A JUMP TO SHAMVILLE.
Up, up, up, went Billy when he took his leap into the air.
Way above the house tops, past the city, over green fields, hills and
valleys, crossing brooks and rivers that looked like little threads of
silver so far below were they, until he thought he never would alight.
Finally things began to get larger and larger and larger on the earth,
and he knew he was floating gently down, down, down. It was just like
going down from the twenty-first story in a very slow, very comfortable
elevator.
Plump, and Billy was on the ground. Before him stood a city. This
seemed strange, for he knew he hadn't seen it until his feet touched
Mother Earth.
"Excuse me, sir," said Billy, to a tall, thin, rusty coated man who was
looking intently at the heavens through a long hollow tube open at both
ends.
"Oh! you're here, are you?" said the man, lowering the tube and looking
at Billy. "I've been waiting for you to come down."
"Yes, sir," said Billy; "excuse me, but what city is this?"
"Shamville. So you are a meteor."
"No, sir, I'm a messenger," said Billy.
"Pardon me, but you _are_ a meteor, by right of discovery, and I ought
to know, for I'm a near Astronomer."
"A near what?"
"Not a near what, but a near Astronomer; with my near telescope I have
nearly discovered hundreds of nearly new stars," said the man, looking
very, very wise.
"Oh! I see," said Billy, smiling. "Well sir, you may be a near
astronomer, but in this case you are not near right."
"Well, you're a near meteor and that will do well enough in Shamville."
By this time they had entered the city.
"Who is that long haired, greasy gentleman writing on his cuff?" asked
Billy.
"You must meet him. He is our village near poet," answered the
star-gazer, impressively. "Allow me, Mr. Never Print, to introduce my
latest discovery, Billy Bounce, a near meteor."
Mr. Never Print stopped writing, and after rolling his eyes and
carefully disarranging his hair, said: "How beautiful a thing is a
fried oyster! Have you read my latest near book?"
"No, sir," said Billy.
"Ah! such is near fame," said the poet, untying his cravat. "Art is
long, but a toothless dog does not bite."
"Sir," said Billy, "I didn't quite catch your meaning?"
[Illustration: _The Near Poet._]
"The near meaning, you mean; like all great near poets, my meaning is
hidden. Perhaps you will understand this better: The little flower,
like a beefsteak, reminds us that a gentle answer comes home to roost."
Billy was so bewildered by this that he leaned against a wall, or
rather, he leaned on what looked like a wall. As the near astronomer
helped him to his feet he said:
"Be careful of the near walls. They're just painted canvas, you know,
and are not meant to lean against."
"Thank you," said Billy; "is there anything here that is not an
imitation?"
"Oh, no!" answered the astronomer, "this is Shamville; but I assure you
we're all just as good as the original."
"Well, I must be off," said Billy, "I must deliver this note to Bogie
Man."
"To whom?"
"To Bogie Man. Can you tell me how to get there?"
"Oh, my goodness! Oh, my gracious! What have I done, what have I done?"
cried the astronomer, beating himself over the head with his near
telescope.
"I don't know sir, I'm sure," said Billy; "from what I've seen I
shouldn't think you had ever done anything."
"Hear him! hear him!" screamed the astronomer, then calling to the
people on the streets: "Come near-artist, come near-actor, come near
everybody, we have in our midst one who would expose us to the people
who really do things."
With fearful cries the entire population made one dash for Billy, who,
forgetting that all he had to do was to jump, tried to run. In his big
suit he found this almost impossible and soon he was surrounded by an
excited mob.
"Roast him at the steak," cried the butcher, still holding in his hands
the papier mache chicken he had been selling when the call came.
"Splendid," said, the near poet.
"Boil him in oil," suggested the near artist.
"What is it, forgery?" asked the blacksmith.
"Put him in a cell," said the merchant.
Billy saw that he was in a tight place and must act quickly. No one had
as yet taken hold of him, they were all too excited to think of that;
but he knew a near policeman was even then trying to edge through the
crowd and something must be done. Just then the near astronomer put
out a hand to seize Billy's collar--quick as a wink Billy reached up
and pushed the star gazer's plug hat right down over his eyes.
"You can't see stars this time at any rate," said Billy, and then was
surprised to find himself rising, rising, rising off of the ground.
In hitting he had jumped up to reach the star gazer's hat and of course
up he went.
"Good-bye," called Billy, to the astonished crowd, "I had forgotten
that you couldn't do any more than _nearly_ catch me or I should not
have been frightened."
And the last Billy ever saw of Shamville was a great sea of big round
eyes and wide open mouths.
"I wonder whether this is the beginning or the end of my adventures,"
said Billy to himself. "I hope it is the last because I really want to
deliver this note to Bogie Man as soon as I can. They will think it
strange at the office if I'm gone longer than a week delivering one
message."
"My goodness, can that be a cyclone?" For just ahead of him Billy saw a
great cloud from which came a hum-m-m--Buzz-z-z-z. "Why, it's a swarm
of bees and they are carrying something. I do hope they won't sting me."
By this time Billy had met them and of course, as he couldn't steer
himself in the air, the bees had to get out of the way.
"Hum-m," said a big old fat bee, clearing his throat, "what sort of a
beetle are you?"
"I'm--I'm a boy," said Billy, very, very politely, because he saw that
the soldier bees had fixed sting bayonets.
"I've never heard of a beetle boy--stop a minute, I want to look at
you."
"I'm sorry, sir," said Billy, "but I can't."
[Illustration: _General Merchandise._]
"We'll soon fix that," shouted the old bee general. "Ho! guard, seize
him."
And in a twinkling Billy found himself in the grasp of the bees.
Now of course as soon as Billy stopped moving forward he had to drop
to earth, so down, down, down he went, with the excited bee soldiers
clinging to him and flapping their wings in a vain endeavor to keep him
and themselves up in the air. And almost on top of them dropped the
fussy old Bee General.
"Now see what you've done, Beetle Boy," said he. "What do you mean by
interfering with the Queen's Own Yellow Jackets on the public fly-ways?"
Before Billy could answer a sweet girlish voice said:
"What is the matter, General Merchandise?"
"We've caught a fly-wayman or something equally wicked, Princess Honey
Girl," said the General, gravely saluting.
"Indeed Miss," said Billy, kneeling (as well as he could in his suit)
before the beautiful, golden haired maiden, who had stepped out of her
Palanquin and stood looking at him, "indeed Miss, I'm not any of the
things this bee gentleman calls me--I'm just a messenger boy."
"There now, what did I tell you?" shouted the General. "Just a minute
ago he said he was a Beetle Boy. Ho, guard--oh! that's so, you've
already ho--d."
"I beg your pardon, sir, but you were the one that said I was a Beetle
Boy."
"Don't contradict," said General Merchandise. "Why didn't you tell me
you weren't, then?"
"That would be contradicting, sir," said Billy, laughing in spite of
his fears.
"General," said the Princess, "let me speak."
"If you will promise not to talk," said the General, bowing.
"First then, soldiers, take your hands off Mr. Messenger Boy."
"Billy Bounce is my name, Princess," murmured Billy.
"Ha," growled the General, half to himself, "another name, eh!"
"Silence, General; I can't forget that my Aunt Queen Bee--"
"She's not an ant, she's a bee," said the General, sulkily.
"Silence, sir; you forget yourself. I say that I cannot forget that
my Aunt Queen Bee, whose heir I am, bestowed the title of General
Merchandise upon you, because she set such store by you, but I cannot
stand these interruptions."
"Pardon, your highness," said the General, humbly.
"Granted. Now, Billy Bounce, what have you to say for yourself?"
"Nothing, Princess," answered Billy, "except that I am carrying a
message from Nickel Plate to Bogie Man and--"
"My bitter enemy," cried the Princess.
"Hum-m-m-m-m, I told you so," shouted the General. "Ho, guards, seize
him!"
Billy found himself again seized, and very roughly this time; indeed,
had it not been for the toughness of his rubber suit he would have
surely been stung. But, nothing daunted, he said:
"Your enemies, Princess Honey Girl; then they are mine."
"What do you mean?" asked she, blushing.
"I mean," said Billy, earnestly, "that if I were not a messenger boy,
who has to do his duty under any circumstances, and had I known that
these were your enemies, I should not have carried their message."
"Then why do you?" said the General. "Give me the message and you shall
be free."
"No," said Billy, "I cannot do that; I have undertaken to carry it, and
my honor demands that I do so while I live."
"You are right," said the General; "then the best way out of the
difficulty is to kill you."
"No," said the Princess, "that shall not be done."
"Thank you, Princess," whispered Billy, "you shall not regret it. Let
me do my duty--let me carry the message. Then, when it is delivered, I
shall be free to fight for you; indeed, when I am once in Bogie Man's
Castle I shall be in the very best position to help you."
"Good," said the Princess.
"Good," said the General.
"Good," said all the soldiers.
"But why are Nickel Plate, Bumbus and Bogie Man your enemies?" asked
Billy.
"Because they want to carry me far away from the Bee Palace and make me
work in the factory," answered the Princess, sadly, "putting the wicked
Glucose, who looks almost exactly like me, in my place in the castle."
"But why?" said Billy.
"I am Crown Princess, and if they can do away with me and substitute
Glucose for me they will be in control of the Castle and the Bee
Government and can make a corner in honey."
"Villains!" cried Billy, "but between us we will foil them."
"You _will_ help me?" said the Princess, looking earnestly at him.
"I will, I promise you. But now I must be on my way."
"Good-bye, Billy Bounce; don't forget me," said the Princess.
"I will see you soon. Good-bye, Honey Girl," and, with a farewell wave
to the Princess, the General, and all the soldier bees, Billy jumped up
and away in further search of Bogie Man.