two boats had back to the landing pier,”
said another Toy man. “The pirate ship is a fast boat, but I think the
_Royal Yacht_ is faster, and I don’t believe the _Black Rover_ could
have beaten but for being so skilfully handled. Tommy certainly knows
how to get speed out of a boat.”
When Rolie Polie came into the presence of the King, and the story was
told of how everything had happened, King Tommy said: “Rolie Polie, you
shall have a fine reward for this; three times your tricks have saved
us sorrow. I am going to give you a medal and make you Captain of my
Royal Guards. Go now and change this clown’s dress for a new uniform.”
“Your Highness,” said Mr. Poodle, after Rolie Polie had thanked the
King and departed, “I think the Miller of Dee also deserves a reward,
for, from what I hear, he has acted most nobly; taking blame when he
thought that it would save Rolie Polie, and as graciously according
credit when {124} he found the opening of the gates had brought honor
and the praise of his fellow Toy people.”
“That is true,” said the King. “I will make the Miller of Dee my first
assistant Prime Minister.”
[Illustration: The Herald.]
The little Miller thanked the King, then laughed and said: “I think the
place for me is in the mill, simply grinding my barley corns.”
Mr. Poodle then told King Tommy that a good Miller was a very handy
fellow to have in the Kingdom, especially one who had something more
beneath his cap than the dust upon his hair, as without doubt this one
had. {125}
Tommy felt that there might be some truth in what the toymaker said,
but he told Mr. Poodle he thought that such a noble deed certainly
deserved a reward.
“That is true,” replied Mr. Poodle; “and now I would suggest that, as
a reward to the Miller, you make this a holiday, to be observed every
year and to be called the Miller’s Holiday.”
Tommy said that would be fine, and immediately issuing the order,
Heralds were soon proclaiming it throughout the city.
The Toy people shouted and cheered at these words of the Heralds, as
they were all fond of holidays, and so thought the King had found a
fine way to reward their friend, the good Miller of Dee.
As for the Miller, he felt very much embarrassed, but at last found
words to thank the King, and then started off home to talk it all over
with his neighbors. A big man the Miller was in his neighbors’ eyes
now, you may be sure; all were glad enough to rub shoulders with him,
and no one minded the white barley dust on his clothes, I can tell you,
which was very nice for the little Miller.
Meanwhile the three Buccaneers, led by Long Jim, the crafty courtier,
made their way back to Grumbletown. Their clothes had been badly torn
by the wild scramble through the bushes; while brambles and briars had
made sad havoc with their faces, so that altogether it was four sorry,
dilapidated looking specimens that now appeared before King Red Beard.
“Blunderheads!” That is what Red Beard called Long Jim and the three
Buccaneers, not once but a dozen times. Then he called them “noodle
skulls,” and, last of all, he {126} called them “four big cowardly
babies,” which certainly was a hard name to give, even to wicked
Buccaneers.
But, by and by, when Red Beard began to quiet down, he said: “Well, you
have now failed three times, but we can’t allow that boy and girl to
rule in Toyville.” Then ordering his spies to return to Toyville, he
set about the making of new plans.
[Illustration: The Proclamation.]
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[Illustration]