THE EARTHQUAKE AND VOLCANO
[Illustration]
The big glass with not so much as a single drop tasted by Emil Muller's
lips fell from his hand with a loud crash, and its contents flowed like
an amber-colored river along the floor.
Almost instantly at the Red Spirit's startling announcement Dragonfel
had sprung up from his throne stiff and rigid, and was regarding the
embryo musicians with a glare of peculiar malevolence.
"The Brownies!" he involuntarily ejaculated. "I thought they played too
well for a German band!"
Queen Titania, Dame Drusilda, Violet, and Daffodil had also risen as
though they had received an electric shock. Their breath came fast
in their sudden agitation. They started to go to the musicians, but
Wolfinger, Mandrake, and Snoutpimple roughly grasped them, and held them
back.
Realizing the failure of a deception that might have achieved success
had it not been for the sly spying of the malicious Red Spirit, Emil
Muller, otherwise King Stanislaus, turned and faced Dragonfel, his very
attitude hurling a strong challenge of defiance.
Knowing that further subterfuge would be useless, the doughty monarch
in a flash whisked off his false nose and moustache, and slipped from
his baggy clothes. Likewise Louie Knobloch, Peter Dinkelspeil, Hermann
Sweinskopf, and Jacob Schnittger removed their disguises, and the
unmistakable features of the Sailor, Policeman, German, and Irishman
were revealed. "Yes, we are the Brownies," cried King Stanislaus, "come
to demand the instant surrender of Queen Titania and her companions."
"Idiots!" snarled Dragonfel, in a fury. "You have rushed to your
destruction!" And he clapped his hands together, and shouted to his
followers around him: "What ho, there! Summon everyone in the palace!
We'll see that these presumptuous sprites meet with fitting punishment."
The Demon Usher half flew, and half ran, with even more celerity than
usual, to do his bidding. With teeth showing, and fists clenched, the
infuriated enchanter advanced threateningly toward the intrepid members
of the band who looked at him without even so much as flinching.
"Have a care!" warned King Stanislaus. "Beware of the Brownies' mystic
power!" And, turning to the Sailor, he added: "Quick! the signal!"
Instantly the Sailor blew a deafening blast upon his cornet, and in a
trice there was the pounding of many fists upon the outer doors, with
crashing sounds as though heavy logs were being directed with the force
of many hands against them.
[Illustration]
Under the fierce, determined assault the doors gave way and toppled in,
while through the opening swarmed and crowded the band of eager
Brownies, with Prince Florimel in their lead.
At almost the same instant, through other doors, poured Dragonfel's
hosts, with Vulcan's red imps somersaulting and leaping among them, and
there were so many of them, and all so big and powerful, they well might
cause dismay to the stoutest heart.
"So be it then!" cried Dragonfel, grandiloquently, for the sight of all
these great, hulking fellows gave him renewed confidence. "It is power
against power!"
And, striking a pompous attitude, he cleared his throat, and placed his
hand on his chest.
"Stand back!" shouted King Stanislaus. "He's going to speak a piece!"
Then Dragonfel poetically spouted:
"Much rather than in spite of me,
The union of these bands should be,
From thy long rest, oh, Vulcan, wake;
Let earth to its dark centre quake,
And these strong walls that round us stand
Come crumbling down in lime and sand!"
This incantation, punctuated, as it were, by Vulcan's imps, who threw
balls of fire into the air where the commas, semicolon, and exclamation
point are above transcribed, was delivered with only fair elocutionary
ability, but its effect was electrifying.
Almost with the last word uttered by his vindictive lips a tremor ran
through the earth that brought to all a sickening sensation of fear. The
heavy walls and ornate supporting pillars shook, tottered, and then fell
with a terrific crash, that might well horrify all, as the vibrations of
the earth continued.
In another instant the magnificent palace lay in ruins illumined by
fierce flames that leaped wildly from the apex of the volcano and licked
with fiery tongues the very sky.
[Illustration]
Shrieking and screaming with the horror of it all Dragonfel's followers
and the Brownies alike ran hither and thither, their warfare temporarily
forgotten in this more appalling danger that suddenly had come to them.
In their fright some sought ridiculous places of refuge but it was a
matter of speed.
True to their nature to help in all times of distress, the Brownies
worked well to save things from complete ruin, and if the proper
implements had been at hand the havoc would not have been so severe. But
Vulcan was in no mood to quit the quake that was felt in all parts of
the palace.
[Illustration]
Even the State bed-chamber was not exempt, and things that had gone up
with great care and cost came down with great crash and confusion.
But more terrible danger menaced them. The shock of the earthquake was
over, and had wrought utter ruin. Still, as far as could be learned, in
all the confusion, uproar, and wild excitement no lives had been lost.
Far greater peril, however, threatened from which there did not seem to
be a possible way of escape, new horrors faced them on every side.
Round and pear-shaped volcanic bombs shot up with tremendous velocity
from the crater's boiling mouth, formed from the precious minerals
stored for centuries deep in the treasury of the earth. And all of these
in a molten red-hot liquid mass were flowing swiftly and irresistibly in
a bubbling, hissing, steaming, seething, blood-red river straight on to
where the unfortunate Brownies were among the ruins of the once proud
and haughty palace.
[Illustration]
Before all this occurred Florimel's quick eye had noticed the audacious
Red Spirit with his stolen bow and arrows, and he had sprung forward to
wrest them from him. But the strange, repulsive creature evaded him
mockingly, and flew off with his booty.
[Illustration]
The disappointment of the prince was transformed to delight when the
next moment he beheld Titania running to him with arms extended. But
they never met, for before she could reach his side the terrible
catastrophe of the earthquake and volcano happened, and they were
jostled and crowded apart by the throng, who in their great terror
seemed to have lost all control of their senses. In all the turmoil
careful watch was kept of the captives. Nearer and nearer came the
molten stream of lava, and hotter and hotter grew its scorching breath,
while huge trees in its remorseless path flared up and shriveled away in
an instant.
[Illustration]
When the stunning shock to his nerves was exhausting itself, King
Stanislaus in a dazed way began to think, with the full realization that
whatever there was to be done had to be accomplished quickly.
Suddenly he recalled the frame building they had passed in going to
the palace. If it housed as he most fervently hoped it did a complete
equipment for fighting fires it might prove the very means by which the
Brownies could grapple with a situation that was becoming more and more
intolerable.
[Illustration]
Promptly he communicated his plan to various members of the band, as he
spied them, and the word was passed around from one to the other, until
all were fully conversant with His Majesty's views. And very soon all
these agile sprites, with King Stanislaus and Prince Florimel in the
lead, were racing helter-skelter back to the wooden structure that bore
the inscription: NEPTUNE HOOK AND LADDER CO. NO. 1.
They broke in the doors, and soon were prying into every nook and corner
of the place. And, while King Stanislaus forthwith seized a fire-trumpet
that was hanging from a hook on the wall, Brownies were donning with the
greatest haste fire helmets that even with paper stuffed in them came
down over their ears, and putting on rubber boots and coats intended by
Dragonfel for his followers, and which proved but sorry fits, for the
boots came well up over their waists, and had to be turned back, and the
coats trailed after them like the long trains of fashionable ladies'
gowns.
[Illustration]
The energetic monarch was rather disappointed to find upon inspection
that the machine instead of being one of the modern, up-to-date kind
was of a very antiquated type, a brake-engine with man-handles that had
to be worked by hand to throw a stream of water. But he was greatly
relieved to discover that there was an abundant supply of hose, for in
providing himself with this the enchanter evidently had made a nice
calculation of the distance from the crater of the volcano to the
stand-pipe connection in the palace, and he had allowed plenty to spare.
[Illustration]
In stentorian tones His Majesty shouted out his orders through the
fire-trumpet, and the Brownies hauled out the engine and hose-carriage.
Then they all took hold of the long ropes attached to them, and started
on a run for Dragonfel's ruined palace, that now was little more than a
tumbled heap.
Brownies perched on the engine, and one kept clanging the bell
furiously. Some who ran with the ropes tripped on the trailing tails of
their rubber coats, but they never let go, and were dragged along by
their surer-footed companions.
After they had gone some distance the Policeman began shouting in
remonstrance, and King Stanislaus ordered a halt to hear what he had to
say. "What is it, officer?" asked His Majesty. "We've got to go back,"
panted the Policeman. "Some of us forgot to put on red shirts."
[Illustration]
Though King Stanislaus felt very much chagrined at such neglect, he
realized that it was now too late to remedy this most important matter,
for every passing moment was precious. So he bellowed through the
trumpet instructions to continue, and pulling and straining at the ropes
they flew on, with the engine and hose-carriage bumping, lurching, and
swaying after them.
On and on they went, pit-patting at last across the rickety old wooden
bridge, but before they could drag the engine across it one of the
planks snapped in two under its weight, and the wheels on one side went
down through the opening almost as far as the water below.
The engine was firmly stuck, and though the Brownies tugged and strained
at the rope, puffing, panting, and exerting all their strength, they
could not even so much as budge it.
Nearer and nearer came the terrible river of fire, and the volcano
seemed to be reaching even greater activity. It looked as though this
effort of the Brownies was in vain.