STRATEGY AND KISSES
"It was the morning of my third day in the castle," began the Chemist
again, "that I was taken by Lylda before the king. We found him seated
alone in a little anteroom, overlooking a large courtyard, which we
could see was crowded with an expectant, waiting throng. I must explain
to you now, that I was considered by Lylda somewhat in the light of a
Messiah, come to save her nation from the destruction that threatened
it.
"She believed me a supernatural being, which, indeed, if you come to
think of it, gentlemen, is exactly what I was. I tried to tell her
something of myself and the world I had come from, but the difficulties
of language and her smiling insistence and faith in her own conception
of me, soon caused me to desist. Thereafter I let her have her own way,
and did not attempt any explanation again for some time.
"For several weeks before Lylda found me sleeping by the river's edge,
she had made almost a daily pilgrimage to that vicinity. A maidenly
premonition, a feeling that had first come to her several years before,
told her of my coming, and her father's knowledge and scientific beliefs
had led her to the outer surface of the world as the direction in which
to look. A curious circumstance, gentlemen, lies in the fact that Lylda
clearly remembered the occasion when this first premonition came to her.
And in the telling, she described graphically the scene in the cave,
where I saw her through the microscope." The Chemist paused an instant
and then resumed.
"When we entered the presence of the king, he greeted me quietly, and
made me sit by his side, while Lylda knelt on the floor at our feet. The
king impressed me as a man about fifty years of age. He was
smooth-shaven, with black, wavy hair, reaching his shoulders. He was
dressed in the usual tunic, the upper part of his body covered by a
quite similar garment, ornamented with a variety of metal objects. His
feet were protected with a sort of buskin; at his side hung a
crude-looking metal spear.
"The conversation that followed my entrance, lasted perhaps fifteen
minutes. Lylda interpreted for us as well as she could, though I must
confess we were all three at times completely at a loss. But Lylda's
bright, intelligent little face, and the resourcefulness of her
gestures, always managed somehow to convey her meaning. The charm and
grace of her manner, all during the talk, her winsomeness, and the
almost spiritual kindness and tenderness that characterized her, made me
feel that she embodied all those qualities with which we of this earth
idealize our own womanhood.
"I found myself falling steadily under the spell of her beauty,
until--well, gentlemen, it's childish for me to enlarge upon this side
of my adventure, you know; but--Lylda means everything to me now, and
I'm going back for her just as soon as I possibly can."
"Bully for you!" cried the Very Young Man. "Why didn't you bring her
with you this time?"
"Let him tell it his own way," remonstrated the Doctor. The Very Young
Man subsided with a sigh.
"During our talk," resumed the Chemist, "I learned from the king that
Lylda had promised him my assistance in overcoming the enemies that
threatened his country. He smilingly told me that our charming little
interpreter had assured him I would be able to do this. Lylda's blushing
face, as she conveyed this meaning to me, was so thoroughly captivating,
that before I knew it, and quite without meaning to, I pulled her up
towards me and kissed her.
"The king was more surprised by far than Lylda, at this extraordinary
behavior. Obviously neither of them had understood what a kiss meant,
although Lylda, by her manner evidently comprehended pretty thoroughly.
"I told them then, as simply as possible to enable Lylda to get my
meaning, that I could, and would gladly aid in their war. I explained
then, that I had the power to change my stature, and could make myself
grow very large or very small in a short space of time.
"This, as Lylda evidently told it to him, seemed quite beyond the king's
understanding. He comprehended finally, or at least he agreed to believe
my statement.
"This led to the consideration of practical questions of how I was to
proceed in their war. I had not considered any details before, but now
they appeared of the utmost simplicity. All I had to do was to make
myself a hundred or two hundred feet high, walk out to the battle-lines,
and scatter the opposing army like a set of small boys' playthings."
"What a quaint idea!" said the Banker. "A modern 'Gulliver.'"
The Chemist did not heed this interruption.
"Then like three children we plunged into a discussion of exactly how I
was to perform these wonders, the king laughing heartily as we pictured
the attack on my tiny enemies.
"He then asked me how I expected to accomplish this change of size, and
I very briefly told him of our larger world, and the manner in which I
had come from it into his. Then I showed the drugs that I still carried
carefully strapped to me. This seemed definitely to convince the king of
my sincerity. He rose abruptly to his feet, and strode through a doorway
on to a small balcony overlooking the courtyard below.
"As he stepped out into the view of the people, a great cheer arose. He
waited quietly for them to stop, and then raised his hand and began
speaking. Lylda and I stood hand in hand in the shadow of the doorway,
out of sight of the crowd, but with it and the entire courtyard plainly
in our view.
"It was a quadrangular enclosure, formed by the four sides of the
palace, perhaps three hundred feet across, packed solidly now with
people of both sexes, the gleaming whiteness of the upper parts of their
bodies, and their upturned faces, making a striking picture.
"For perhaps ten minutes the king spoke steadily, save when he was
interrupted by applause. Then he stopped abruptly and, turning, pulled
Lylda and me out upon the balcony. The enthusiasm of the crowd doubled
at our appearance. I was pushed forward to the balcony rail, where I
bowed to the cheering throng.
"Just after I left the king's balcony, I met Lylda's father. He was a
kindly-faced old gentleman, and took a great interest in me and my
story. He it was who told me about the physical conformation of his
world, and he seemed to comprehend my explanation of mine.
"That night it rained--a heavy, torrential downpour, such as we have in
the tropics. Lylda and I had been talking for some time, and, I must
confess, I had been making love to her ardently. I broached now the
principal object of my entrance into her world, and, with an eloquence I
did not believe I possessed, I pictured the wonders of our own great
earth above, begging her to come back with me and live out her life with
mine.
"Much of what I said, she probably did not understand, but the main
facts were intelligible without question. She listened quietly. When I
had finished, and waited for her decision, she reached slowly out and
clutched my shoulders, awkwardly making as if to kiss me. In an instant
she was in my arms, with a low, happy little cry."