corner near the fireplace, and Phyllisy sat on a stool at the end of the
hearth, where she could reach the poker without interrupting, if it
should be necessary. The Princess was in her large chair, drawn up a
little way off. The rings on her clasped hands glittered, and there was
a big rosette on the toe of her slipper, pointed out toward the glow.
The firelight shone in her eyes and they looked very joyful, and her
lips were smiling before she began to speak.
“The Jane Ellen,” said the Princess softly, making the name long, as if
she liked to say it, and the Others wriggled as if they liked to
hear,—“the Jane Ellen was a very busy ship, and made important journeys,
carrying splendid cargoes from port to port; but she sailed so fast when
she was going straight on that the Captain always had time to stop on
the way to attend to any little thing that needed it, or to be obliging
and kind—like the time when they arranged about the Sailor’s Star.
“Now if you had sailed on the Jane Ellen on one of the most interesting
cruises she ever made, you would have come to a place where a long point
of land ran out for miles into the sea. The point ended in a great rock
that looked like the head and shoulders of a lion, coming out of the
forest that covered the hills back of him, and roaring because he
couldn’t get across to the point of a very large island that lay in the
sea opposite. There was another great rock that made the point of the
island (as if they were two gate posts), and this rock was the head of a
man, frowning and dark; and one would hardly know which he was angriest
with; the Lion, or any one who tried to pass through the gateway.
“Besides the large island, there were a great many smaller ones—like a
flock of ducks—and between them the water was shallow. So ships that
wanted to pass that way had either to go through the dark Gateway,
between the Roaring Lion and the Frowning Man, or else turn away to the
south and sail miles and miles out of their course, around that whole
flock of islands. And a great many ships did want to go that way; for it
led to a land where the pearls were as large as gooseberries and all
lovely tropical things grew because they couldn’t help it.
“It isn’t pleasant to have even a rock man look as if he would like to
bite off one’s bowsprit, or crowd one over into the jaws of a roaring
lion; but they were only rocks with a good passage between, and no
captain who was in the least bit of a hurry would have hesitated one
minute, or even thought of sailing around those hundreds of islands on
their account. But every captain who sailed the sea knew that, once
inside that Gateway, he would come into the haunt of Torquillon, the
Waterspout. And that was reason enough for any ship to go miles the
other way.”
(Torquillon was a stranger to the Others, but they nodded as if they
thought it was an excellent reason. The story was beginning in a way
that made them very quiet, not wanting to interrupt.)
“Now when the Jane Ellen passed that way, if the Captain were not on
deck and the Mate was commanding the ship, he liked to sail close to the
Gateway instead of taking the shortest way to go around the islands,
because he was not so old as the Captain, and he never had had so much
as a glimpse of Torquillon.
“This time that I’ve begun to tell you about, the Captain was taking a
nap, and Taffy had things his own way as they came into that part of the
ocean.
“‘How’s the wind, Quartermaster?’ he said to the man at the wheel.
“‘Sou’west-by-south, sir,’ answered the Quartermaster.
“Taffy looked up at the sails and the clouds and out over the sea—as if
he were making up his mind, instead of knowing all the time what he
meant to do! Then he said to the Quartermaster:—
“‘Keep her as she is until we reach this point,’ and he made a little
mark on the chart, right near the large island; ‘then we’ll make a long
run to the south.’
“‘Ay, ay, sir,’ said the Quartermaster. But when the Mate turned away to
walk for’ard, he drew up one side of his face so it was all bias, and
winked at the Bos’n!
“Taffy went into his own cabin, and came out again with a long spy-glass
in his hand. He walked to the foot of the foremast-shrouds and rested
the spy-glass in the ratlines to steady it, and looked toward the place
where the Gateway led into Torquillon’s Lair.
“And the Jane Ellen was sailing so fast that he hadn’t been looking long
before he saw a little gray hump on the edge of the water, that he knew
was the large island. Then he put down the glass and waited a little
while. The next time he looked, both the island and the mainland showed
plainly, with a little, little gap between.
“But he never could spend much time doing what he liked without being
interrupted, so very soon he put down the glass and went below to see
why Tom Green hadn’t polished the binnacle.
“While he was gone the Jane Ellen kept sailing on; and by the time he
came back the Gateway showed even without the glass. And when Taffy had
the glass steady once more and looked through it, he saw a dark speck on
the water, outside the Lion’s head. He looked for a moment, then he
called, ‘Bos’n!’
“‘Ay, ay, sir,’ said the Bos’n, coming up. Taffy handed him the glass.
“‘See what you make of that?’
“The Bos’n took the glass and looked carefully. Then he rubbed the small
end with a loose fold of his shirt, and looked again.
“‘It looks to me like a brig, sir. She’s hove-to; and she’s lost some of
her riggin’,’ he said.
“Taffy took the glass, and while he was looking, who should come along
but the Captain! He had just stepped out of his cabin, and was surprised
to see the island so near.
“‘Why are we here, Mr. Morganwg?’ he asked. ‘Aren’t we out of our
course?’
“‘We are, sir, a little,’ said Taffy. ‘But that’s because the wind is
sou’west-by-south. I thought we’d make better time this way.’
“‘And go by that Gateway, too,’ said the Captain; and he looked at the
Bos’n and laughed. The Bos’n laughed too, so Taffy felt a wee bit
foolish, and he thought he’d rather talk about something else. So he
said, ‘There’s a ship lying over there, in distress.’
“‘Let me see,’ said the Captain, taking the glass. ‘Sure enough! We must
go and see what is the matter.’”
“Everybody knew he wanted to go, didn’t they?” said Pat.
“Everybody,” said the Princess. “But they were all eager, now, to go to
the rescue.
“So the Jane Ellen sailed on fast, and drew nearer and nearer to the
brig; and when they were near enough to see, she was a sight!
“Some of her rigging was gone, and halyards and bowlines and braces and
all kinds of ropes and sails were trailing in the water; and a flag of
distress flip-flip-flipping in the breeze over it all.
“It was the Reindeer brig, and her captain was a friend of the captain
of the Jane Ellen. So when they were hove-to, beside the Reindeer, the
Captain—with the Mate standing by—was very glad to welcome his friend on
board.
“‘Now, tell us all about what has happened to the Reindeer,’ he said.
“The captain of the brig was a short man with bright black eyes, and he
_hated_ to wait for anything. When he wanted a thing, he wanted it that
very minute; and when he sent a man on an errand he often went after him
before he had time to come back, because it seemed so long to him. His
name was Gryller, but Skipper seemed to suit him exactly, so he was very
seldom called Captain Gryller.
“When he came aboard the Jane Ellen, he could hardly wait for the proper
greetings to be over before he began to tell his story. He spoke very
fast; the words pattered, clean, and there sounded a great many _rr_’s
in them.
“‘It’s that Waterspout!’ he said. ‘He’s played the mischief with my
rrigging!’
“‘What? Torquillon?’ asked the Captain.
“‘Certainly. Did you ever hear of any other waterspout hereabouts? I
didn’t. He took my main-to’gal’n’mast at the first whack!’
“‘But where was he?’ asked the Captain.
“‘Chasing _me_!’ said the Skipper, indignantly.
“‘Out here?’ asked the Captain, perfectly surprised. And he looked at
the Lion and the Man, to see if Torquillon were peeping out.
“‘No!’ exclaimed the Skipper, loudly. ‘Inside.’
“‘_Inside!_’ said the Captain, even louder. ‘What were you doing there?’
“‘Going through, of course!’ shouted the Skipper. ‘Do you suppose I was
trying to anchorr?’ and he almost danced on the deck, he was so
impatient.
“The Captain looked at him. Then he said in his ordinary voice:—
“‘We’re neither of us deaf, and there isn’t a gale of wind; and will you
please begin at the beginning, and tell me what you did do?’
“‘That’s just what I was trying to do; but you interrupted.’
“‘Because you began in the middle.’
“‘How could any one begin in the middle? The place where you begin _is_
the beginning!’
“‘Well, what made you go through there, anyway?’ asked the Captain. (He
wasn’t quite sure whether the beginning was the middle or the end or the
other end, he felt so tangled up.)
“‘I didn’t go through,’ insisted the Skipper. ‘Didn’t I just tell you?’
“‘Then, will you tell me what you did do?’
“‘I starrted to go.’
“‘Why?’
“‘Why does a hen run across the road?’ asked the Skipper.
“‘To get to the other side,’ answered the Captain; and, ‘Because she
can’t go ’round it,’ said Taffy.
“‘Which is it?’ asked the Captain.
“‘Both,’ said the Skipper. ‘I wanted to get to the other side, and I
didn’t want to go around all those islands. It’s ridiculous, with that
good passage through, to go miles out of the way because of that
Waterspout—and I hadn’t the time to spend.’
“‘I don’t see that you’ve saved very much,’ said the Captain.
“‘I should have—if I’d gone through. It’s all very well for you; but
every ship is not as fast as the Jane Ellen. Anyway, I made up my mind
to try, and I got halfway through before that fellow caught me. But then
he did smash me up like kingdom-come! and I had to box-haul her, and
come back.’
“‘What do you want to do now?’ asked the Captain.
“‘I hoped a ship would come along and let me have some extra spars to
make the Reindeer ship-shape; and then—I’ve got a Plan;’ and he stopped,
and looked very mysterious and important.
“‘Are you going in again?’ asked Taffy, hoping he would say Yes—and he
did.
“‘Yes, I am. And you’re going too.’
“‘I don’t know whether I am, or not,’ said the Captain. ‘What for?’
“‘I want to bottle up that Waterspout, and clear that passage so ships
can go through there safely.’
“‘You don’t want to do much!’ said the Captain. ‘Have you thought how
you could do it?’
“‘Yes, I know all about it. It’s no use to run him down; for he just
spills and comes up again; and you can’t tie him up. But I noticed,
about halfway through the passage there is a little island. It’s hardly
large enough to call an island—just a flat-topped rock, not much above
the water. In that rock there is a deep hollow. Now, I think we might
lead Torquillon such a chase that he would trip over the island and
spill into the hole. Then we could cover him over, quick, with a big
tarpaulin, and afterward roof him in solid, so he never could get out.
Don’t you think that would be worth spending a little time to do?’
“‘Yes,’ said the Captain. ‘If we could do it.’
“‘We can’t, of course, if we don’t try!’ said the Skipper. ‘Will you do
it?’
“‘One thing at a time,’ said the Captain in that sensible way that is so
annoying when one has an idea. ‘We’ll rig the Reindeer first—and
consider about it.’
“And that was all he would say, though it seemed as if the Skipper
couldn’t stand it, not to have it settled that very minute. But the
Captain lent him some extra spars and his ship’s carpenter and some men,
and they set to work; and before they knew it, almost, the Reindeer was
ship-shape again, and looked as good as new.
“Except the Jane Ellen—that was a full-rigged ship anyway—there wasn’t a
prettier little brig on the high seas. Captain Gryller had had her
painted brown, dappled with lighter spots on her sides and two large
light spots on her stern, because he meant to call her the Reindeer. And
he didn’t care whether that was like a reindeer or a moose or a stag or
a wapiti, or none of them; he liked it that way.
“While they were working, the Captain considered. And the more he
considered, the more he didn’t know whether it would be one bit of use;
but the less he wanted to go sailing away around all those islands
without trying to bottle up that waterspout and clear the passage for
all the ships that should come after.
“And Taffy never considered a minute. He didn’t know, and he didn’t much
care, whether they could bottle up anything, or not; he thought only,
some way or other, he _must_ go in at that Gateway between the Lion and
the Man, and see what was inside. So when the Captain called him into
his cabin to consult with him, I think you can guess what kind of advice
Taffy gave.”
(The children looked as if they could very easily. They would have given
the same themselves.)
“When the Skipper came aboard for his answer, he found there was no
persuasion needed; but they could begin at once to lay their plans very
carefully for what they should do when they were once inside. The
Skipper drew a chart, the way he remembered it, and they laid their
course, just how they would sail, and settled everything so that there
could be no mistake.
“At last the Captain said: ‘There! I think that’s all. And we can make a
start the first thing in the morning.’
“‘_To-morrow morning!_’ shouted the Skipper. ‘Shiver my timbers! Do you
think we can wait forever?’
“‘Nobody wants to wait so long as that,’ said the Captain. ‘But it’s too
late to go in to-day. You don’t want to be caught in there in the dark.’
“‘Who’s going to be caught?’ asked the Skipper. ‘I’m not. And we’re
going in _to-day_!’
“‘We’re going in _to-morrow_,’ said the Captain, just as firmly. The
Skipper turned huffy.
“‘I’d like to know who’s planning this,’ he said.
“‘You are,’ said the Captain. ‘And I don’t think it’s much of a
plan—whoever made it! And if you’re so set, we’ll go now,—the time may
be as good as the plan,—but it’s too late!’
“‘It’s nearly the longest days in the year,’ said the Skipper. As if
that wouldn’t have made it all the easier to wait for morning!”
“Then it was a wrong argument,” remarked Phyllisy.
“Yes; but he didn’t think long enough to see it.
“So, because he was so impatient, just after three bells of the second
watch of the afternoon had struck, the Jane Ellen and the Reindeer
weighed their anchors and made sail, and advanced side by side, like two
white swans, to the Gateway that led into Torquillon’s Lair.
“There were always clouds hanging over it; and they lowered dark over
the Frowning Man, so he scowled harder than ever as they passed out of
the sunshine that made their sails shine white as snowdrifts, into the
shadow of the cloud that suddenly turned them gray.
“But they sailed boldly by, close under his nose; and Taffy looked
curiously, to see what sort of place they had come into.
“It was a fine open stretch of sea. The mainland curved back from the
point into a great bay, so large that the point at the farther side of
it was only a distant gray streak. The flock of islands lay at the
right, and separated it from the wide ocean. High mountains rose up on
the mainland, and the islands, too, were like mountaintops; but graceful
palm trees and bananas and other lovely green things grew among the
craggy rocks.
“Now, as they passed into the shadow of the great dark cloud and sailed
under the nose of the Rock Man, a little wind, that lived in a cave on
the large island, cried:—
“‘Whoooooo-uuuuuu-eeeEEE—!’ and struck, first the Jane Ellen, then the
Reindeer, on the starboard bow, so that they heeled over to port; but
they went steadily on.
“Then another little wind, that lived in a rocky gorge on the point of
land back of the roaring Lion, began to whisper:—
“‘Wh-h-i-i-is-sssss-sh-sSH—!’ and blew the Reindeer and the Jane Ellen
along from over the stern. The sails shivered and the sailors swung the
yards; then the sails filled and the ships went right on.
“Another wind lived in a beautiful valley, where a waterfall came
tumbling down, like a white ribbon, over the edge of the cliff, and
while the first two winds were still whispering and crying, this wind
woke up and shouted:
“‘Whooooooooo-eeeeeee-ooooop!’ and came tearing over the green water,
splashing it up in white foam under his feet as he ran to meet the Jane
Ellen and the Reindeer, that were swinging on, down the wide channel.
“Then, wakened by the whispering and shouting and crying, other little
winds came racing out of their crannies on the islands and in the
mountains, and all scurried after the Reindeer and the Jane Ellen, until
they couldn’t tell, to save them, which was the lee and which the
weather shore! And these winds were little, only compared with the great
winds that travel over the whole Earth. They were large enough for this
land-locked sea; and the Jane Ellen and the Reindeer found them all they
cared to meet. But the two ships were sailed so well they rode weatherly
under storm-sails; and by continually trimming sails and bracing yards
and luffing and doing numberless other things that sailors know all
about—and you and I don’t understand a bit of—they kept on their course
down the channel, looking on every side for Torquillon, the selfish
Waterspout who claimed it for his own, and wouldn’t let any one pass
through. As if there weren’t room for him and them too!
“They had not gone far before the whistling of the winds, like barking
watch-dogs, roused Torquillon; and he raised his head to see who was
coming into his waters.
“The Captain was sailing the Jane Ellen himself, so Taffy was free to
watch; and far ahead, just under a black cloud that hung very low, he
saw the dark water rise in a mound.
“That was only for a moment, and it dropped back again. But the winds
had seen their Master; and—as if he had called them to him—they rushed
from all sides, whistling and crying and whooping, and left the Jane
Ellen and the Reindeer with sails drooping in the sudden calm, while
they circled to the spot where Torquillon’s head had pushed above the
water.
“And as they reached him he rose with one powerful leap from the waves,
and caught the dark sagging cloud, pulling it down behind his head,
swinging and twisting as the winds flung themselves upon him, and filled
the cloud that floated like a banner and served for a sail. And then he
caught sight of the two ships, and the chase began!
“Down the channel he came flying; and the Reindeer and the Jane Ellen
waited, side by side, their sails hanging idly in the dead calm, and the
sailors all standing by the braces to be ready when the winds struck
them. And now Taffy had his wish; for no one ever had a better chance to
see a monstrous Waterspout.
“As he whirled and twisted, his long trailing robes wound close about
his feet, then curved out again, smooth and black in the water, like the
curves of a lily-petal. They looked quite black to Taffy; but as the
light struck through the edges and thin folds, he saw that they were
green—like the green water under him. And following after, leaping,
snarling, jumping at the edges of his robes, the white foaming waves
joined in the chase, and came rushing, whirling down on the two
motionless ships.
“‘Wh-iiii-sss-shoooouuuuuu-eeeeEEE—!’ shrieked the winds, and the next
instant Torquillon would have had them—but just in time the sails
filled; and off flew the Jane Ellen to the right, and off darted the
Reindeer to the left, and left him hanging in the wind, because he
[Illustration:
DOWN THE CHANNEL HE CAME FLYING
]
couldn’t chase both at once, and didn’t know which to follow first.
“But it didn’t take him long to decide. He had seen the Reindeer before;
and it made him very angry to see that she had come back as good as new.
He swung his black banner high over his head, so that it caught the wind
from the large island, and tore after the white spots on the stern of
the brown Reindeer, that showed plainly although it was beginning to be
dusk.
“The Captain had said it was too late to go in that night; and here was
their work just begun, and very little more daylight to do it in, but he
didn’t say, ‘I told you so,’ even to Taffy; but did his best to carry
out the plan.
“When Torquillon was almost within reach of the Reindeer, he glanced
aside and saw the Jane Ellen slipping along down the channel, and
seeming about to escape him altogether. With a howl of rage he turned
and flew after her instead. Then the Reindeer had her chance, and she
turned down the channel as if she were going to escape. So, crossing and
turning, the two ships dodged under the nose of that angry Waterspout,
who was in such a rage it was very easy to bewilder him.
“And always they drew him nearer and nearer to the flat little island
with the hollowed rock where they planned to seal him up forever, when
he should have tripped into it.
“The winds shrieked and screamed from all sides, and the clouds pressed
down, thick and black. But just before they reached the island, the
sunset light broke through a narrow rift in the clouds, and shone
through the gap between the Lion and the Rock Man; and all the foaming
crests of the waves and the edges of Torquillon’s robes turned to fiery
gold; and down his dark sides and in the black curves about his feet
were blood-red streaks; and the great sable banner over his head burst
into crimson flame!
“Then the Jane Ellen passed the island, and Torquillon tore after in his
crimson fury, never heeding where he went—and the rock directly in his
path. The Reindeer scudded after, the sailors on both ships standing by
to lower the boats, with the wide tarpaulin ready to cover him over. And
the Skipper fairly danced up and down on the deck in his excitement and
delight to think how near they were to success. And Torquillon was
almost on the rock!—when up went his feet, and on went the flaming
scarlet sail—with the purple hollow on the side away from the sun—and
carried him clean over, without even touching it; though the waves that
followed crashed and boiled to the very top, and covered the rock from
sight!
“Then the clouds closed in—black and heavy—and night had come almost in
a minute. And there were the Jane Ellen and the Reindeer in the middle
of an inland sea, without a star to guide them, the winds raging and
shrieking about, and a furious Waterspout at their heels!”
The Princess stopped—as if that could possibly be the end of it!
“Oh, Dearie! You can’t have the heart to leave them like that,” Phyllisy
remonstrated. “We’re so excited.”
“I’m pretty excited myself, Miss Phyllisy,” said the Princess. “I’d like
to rest a few minutes. What should you say to a few chocolates? You
might look at the box, at least, if you don’t care to eat them. It’s a
very pretty one.”
“Where is it?” asked Pat.
When she brought it to the Princess, they all crowded around her chair
and admired the outside of the box. Then she lifted the cover slowly, to
show the chocolates packed in rows of different shapes with crimpy
paper, and little tongs to pick up the kind they wanted. And the
Princess let them go down to the under layers to see if they were
different.
Still, they were very anxious to go on and find out what happened; and
when the Princess had rested and Phyllisy had attended to the fire—it
would have needed it soon any way—they went back to their old places and
the Princess began again.
“You know how Old Sol stays a little while every year in each of the
Houses of the Zodiac?
“It happened, when he glanced through the long slit in the clouds at
Torquillon and the two ships, that he was making his visit to the Gemini
Brothers; and that was very fortunate, because it gave him an idea.
“It was only a glimpse he had of that chase, but it was enough to show
him that it was going to be hard times for the Jane Ellen and the
Reindeer unless something were done for them before it was too late. And
Castor and Pollux were right at hand and able to do it, so it was the
most natural thing that he should send them.”
“And they’re specially for sailors—friends,” remarked Pat.
“Specially; Sol knew it. ‘Now’s your chance,’ he said, ‘you
ground-and-lofty tumblers. Tumble right down, or that wicked Torquillon
will have the Jane Ellen and the Reindeer made into kindling wood—if
they don’t run ashore first, in the dark.’
“The darkness came so suddenly on the ships when the clouds closed down
in the West, that it was bewildering. And they were so surprised and
disappointed that Torquillon had not fallen into the trap they had laid
for him that they hardly knew what to do.