THE SORCERER'S DEN
He was an old man, rather stout, dressed in a short gown tied in with a
cord about the middle, and wearing sandals on his feet. He stooped
somewhat; a white beard hung to his waist; his head was bald, except for
a forelock of white hair which drooped over his forehead towards his
eyes. There was a humorous twinkle in his eye, and a smile overspread
his broad round face.
"'Tis the old parrty who will cure the Chivalier," said Mr. Hanlon,
behind his hand.
"It's the Old Man of the Mountain," whispered Toby.
"It's the Magician who built the Tower," whispered Queen Miranda, in
alarm.
"Hit's me own father, as ever was!" cried Mr. Punch, aloud. "Greetings,
old dear! 'Ere's a surprise, what? 'Owever did you come 'ere? Hi'm no
end glad to see you, and the larst person Hi should 'ave thought to see
in this--My word, what a lark!"
"Come in, Punch," said the old gentleman, affably, "and your friends
too. I'm very glad to see you, my boy. I've had some trouble in getting
you here, but here you are at last, thanks to my good friend Hanlon, and
you are now well out of the hands of Shiraz. Put the Little Boy down in
that chair, and we'll see what we can do for him!"
To speak of a grown-up youth with a mustache as a Little Boy seemed
hardly respectful, but Freddie did not seem to mind it; indeed, his big
round childlike eyes dwelt fondly on the old man, and there was
something like a smile about his lips. He was seated gently in a chair
within the room, and while Mr. Punch's father set down his lantern on a
table, the others looked about them.
They were in a small square room with a low ceiling. By the dim light of
the candle they could see that it was bare and dusty; cobwebs hung in
all the corners; there seemed to be no windows, but set upright in one
wall was what looked like the back of a clock, as tall as a man.
Opposite the door by which they had entered was another door. Around the
walls were shelves, from floor to ceiling, crowded with hour-glasses of
all sizes.
The old gentleman observed the look which Toby cast at the shelves.
"One of my store-rooms," said he. "I've got a good many of 'em, all
told, and in fact you'll find a store-room of mine in the top of nearly
every clock-tower in the world. It takes a deal of space to keep all the
hour-glasses in, I can tell you. If you'll give me yours, I'll put 'em
away for you. Shiraz got 'em away from me once, but he won't do it
again. He manages to steal one now and then, when I'm away, but I
usually get 'em back, sooner or later."
He collected the hour-glasses from his visitors, and put them away on a
shelf.
"Look 'ere, parent," said Mr. Punch, "hif I didn't know better, I'd s'y
as I'd seen this room before. There's the back of the clock, and the
door over there looks like--"
"You've a sharp eye, Punch, my boy," said the old gentleman. "Quite a
detective you are, my son. Now, then, we'd better get busy. Aunt Amanda,
do you want me to cast off your enchantment?"
"Why do you call me that?" asked Queen Miranda.
"Because that's your name. Don't you know who you are?"
"I know I was enchanted once, under the name of Aunt Amanda."
"No, no. You're enchanted _now_, under the name of Queen Miranda."
"But Shiraz the Persian told us he would disenchant us, and he did."
"No, no. You were yourselves before, and _now_ you are enchanted."
"My brain is in a whirl," said Queen Miranda. "Are we ourselves now, or
were we ourselves before?"
"By crackey," said Toby, "it's too much for me, and I give it up.
Anyway, what we want to know is, can you cure the Chevalier?"
"I can, and I will," said the old man. "There's nothing the matter with
him, except that he isn't himself. As soon as he's himself again, he'll
be well. He was given the chance once before, but he didn't know how to
use it; he made a great mistake."
"What mistake?" said Toby.
"He made the mistake of carrying the Old Man of the Mountain on his
back. If he had only lifted him up in his arms before him, the Old Man
would have been as light as a feather, and Freddie would have been
himself again in a flash. But of course he didn't know. We've got to
correct his mistake."
"Well, by crickets," said Toby, "this is Correction Island, right
enough. Blamed if I know which is the mistake and which is the
correction. It looks to me as if it was a mistake to be corrected, and
we've got to correct the correction back again."
"Something like that," said the old man, smiling. "I'm going to undo the
correction of each one of you, and then you'll all be yourselves once
more, instead of these false things you now are."
Queen Miranda looked at the ruby ring on her finger, and wept quietly to
herself. As for Freddie, his eyes never left the face of the old man.
The old man stooped over Freddie, and laid his cheek against the young
Chevalier's pale forehead, and then against the young man's cheeks; he
then threw aside the blankets and sat himself down on Freddie's knees.
His body pressed the young man's breast, and his cheek touched the young
man's cheeks one after the other. It was some moments before there was
any change. The others watched anxiously. A red glow began to appear in
Freddie's cheeks, and his eyes became brighter. He raised his hands; he
moved his head; he looked about him; he smiled into the face of the old
man.
"You are better?" said the old man.
"I'm very well," said Freddie, in a clear voice. "But I think I must
have been sick. Have I been sick?"
"Rather," said the old man. "But you are going to be yourself again in
another minute. Now, then; put your arms around me and lift me off. Can
you do that?"
"Easily," said Freddie, and he lifted the old man in his arms, and
rising to his feet at the same time, tossed the old man off with an easy
gesture.
As the old man touched the floor, there was no longer any Chevalier.
Freddie was standing before the chair in his own person; the Little Boy
once more, with sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks. He looked around in
surprise.
"Where are Aunt Amanda and the others?" said the Little Boy.
"Wait just a minute, Freddie," said the old man. "Now, madam," he said
to Queen Miranda, "if you will be kind enough to lift me up and toss me
away--"
Queen Miranda looked at him doubtfully. He was a solid-looking person,
and it seemed absurd to think of lifting him. But she did as he
directed, and placing her hands under his arms she found that he weighed
no more than a baby. She held him up off the floor.
"Now cast me off," said he.
She tossed him away with an easy gesture, and he alighted on his feet
with a bound.
"Aunt Amanda!" cried Freddie, and rushed into her arms.
"Land sakes!" said she. "I thought you were never coming. Where are all
the others? I'm glad there's nobody but this old man to see me in this
bedraggled bonnet. Why don't that Toby Littleback come? Now ain't it
like him to keep me waiting here all night? I never see such an
exasperatin'--"
"Wait just one moment, Aunt Amanda," said the old man. "I'll have him
here immediately."
He stood before Toby, and directed him what to do. Toby seized him in
his strong hands and lifted him up over his head like a feather pillow;
and such a toss did Toby give him as sent him flying across the room
almost to the wall. The old man came down on his feet with a bound.
"You Toby Littleback!" said Aunt Amanda. "Ain't it just like you to keep
me and Freddie waiting here all night, while--And where's Mr. Punch and
all the rest of 'em?"
Toby stood before her, with his hands in his pockets. His hump was on
his back in its rightful place, and he looked exactly as he had looked
the first time Freddie had seen him, standing in the doorway of the Old
Tobacco Shop.
"I ain't been nowhere, Aunt Amanda," said Toby. "And I don't know where
Mr. Punch is, neither. I ain't his guardian, anyway. The last I seen of
him, as far as I remember, was in Shiraz's garden, lookin' round at the
flowers. By crackey, if he can't take care of himself, I ain't a-going
to do it for him. Maybe the old gentleman here can tell you, if you want
to know."
"Wait just a moment," said the old man. "I'll have him here
immediately."
Mr. Punch laughed immoderately as he picked up his own father and tossed
him in the air and hurled him across the room. The old man did not seem
to mind it a bit, but joined in the laugh as he came down on his feet
with a bounce. Mr. Punch was immediately himself again; his hump was on
his back, his breast stuck out, his long-tailed coat and knee breeches
were as before, and he looked as if he might just have stepped down from
his wooden box beside the Tobacco Shop's door.
"Wery glad," said he, "to myke you acquainted with me old parent; and a
wery good parent too, hif----"
"That's enough, Punch," said his father. "Now we'll bring on the
Churchwarden."
In another moment the thin and saintly-looking Thomas the Inferior was
gone, and in his place was the fat and comfortable Churchwarden,
blinking at his friends through his round spectacles.
"I have been considering," said he, "that it would be highly desirable,
after all I have passed through lately, to sit in my chair on the
pavement against the wall of my church with a pipe and a newspaper; and
I have concluded that----"
"We will now call Mr. Hanlon," said the old man.
From the time Mr. Hanlon placed his hands under the old man's arms his
tongue was rattling on at a prodigious speed; and as he tossed the old
man lightly away like a doll he was saying, "And niver once did the
spacheless man and the deaf wife have anny worrds except once; and 'twas
then that----." But he spoke no more. He was himself again. He was
dumb. Toby greeted him warmly, but he only nodded his head vigorously,
and smiled his old-time cheerful smile.
"That's all," said the old man.
"But the two Old Codgers----" began Toby.
"They will not be here," said the old man. "No use waiting. They made
their choice some time ago. They are as much themselves now as they ever
were, and they will remain where they are in perfect contentment. No
need to bother about them. All that remains now is to bid you farewell,
and wish you a pleasant journey."
"Have we far to go?" said Toby.
"You'll see," said the old gentleman, going to the door, that was
opposite the one by which they had entered, and throwing it open.
He stood aside as they passed, and smiled upon each with a kind and
fatherly smile. He placed his hand on Freddie's head, and turned the
Little Boy's face up so that he could look down into his eyes.
"Remember!" he said. "Never carry the Old Man of the Mountain on your
back. Carry him before you in your hands, and he will be as light as a
feather. Now farewell."
He gently pushed them out and closed the door behind them, and they went
slowly down a dark stair. Toby held Freddie's hand, and Mr. Punch helped
Aunt Amanda. They could see very little, and they knew very little where
they were, until they found themselves after a time on a level floor,
and feeling the wall with their hands came to a pair of swinging doors.
Through these doors they passed, and Toby knocked his knee against
something in the dark.
"It's a long bench!" said Toby. "And here's a sight of other long
benches! Blamed if they don't seem like pews in a church!"
A dim light as of tall windows was visible at some distance on their
left.
The Churchwarden pushed forward and walked swiftly here and there with
the step of one who knows the way. In a moment he returned.
"It's a church," he said, calmly. "It's _my_ church. This way, madam and
gentlemen."
He led the way to the left. Under a great round window which could be
dimly seen in the wall was a wide door, before which they all paused.
"As captain of this party," said Aunt Amanda, "my orders is that we open
the door and see what will happen next."
"Ay, ay, ma'am," said the Churchwarden, and opened the door.
In a moment they were standing under the stars on a brick pavement
before a church, and on the pavement against the church wall was an
empty chair.
"Ah!" said the Churchwarden, and sat down in the chair.
"Mercy on us!" cried Aunt Amanda. "We're _home_!"
"Blamed if we ain't!" said Toby. "It's our own street, and I can almost
see the Tobacco Shop from here!"
"Harfter a life of adventure," said Mr. Punch, "one will find it wery
pleasant to stand quietly on one's little perch and rest one's legs and
see one's old friends go in and hout at the Old Tobacco Shop once more,
watching for the 'ands of the clock to come together for a bit of
relaxation with one's----"
"All right, young feller!" cried Toby to Freddie. "Come with me. Mr.
Punch, take Aunt Amanda home. I'll be with you as soon as I've got
Freddie safe."
Aunt Amanda and Mr. Punch went off together towards the Old Tobacco
Shop. Mr. Hanlon, after shaking hands all round, departed for the Gaunt
Street Theatre, where he would be no longer troubled by the imps, who
had long since been destroyed by the Odour of Sanctity. The
Churchwarden preferred to enjoy for awhile the comfort of his old chair
by the Church wall, and Toby and Freddie left him there, his hands
folded placidly across his stomach.
Freddie and Toby crossed the street-car track, hand in hand together.
The horse had gone to bed for the night, and there was no danger. All
the houses were dark. It was very late. No light was to be seen
anywhere, except a gas-lamp at the next corner. The streets were silent
and deserted. Freddie yawned.
Freddie's house was dark, like all the rest. A narrow brick passage-way
followed a fence to the rear, between this house and the next, and a
gate opened from the sidewalk into this passage. Freddie and Toby went
through this gate and crept quietly to the backyard of Freddie's house.
The kitchen-door was locked, but Toby found a window which was
unfastened. He raised it noiselessly, and helped Freddie to climb in.
With a whispered good-night the Little Boy left his friend and tiptoed
into the house and up the back stairs in the dark to his own room.
His bed was there in its old place, and the covers were turned down. He
did not stop to say his prayers. He yawned and stretched his arms. He
wanted nothing now but to lie snug and safe under the cool sheets. He
threw off his clothes and left them on the floor. He knew where his
night-gown was. He crept into bed; he pulled the covers up to his ears;
he nestled his head into the pillow, and breathed a deep sigh.