you can to the Dunce and I’ll grab him as we sail by.”
The bird flew straight for the ground and holding tight to its neck, the
aviator grabbed the Dunce by the collar and snatched him from the very
hands of the wild men.
The Turk pulled the frightened Dunce up on the bird’s back and a few
minutes later they landed safely in the Teenie Weenie camp.
“Well, sir,” said the General when he had heard the Turk’s story of the
rescue, “what were you doing outside the camp without permission to go
out?”
“I-I-I-I j-j-just wanted s-s-some excitement and I-I-I-I thought I’d go
out and s-s-see if I-I-I couldn’t capture a wild man,” stammered the
frightened Dunce.
“Well, did you capture any of them?” asked the General with a wink at
the Old Soldier.
“W-w-w-well, I-I surrounded f-f-four of ’em, but they wouldn’t stay
surrounded and they started to chase me, so I-I-I had to r-r-run.”
“Well, did you get any excitement?” smiled the General.
“Oh, yes, sir, I-I-I got more than I-I-I was looking for.”
“Well, sir,” said the General, “I hope you got enough excitement to last
you for a long time. You are guilty of an act of leaving camp without
permission and I find it necessary to place you under arrest.”
The poor Dunce was marched off between four soldiers to the tiny guard
house, where he was left to think over his disobedience.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
THE ARMY AVIATOR SNATCHES THE DUNCE FROM THE HANDS OF
THE WILD MEN.—_Chapter Twenty._
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Twenty-One
THE SCOUTS HAVE A NARROW ESCAPE
“General, the men are getting restless. They want to get into action and
it seems to me that we ought to hurry our plans for the attack,” said
the Old Soldier. The two little officers were sitting at the tiny table
in front of the General’s tent.
“Yes, I believe you’re right,” answered the General thoughtfully. “The
plans for the attack are almost ready, but I would like to get some more
information about the wild men. I’d like to know just how many are
guarding the fort, what sort of arms they have and a lot of other
details. The Turk has been able to get much valuable information, but
the grass is so tall around the fort that he has not been able to get
very near in the airplane, so I’m afraid I’ll have to send the scouts
out for the facts I want.”
“That’s mighty dangerous,” said the Old Soldier, stroking his beard.
“The jungle is full of the Saboes—they are swarming all through the
grass, thicker than ants on a chocolate drop.”
“Yes, I know it’s dangerous, but I believe the Cowboy and the Indian can
get through unseen and bring back the information I want,” the General
said. “Either one of the little fellows is at home in the woods and
grass. They are both pastmasters in covering up their tracks. Why, I
believe the Indian could walk through a lady’s powder box without ever
leaving a single track,” and the General said it so earnestly there was
no doubt but that he spoke the truth.
Turning to the guard that stood near his tent, the General ordered him
to bring the Indian and the Cowboy. “Tell them it is important and that
I wish them to report at once.”
In a few minutes the two scouts appeared and, clicking their tiny heels
together, they saluted in the most approved military fashion.
“You sent for us, sir?” said the Cowboy.
“Yes,” answered the General, looking seriously at the sturdy little men.
“I have a piece of work for you to do. First I want to tell you that it
is mighty risky—in fact, it is extremely dangerous. I will not send you
unless you are willing to go—you shall choose.”
“We are ready to go,” answered the little scouts quietly, and their
loyalty touched the General greatly.
“I want you to go to the wild men’s fort and get all the information you
can,” said the General. “Find out how many men they have, what sort of
weapons they use, note the condition of their fort and get some idea of
the ground beyond the fort. Get all the facts you can and report to me
as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir,” answered the scouts and, saluting, they hurried to their
tent, where they buckled on their tiny pistols. Next they each secured a
supply of dried minnow and half a boiled bean, which they stuffed into
their pockets.
They slipped quietly out of camp and after a long and tiresome trip they
finally drew near to the wild men’s fort. They could hear the voices of
the wild men now and then and the two Teenie Weenies were forced to
steal along with the greatest care. Presently they crawled up to a place
quite near the fort where they could see the wild men every now and then
through the long grass. The scouts watched the wild men for several
hours and it was quite late before the little fellows could find a
chance to crawl away safely and unseen.
Several times on their way back to the Teenie Weenie camp the scouts
were forced to hide under leaves and dry grass to keep from being
discovered, and once they had to lie for almost an hour in a hollow
stick, as several wild men stopped near them to rest.
“It be heap much dark soon,” grunted the Indian as he peered through the
grass at the sky.
“We can never get back to camp before night and we couldn’t possibly get
through this jungle in the dark, so we’ve got to find some place to
spend the night,” whispered the Cowboy.
The two Teenie Weenies found a deserted bird’s nest in a bush near by,
and, climbing up the bush, they soon made themselves comfortable for the
night.
[Illustration]
Early in the morning the little scouts were awakened by voices, and
looking over the edge of the nest, they saw several wild men coming
towards the bush. The wild men stopped beneath the bush, where they soon
made a fire and cooked pieces of frog ham for their breakfast.
The two Teenie Weenies had eaten what little food they had brought with
them the day before and as they smelled the delicious meat cooking it
made them as hungry as bears. There were too many of the Saboes for the
two scouts to fight, so they could do nothing but lie quiet until the
wild men had gone. In a short time the wild men finished their breakfast
and after talking in their strange language for a few minutes they
hurried away.
When the wild men had disappeared into the jungle of tall grass near by,
the two scouts carefully climbed out of the nest and set off in the
direction of the Teenie Weenie camp. Several times they had to hide
behind sticks and leaves when the wild men passed near them, and once,
three of the savage little fellows came so close to the spot where the
scouts lay hidden that they thought they would surely be discovered. It
was almost evening before the Cowboy and the Indian reached camp and the
little fellows reported at once to the General. They gave the Commander
of the Teenie Weenie army such valuable news that he at once called in
his staff for a council of war.
The little officers talked for a long time and when they finally came
out of the General’s tent, it was very plain to see that something was
about to happen. Officers dashed about the camp giving orders, the
Doctor and the two nurses busied themselves around the tiny hospital,
while Paddy Pinn spent much time with his Teenie Weenie cannon.
Three of the soldiers carried two big firecrackers into the tunnel the
mole had made. In fact, everyone was busy and the whole camp teemed with
excitement, wondering as to what was to happen next.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Twenty-Two
THE BATTLE
Orders had been given to attack the wild men in the morning and most of
the Teenie Weenie soldiers slept very little during the night. At
daylight a thimbleful of hot cocoa and a supply of bread was brought
into the front trenches and while the little soldiers ate, the artillery
kept up a heavy fire on the wild men’s fort.
At last the order was given to charge and the excited Teenie Weenies
climbed out of their trenches and dashed for the fort.
Although the soldiers’ tiny knees knocked together and their teeth
chattered with fright, they went into battle with great eagerness,
cheered by the voices of several meadow mice and bugs, who stood out of
range of the wild men’s arrows.
[Illustration]
It was a great victory. Probably the history of the battle can be better
told by one who took part in it, so we shall hear the story from a
letter written by Mr. Lover to his wife immediately after the battle.
The tiny letter was written on a piece of very thin birch bark, about
half the size of a postage stamp, but if you could see it under a
powerful microscope you would read it, word for word, just as it appears
on this page.
My dear Bab:
As the Indian is carrying the official news of the battle back
to Shoehurst, you will know before you open this letter that we
have won. It was wonderful and I will tell you all about it from
the very first. The wild men’s fort, which was made of strong
sticks, lay in a narrow path guarding the only open road to the
village, where the Lady of Fashion and Poet are held prisoners.
In order to get to the village we had to capture the fort. We
heard the night before that we were to storm the fort in the
morning and believe me, we didn’t sleep much; that is, I didn’t.
I was as nervous as a cat in a dog house.
Early in the morning the aviator flew over the fort and dropped
pepper bombs. These bombs are made out of red pepper tied up in
thin pieces of tissue paper and when they hit the ground they
break and scatter the pepper all around. While the wild men were
sneezing from the effects of the pepper, the artillery opened up
and sent a lot of shot into the fort.
Next, a big mine we had made under the fort was exploded. There
were two big firecrackers in it and, say, you ought to have seen
the sticks fly up in the air when that mine went off! Right
after the mine explosion we were ordered to charge and we jumped
out of the trenches and started on the run for the fort.
[Illustration:
THE TEENIE WEENIE ARMY DRIVES THE WILD MEN FROM THEIR
WRECKED FORT.—_Chapter Twenty-two._
]
We were almost halfway there when the Sailor, who was carrying
the flag, dropped with an arrow in his chest. The Dunce caught
up the fallen flag and putting his hat on top of the staff, he
yelled for us to follow. Everybody cheered, for we didn’t think
the Dunce had enough nerve to do such a brave thing.
The fort was badly wrecked by the explosion, so it wasn’t hard
to climb over it to get at the wild men. Most of the Saboes were
so scared they never tried to fight, but a few of them stood
their ground. They were quickly subdued, however. We captured
fourteen men; five of them are wounded, but the Doctor has them
in the hospital and he’ll fix them up all right.
Four of our men were wounded, but the Sailor is the only one who
was badly hurt. The Doctor says that he will pull through all
right.
We wanted to attack the wild men’s village, but the General
wouldn’t let us. He says we have got to take care of the wounded
and make our lines safe before we can go farther. Some of the
men seem to think that there will be very little fight left in
the wild men, for they were pretty well scared by our attack.
The Scotchman and I are doing guard duty; we have to guard the
prisoners. We are using an old bottle for a prison and it
certainly makes a good one; if we keep on getting prisoners
we’ll soon have a bottleful.
I do hope the General follows up the victory and goes right
after these wild men, so we can end this war, for I want to get
home to you and the children.
Well, I’ll have to stop now as the Indian is about ready to
start for Shoehurst. Tell the twins I have a nice string of
blackberry seed beads for each of them and give them each a kiss
for me.
Affectionately,
Your Husband.
P. S.: The Cook and the Chinaman have just brought up a pot of
cocoa and four hot beans! Hurrah! we’re going to have a feast.
Hubby.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Twenty-Three
THE RED CROSS
There was much confusion after the battle, for so many things had to be
done, and done quickly. The lines had to be advanced and made safe
against attack by the wild men. The prisoners had to be carefully
guarded until they could be put into the grape juice bottle which was
being used as a prison.
Then, there were the wounded. Both Teenie Weenies and wild men had to be
given the best of care. Just as soon as the battle was over, the injured
were gathered up and carried tenderly to the Red Cross field hospital,
where the Doctor and his two little nurses dressed their wounds. The
Clown and the Policeman carried the wounded into the hospital on tiny
stretchers and just as soon as the injured little fellows had medical
care, they were put into clean beds. At first the injured wild men were
much frightened, but when they were handled so tenderly by the Doctor
and his lovely nurses, they became quite contented.
The Doctor’s official report to the General gives the best idea of the
work of the Red Cross after the battle, and it is printed here, word for
word, from that tiny document.
[Illustration]
TEENIE WEENIE RED CROSS FIELD HOSPITAL
Commander in Chief, Report No. 14.
Teenie Weenie Army.
Sir: I herein give to you a full detailed report of the Red
Cross work after the battle of Sabo:
=Teenie Weenies Injured=
Sailor—Shot in the right breast with arrow, which was removed
after a hard operation, as the point had broken off between the
third and fourth ribs. Eleven stitches taken in wound. Patient
in bad shape but will recover.
Dunce—Shot in hand; slight wound; will be all right in few days.
Gogo—Two small wounds in right leg and left arm.
Cowboy—Scratch on cheek from spear thrust.
[Illustration]
=Wild Men Injured=
No. 1—Serious wound in neck from rifle bullet; removed bullet
after much work; patient in bad shape.
No. 2—Bad bayonet wound in side; will recover.
No. 3—Piece of shell removed from back; nineteen stitches taken
in wound; will get well.
No. 4—Painful scalp wound from being hit on head with butt of
gun; five stitches taken in wound.
No. 5—Shot in shoulder; not dangerous.
I wish to bring to your notice the good work of my staff. I
commend them for their earnest and skillful help in taking care
of the wounded. The work of bringing in the wounded was promptly
done by the Policeman and the Clown in a manner that calls for
the highest praise.
Tess Bone and Sally Guff, my two excellent nurses, were of the
greatest service. Their tenderness in handling the injured was
of the highest order.
I wish also to bring to your notice the kindness of Peter
Meadowlark and Bouncing Ben, the jumping mouse. Peter Meadowlark
did much towards keeping the patients in a good frame of mind by
his daily songs. Every day he came to the hospital and sang for
the wounded.
Bouncing Ben kept the sick laughing for hours by his funny
handsprings and somersaults. I owe much to these two
kind-hearted fellows for the good condition of my patients.
Sincerely yours,
Surgeon General,
Teenie Weenie Army.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Twenty-Four
LET THERE BE PEACE
After the battle the front lines were moved quite a distance towards the
center of the island, where the wild men’s village stood. A strong
breastwork of sticks and grass was built and a most careful watch was
kept at all times. Nothing was seen of the wild men except shadowy forms
that every now and then dodged about among the stalks of big grass. They
were surely in the tall grass, for the savage little fellows could slip
about in the jungle almost unseen.
It was quite certain that the General intended to move again in a short
time, for everything was made ready for another battle.
One morning the Scotchman, who was in the front lines, happened to see a
wild man crawling along on his stomach towards a stick that lay in front
of the Teenie Weenie breastwork. The tiny soldier raised his gun and
waited, thinking the wild men were about to charge, but instead a blade
of grass appeared above the stick and to it was tied a white rag.
“Jinks!” exclaimed the Scotchman, lowering his gun, “the wild men are
showing a flag of truce.”
“Hold your fire, men!” shouted the Cowboy, who was in charge of the
Teenie Weenie fort at the time. “They are sending out a flag of truce.”
Presently the wild man crawled out from behind the stick and timidly
made his way toward the Teenie Weenies.
“What do you want?” asked the Cowboy, peering over the top of the fort.
“Wap gee goo mah be gum,” answered the wild man as he approached the
Teenie Weenies. Of course none of them could understand a word of this.
[Illustration]
“Talk English, you goof,” cried the Cowboy. “I can’t understand that
kind of talk.”
The wild man carried a piece of folded birch bark in his hand and when
he reached the fort he handed it over to the Cowboy. It was addressed to
the General, and the Cowboy at once sent the note to him.
When the note was delivered to the General, he found that it was from
the Queen of the wild men, written by the Poet, and this is what he
read:
Commander in Chief, Teenie Weenie Army. My dear General:
Her Royal Highness, Mooie, Queen of the wild men, sends
greetings. Her Highness wishes to talk over terms of peace with
you and suggests that you and your staff meet her at the stream
which crosses the path halfway between the Sabo village and your
camp. Her Highness awaits your pleasure and asks Your Excellency
to set a date for the meeting.
Respectfully yours
RUFUS RHYME.
P. S.—Although the Lady of Fashion and I have been closely
guarded since we have been prisoners, we have been very well
treated and I ask that you take this into consideration when you
arrange peace terms.
R. R.
The General answered the note at once, making arrangements to meet the
Queen on the following day.
The next day at the appointed time the General, the Old Soldier and a
guard of eight soldiers marched off to the meeting place, where they
found the Queen awaiting them.
The Queen sat on her favorite turtle and she had with her several of her
warriors and the Poet.
[Illustration]
As the Teenie Weenies drew near, the Queen and her followers raised
their left hands above their heads, which is the Sabo custom when
friends meet. The Queen was the first to speak, and the Poet, who had
learned the Sabo language while he was held prisoner, translated her
words to the Teenie Weenies as follows:
“O, great chief of the thunder wagon (the name, “Men of the Thunder
Wagon,” was given to the Teenie Weenies on account of the cannon which
the wild men said sounded like thunder), we have come here to ask for
peace. We do not wish to fight; we ask only for the liberty of our
brothers whom you hold prisoners. Give us back our brothers and we will
return the Lady of Fashion and the Poet to you. We will also give you
two hundred smoked frog hams for our brothers’ return.”
“O queen of beauty and ruler of all the Saboes,” said the General when
the Poet had finished, “we do not wish to fight, and we ask only for the
return of our friends. For their safe return we will free your brothers.
The hams you have offered we could not think of taking, for we took up
arms against you, not for gain, but only for the freedom of the Lady of
Fashion and the Poet.”
The Queen was greatly pleased at the General’s words and arrangements
were made for the exchange of the prisoners.
That same day all the wild men, except the ones who were in the hospital
and who were too sick to leave, were set free.
[Illustration:
THE GENERAL AND THE QUEEN OF THE WILD MEN AT THE
PEACE DANCE.—_Chapter Twenty-five._
]
They were taken, under guard of several soldiers, to the stream where
the General had met the Queen. The Lady of Fashion and the Poet were
waiting for them and the Teenie Weenie soldiers gave three mighty cheers
when they saw their friends. The prisoners were exchanged and the Lady
of Fashion and the Poet were taken to the Teenie Weenie camp, where they
were given a royal welcome.
The Lady of Fashion was so happy to be again among her friends that she
did a very ladylike thing—she cried. The nurses cried and several of the
men were seen to blow their tiny noses and blink their eyes.
“Oh, I’m so happy to be safe with you all again,” cried the Lady of
Fashion as she hugged the General for the tenth time. “I don’t know what
those nasty wild men captured us for, we never could find out, but I
will say for them that they were very good to us.”
“Well, we are mighty glad to have you with us again,” said the General.
“And it’s through the loyalty of every soldier in our army that your
rescue has been accomplished.”
“I know it. I know it,” cried the little lady, and she hugged every
single man in the army except the Chinaman, who was so embarrassed that
he ran off and hid in a hollow log for nearly an hour.
The two nurses took the Lady of Fashion to their tent, where she washed
until she was as clean as a drop of dew.
That night the army gathered around a roaring bonfire and eagerly
listened to the Poet while he told them how he and the Lady of Fashion
had spent their time as prisoners of the wild men. When he had finished,
the little people sang songs, told stories and gossiped until after
midnight, when the General ordered everyone to bed.
“It’s so nice to sleep in a clean, honest-to-goodness bed again,” said
the Lady of Fashion when she crawled into one of the tiny cots in the
nurses’ tent, but she didn’t sleep a great deal, for the three little
women had so much to talk about. They whispered and giggled until early
morning.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Twenty-Five
THE PEACE DANCE
“Well, folks,” announced the General the next morning as he sat down to
breakfast with several of his officers, the Lady of Fashion and the
Poet, “we must make ready for the march home. We have a long journey
ahead of us and we must get started as soon as possible.”
“I don’t see how we can,” answered the Doctor, who was helping himself
to a piece of frog ham. “The Sailor is in no condition to be moved and,
besides, I still have a couple of the wild men on my hands, who are in
such shape I can’t leave them for a few days.”
“That’s so! That’s so!” exclaimed the General. “Of course we’ll have to
stay until our duty is done.”
“My patients are all doing well and I don’t see why we won’t be able to
get away in five or six days,” said the Doctor.
The little soldiers were greatly disappointed when they heard that the
army would not start immediately for home, for now that the war was over
they were all anxious to return. However, they made the best of their
time by fishing, swimming and playing games.
One morning a sentinel came to the General’s tent, followed by one of
the wild men.
“This fellow has a message for you,” said the sentinel pointing to the
wild man, who held a piece of folded birch bark in his hand. “There are
about twenty-five more of ’em waiting out beyond our lines and they’ve
each got a big bundle all wrapped up in leaves.”
The General opened the note which the wild man handed him, but when he
found it was written in the Sabo language he sent for the Poet.
“You’ll have to translate this gibberish for me,” said the General when
the Poet appeared. “It’s too much for me.”
The Poet carefully read the note and then repeated it to the General.
“It’s from the Queen and she is sending you greetings and some
presents,” said the Poet. “She also invites you to the great Dance of
Peace and Plenty. This is the dance the wild men dance whenever they
make peace with their enemies. You must go to the dance, for that is the
way the wild men have of showing that they want to be friendly.”
“All right,” answered the General; “tell her I’ll come. Thank her for
the presents and give her my regards.”
A number of soldiers were sent out to bring in the presents the Queen
had sent and when they were unwrapped the little people were surprised
to find a number of fat frog hams, a quantity of wild rice, a large jar
of fruit paste made out of wild berries, many nut meats and sweet seeds.
“We ought to send a present to the Queen in return for all this food,”
said the General. “What shall we send her?”
“Send her that thimble the Dunce ruined trying to make a suit of armor,”
answered the Poet, who had heard the story of the Dunce’s armor.
“Not that old thimble!” exclaimed the General.