the Fragile Palm, one of the sailors who happened to be aloft noticed
a low, black, and exceedingly unpleasant-looking vessel rapidly
approaching. This soon proved to be the ship of a band of corsairs,
who, having heard of the large amount of money on the "Horn o'
Plenty," had determined to pursue her and capture the rich prize. All
sails were set upon the "Horn o' Plenty," but it soon became plain
that she could never outsail the corsair vessel.
"What our ship can do better than any thing else," said Baragat to
the Captain, "is to stop short. Stop her short, and let the other one
go by."
This manoeuvre was executed, but, although the corsair passed rapidly
by, not being able to stop so suddenly, it soon turned around and
came back, its decks swarming with savage men armed to the teeth.
"They are going to board us," cried Baragat. "They are getting out
their grappling-irons, and they will fasten the two ships together."
"Let all assemble on the quarter-deck," said the Captain. "It is
higher there, and we shall not be so much exposed to accidents."
The corsair ship soon ran alongside the "Horn o' Plenty," and in a
moment the two vessels were fastened together; and then the corsairs,
every man of them, each with cutlass in hand and a belt full of dirks
and knives, swarmed up the side of the "Horn o' Plenty," and sprang
upon its central deck. Some of the ferocious fellows, seeing the
officers and crew all huddled together upon the quarter-deck, made a
movement in that direction. This so frightened the chief mate that he
sprang down upon the deck of the corsair ship. A panic now arose, and
he was immediately followed by the officers and crew. The boys, of
course, were not to be left behind; and the Captain and Baragat felt
themselves bound not to desert the crew, and so they jumped also.
None of the corsairs interfered with this proceeding, for each one of
them was anxious to find the money at once. When the passengers and
crew of the "Horn o' Plenty" were all on board the corsair ship,
Baragat came to the Captain, and said:
"If I were you, sir, I'd cast off those grapnels, and separate the
vessels. If we don't do that those rascals, when they have finished
robbing our money-chests, will come back here and murder us all."
"That is a good idea," said Captain Covajos; and he told the chief
mate to give orders to cast off the grapnels, push the two vessels
apart, and set some of the sails.
When this had been done, the corsair vessel began to move away from
the other, and was soon many lengths distant from her. When the
corsairs came on deck and perceived what had happened, they were
infuriated, and immediately began to pursue their own vessel with the
one they had captured. But the "Horn o' Plenty" could not, by any
possibility, sail as fast as the corsair ship, and the latter easily
kept away from her.
"Now, then," said Baragat to the Captain, "what you have to do is
easy enough. Sail straight for our port and those sea-robbers will
follow you; for, of course, they will wish to get their own vessel
back again, and will hope, by some carelessness on our part, to
overtake us. In the mean time the money will be safe enough, for they
will have no opportunity of spending it; and when we come to port, we
can take some soldiers on board, and go back and capture those
fellows. They can never sail away from us on the 'Horn o' Plenty.'"
"That is an admirable plan," said the Captain, "and I shall carry it
out; but I cannot sail to port immediately. I must first find Apple
Island and land these boys, whose parents and guardians are probably
growing very uneasy. I suppose the corsairs will continue to follow
us wherever we go."
"I hope so," said Baragat; "at any rate we shall see."
The First Class in Long Division was very much delighted with the
change of vessels, and the boys rambled everywhere, and examined with
great interest all that belonged to the corsairs. They felt quite
easy about the only treasures they possessed, because, when they had
first seen the piratical vessel approaching, they had taken the
precious nuts which had been given to them by the King, and had
hidden them at the bottom of some large boxes, in which the Captain
kept the sailors' winter clothes.
"In this warm climate," said the eldest boy, "the robbers will never
meddle with those winter clothes, and our precious fruit will be
perfectly safe."
"If you had taken my advice," said one of the other boys, "we should
have eaten some of the nuts. Those, at least, we should have been
sure of."
"And we should have had that many less to show to the other classes,"
said the eldest boy. "Nuts like these, I am told, if picked at the
proper season, will keep for a long time."
For some days the corsairs on board the "Horn o' Plenty" followed
their own vessel, but then they seemed to despair of ever being able
to overtake it, and steered in another direction. This threatened to
ruin all the plans of Captain Covajos, and his mind became troubled.
Then the boy who had studied mechanics came forward and said to the
Captain:
"I'll tell you what I'd do, sir, if I were you; I'd follow your old
ship, and when night came on I'd sail up quite near to her, and let
some of your sailors swim quietly over, and fasten a cable to her,
and then you could tow her after you wherever you wished to go."
"But they might unfasten the cable, or cut it," said Baragat, who was
standing by.
"That could easily be prevented," said the boy. "At their end of the
cable must be a stout chain which they cannot cut, and it must be
fastened so far beneath the surface of the water that they will not
be able to reach it to unfasten it."
"A most excellent plan," said Captain Covajos; "let it be carried
out."
As soon as it became quite dark, the corsair vessel quietly
approached the other, and two stout sailors from Finland, who swam
very well, were ordered to swim over and attach the chain-end of a
long cable to the "Horn o' Plenty." It was a very difficult
operation, for the chain was heavy, but the men succeeded at last,
and returned to report.
"We put the chain on, fast and strong sir," they said to the Captain;
"and six feet under water. But the only place we could find to make
it fast to was the bottom of the rudder."
"That will do very well," remarked Baragat; "for the 'Horn o' Plenty'
sails better backward than forward, and will not be so hard to tow."
For week after week, and month after month, Captain Covajos, in the
corsair vessel, sailed here and there in search of Apple Island,
always towing after him the "Horn o' Plenty," with the corsairs on
board, but never an island with a school on it could they find; and
one day old Baragat came to the Captain and said:
"If I were you, sir, I'd sail no more in these warm regions. I am
quite sure that apples grow in colder latitudes, and are never found
so far south as this."
"That is a good idea," said Captain Covajos. "We should sail for the
north if we wished to find an island of apples. Have the vessel
turned northward."
And so, for days and weeks, the two vessels slowly moved on to the
north. One day the Captain made some observations and calculations,
and then he hastily summoned Baragat.
"Do you know," said he, "that I find it is now near the end of
November, and I am quite certain that we shall not get to the port
where my son lives in time to celebrate last Christmas again. It is
dreadfully slow work, towing after us the 'Horn o' Plenty,' full of
corsairs, wherever we go. But we cannot cast her off and sail
straight for our port, for I should lose my good ship, the merchants
would lose all their money, and the corsairs would go unpunished;
and, besides all that, think of the misery of the parents and
guardians of those poor boys. No; I must endeavor to find Apple
Island. And if I cannot reach port in time to spend last Christmas
with my son, I shall certainly get there in season for Christmas
before last. It is true that I spent that Christmas with my daughter,
but I cannot go on to her now. I am much nearer the city where my son
lives; and, besides, it is necessary to go back, and give the
merchants their money. So now we shall have plenty of time, and need
not feel hurried."
"No," said Baragat, heaving a vast sigh, "we need not feel hurried."
The mind of the eldest boy now became very much troubled, and he
called his companions about him. "I don't like at all," said he,
"this sailing to the north. It is now November, and, although it is
warm enough at this season in the southern part of the sea, it will
become colder and colder as we go on. The consequence of this will be
that those corsairs will want winter clothes, they will take them out
of the Captain's chests, and they will find our fruit."
The boys groaned. "That is true," said one of them; "but still we
wish to go back to our island."
"Of course," said the eldest boy, "it is quite proper that we should
return to Long Division. But think of the hard work we did to get
that fruit, and think of the quarts of gold we gave up for it! It
would be too bad to lose it now!"
It was unanimously agreed that it would be too bad to lose the fruit,
and it was also unanimously agreed that they wished to go back to
Apple Island. But what to do about it, they did not know.
Day by day the weather grew colder and colder, and the boys became
more and more excited and distressed for fear they should lose their
precious fruit. The eldest boy lay awake for several nights, and then
a plan came into his head. He went to Captain Covajos and proposed
that he should send a flag of truce over to the corsairs, offering to
exchange winter clothing. He would send over to them the heavy
garments they had left on their own vessel, and in return would take
the boxes of clothes intended for the winter wear of his sailors. In
this way, they would get their fruit back without the corsairs
knowing any thing about it. The Captain considered this an excellent
plan, and ordered the chief mate to take a boat and a flag of truce,
and go over to the "Horn o' Plenty," and make the proposition. The
eldest boy and two of the others insisted on going also, in order
that there might be no mistake about the boxes. But when the
flag-of-truce party reached the "Horn o' Plenty" they found not a
corsair there! Every man of them had gone. They had taken with them
all the money-chests, but to the great delight of the boys, the boxes
of winter clothes had not been disturbed; and in them still nestled,
safe and sound, the precious nuts of the Fragile Palm.
When the matter had been thoroughly looked into, it became quite
evident what the corsairs had done. There had been only one boat on
board the "Horn o' Plenty," and that was the one on which the First
Class in Long Division had arrived. The night before, the two vessels
had passed within a mile or so of a large island, which the Captain
had approached in the hope it was the one they were looking for, and
they passed it so slowly that the corsairs had time to ferry
themselves over, a few at a time, in the little boat, taking with
them the money,--and all without discovery.
Captain Covajos was greatly depressed when he heard of the loss of
all the money.
"I shall have a sad tale to tell my merchants," he said, "and
Christmas before last will not be celebrated so joyously as it was
the first time. But we cannot help what has happened, and we all must
endeavor to bear our losses with patience. We shall continue our
search for Apple Island, but I shall go on board my own ship, for I
have greatly missed my carpeted quarter-deck and my other comforts.
The chief mate, however, and a majority of the crew shall remain on
board the corsair vessel, and continue to tow us. The 'Horn o'
Plenty' sails better stern foremost, and we shall go faster that
way."
The boys were overjoyed at recovering their fruit, and most of them
were in favor of cracking two or three of the great nuts, and eating
their contents in honor of the occasion, but the eldest boy dissuaded
them.
"The good Captain," he said, "has been very kind in endeavoring to
take us back to our school, and still intends to keep up the search
for dear old Apple Island. The least we can do for him is to give him
this fruit, which is all we have, and let him do what he pleases with
it. This is the only way in which we can show our gratitude to him."
The boys turned their backs on one another, and each of them gave his
eyes a little rub, but they all agreed to give the fruit to the
Captain.
When the good old man received his present, he was much affected. "I
will accept what you offer me," he said; "for if I did not, I know
your feelings would be wounded. But you must keep one of the nuts for
yourselves. And, more than that, if we do not find Apple Island in
the course of the coming year, I invite you all to spend Christmas
before last over again, with me at my son's house."
All that winter, the two ships sailed up and down, and here and
there, but never could they find Apple Island. When Christmas-time
came, old Baragat went around among the boys and the crew, and told
them it would be well not to say a word on the subject to the
Captain, for his feelings were very tender in regard to spending
Christmas away from his families, and the thing had never happened
before. So nobody made any allusion to the holidays, and they passed
over as if they had been ordinary days.
During the spring, and all through the summer, the two ships kept up
the unavailing search, but when the autumn began, Captain Covajos
said to old Baragat: "I am very sorry, but I feel that I can no
longer look for Apple Island. I must go back and spend Christmas
before last over again, with my dearest son; and if these poor boys
never return to their homes, I am sure they cannot say it was any
fault of mine."
"No, sir," said Baragat, "I think you have done all that could be
expected of you."
So the ships sailed to the city on the west side of the sea; and the
Captain was received with great joy by his son, and his
grandchildren. He went to the merchants, and told them how he had
lost all their money. He hoped they would be able to bear their
misfortune with fortitude, and begged, as he could do nothing else
for them, that they would accept the eight great nuts from the
Fragile Palm that the boys had given him. To his surprise the
merchants became wild with delight when they received the nuts. The
money they had lost was as nothing, they said, compared to the value
of this incomparable and precious fruit, picked in its prime, and
still in a perfect condition.
It had been many, many generations since this rare fruit, the value
of which was like unto that of diamonds and pearls, had been for sale
in any market in the world; and kings and queens in many countries
were ready to give for it almost any price that might be asked.
When the good old Captain heard this he was greatly rejoiced, and, as
the holidays were now near, he insisted that the boys should spend
Christmas before last over again, at his son's house. He found that a
good many people here knew where Apple Island was, and he made
arrangements for the First Class in Long Division to return to that
island in a vessel which was to sail about the first of the year.
The boys still possessed the great nut which the Captain had insisted
they should keep for themselves, and he now told them that if they
chose to sell it, they would each have a nice little fortune to take
back with them. The eldest boy consulted the others, and then he said
to the Captain:
"Our class has gone through a good many hardships, and has had a lot
of trouble with that palm-tree and other things, and we think we
ought to be rewarded. So, if it is all the same to you, I think we
will crack the nut on Christmas Day and we all will eat it."
"I never imagined," cried Captain Covajos, as he sat, on that
Christmas Day, surrounded by his son's family and the First Class in
Long Division, the eyes of the whole party sparkling with ecstasy as
they tasted the peerless fruit of the Fragile Palm, "that Christmas
before last could be so joyfully celebrated over again."
PRINCE HASSAK'S MARCH.
* * * * *
In the spring of a certain year, long since passed away, Prince
Hassak, of Itoby, determined to visit his uncle, the King of Yan.
"Whenever my uncle visited us," said the Prince, "or when my late
father went to see him, the journey was always made by sea; and, in
order to do this, it was necessary to go in a very roundabout way
between Itoby and Yan. Now, I shall do nothing of this kind. It is
beneath the dignity of a prince to go out of his way on account of
capes, peninsulas, and promontories. I shall march from my palace to
that of my uncle in a straight line. I shall go across the country,
and no obstacle shall cause me to deviate from my course. Mountains
and hills shall be tunnelled, rivers shall be bridged, houses shall
be levelled; a road shall be cut through forests; and, when I have
finished my march, the course over which I have passed shall be a
mathematically straight line. Thus will I show to the world that,
when a prince desires to travel, it is not necessary for him to go
out of his way on account of obstacles."
As soon as possible after the Prince had determined upon this march,
he made his preparations, and set out. He took with him a
few courtiers, and a large body of miners, rock-splitters,
bridge-builders, and workmen of that class, whose services would,
very probably, be needed. Besides these, he had an officer whose duty
it was to point out the direct course to be taken, and another who
was to draw a map of the march, showing the towns, mountains, and the
various places it passed through. There were no compasses in those
days, but the course-marker had an instrument which he would set in a
proper direction by means of the stars, and then he could march by it
all day. Besides these persons, Prince Hassak selected from the
schools of his city five boys and five girls, and took them with him.
He wished to show them how, when a thing was to be done, the best way
was to go straight ahead and do it, turning aside for nothing.
"When they grow up they will teach these things to their children,"
said he; "and thus I shall instil good principles into my people."
The first day Prince Hassak and his party marched over a level
country, with no further trouble than that occasioned by the tearing
down of fences and walls, and the destruction of a few cottages and
barns. After encamping for the night, they set out the next morning,
but had not marched many miles before they came to a rocky hill, on
the top of which was a handsome house, inhabited by a Jolly-cum-pop.
"Your Highness," said the course-marker, "in order to go in a direct
line we must make a tunnel through this hill, immediately under the
house. This may cause the building to fall in, but the rubbish can be
easily removed."
"Let the men go to work," said the Prince. "I will dismount from my
horse, and watch the proceedings."
When the Jolly-cum-pop saw the party halt before his house, he
hurried out to pay his respects to the Prince. When he was informed
of what was to be done, the Jolly-cum-pop could not refrain from
laughing aloud.
"I never heard," he said, "of such a capital idea. It is so odd and
original. It will be very funny, I am sure, to see a tunnel cut right
under my house."
The miners and rock-splitters now began to work at the base of the
hill, and then the Jolly-cum-pop made a proposition to the Prince.
"It will take your men some time," he said, "to cut this tunnel, and
it is a pity your Highness should not be amused in the meanwhile. It
is a fine day: suppose we go into the forest and hunt."
This suited the Prince very well, for he did not care about sitting
under a tree and watching his workmen, and the Jolly-cum-pop having
sent for his horse and some bows and arrows, the whole party, with
the exception of the laborers, rode toward the forest, a short
distance away.
"What shall we find to hunt?" asked the Prince of the Jolly-cum-pop.
"I really do not know," exclaimed the latter, "but we'll hunt
whatever we happen to see--deer, small birds, rabbits, griffins,
rhinoceroses, any thing that comes along. I feel as gay as a skipping
grasshopper. My spirits rise like a soaring bird. What a joyful thing
it is to have such a hunt on such a glorious day!"
The gay and happy spirits of the Jolly-cum-pop affected the whole
party, and they rode merrily through the forest; but they found no
game; and, after an hour or two, they emerged into the open country
again. At a distance, on a slight elevation, stood a large and
massive building.
"I am hungry and thirsty," said the Prince, "and perhaps we can get
some refreshments at yonder house. So far, this has not been a very
fine hunt."
"No," cried the Jolly-cum-pop, "not yet. But what a joyful thing to
see a hospitable mansion just at the moment when we begin to feel a
little tired and hungry!"
The building they were approaching belonged to a Potentate, who lived
at a great distance. In some of his travels he had seen this massive
house, and thought it would make a good prison. He accordingly bought
it, fitted it up as a jail, and appointed a jailer and three
myrmidons to take charge of it. This had occurred years before, but
no prisoners had ever been sent to this jail. A few days preceding
the Jolly-cum-pop's hunt, the Potentate had journeyed this way and
had stopped at his jail. After inquiring into its condition, he had
said to the jailer:
"It is now fourteen years since I appointed you to this place, and in
all that time there have been no prisoners, and you and your men have
been drawing your wages without doing any thing. I shall return this
way in a few days, and if I still find you idle I shall discharge you
all and close the jail."
This filled the jailer with great dismay, for he did not wish to lose
his good situation. When he saw the Prince and his party approaching,
the thought struck him that perhaps he might make prisoners of them,
and so not be found idle when the Potentate returned. He came out to
meet the hunters, and when they asked if they could here find
refreshment, he gave them a most cordial welcome. His men took their
horses, and, inviting them to enter, he showed each member of the
party into a small bedroom, of which there seemed to be a great many.
"Here are water and towels," he said to each one, "and when you have
washed your face and hands, your refreshments will be ready." Then,
going out, he locked the door on the outside.
The party numbered seventeen: the Prince, three courtiers, five boys,
five girls, the course-marker, the map-maker, and the Jolly-cum-pop.
The heart of the jailer was joyful; seventeen inmates was something
to be proud of. He ordered his myrmidons to give the prisoners a meal
of bread and water through the holes in their cell-doors, and then he
sat down to make out his report to the Potentate.
"They must all be guilty of crimes," he said to himself, "which are
punished by long imprisonment. I don't want any of them executed."
So he numbered his prisoners from one to seventeen, according to the
cell each happened to be in, and he wrote a crime opposite each
number. The first was highway robbery, the next forgery, and after
that followed treason, smuggling, barn-burning, bribery, poaching,
usury, piracy, witchcraft, assault and battery, using false weights
and measures, burglary, counterfeiting, robbing hen-roosts,
conspiracy, and poisoning his grandmother by proxy.
This report was scarcely finished when the Potentate returned. He was
very much surprised to find that seventeen prisoners had come in
since his previous visit, and he read the report with interest.
"Here is one who ought to be executed," he said, referring to Number
Seventeen. "And how did he poison his grandmother by proxy? Did he
get another woman to be poisoned in her stead? Or did he employ some
one to act in his place as the poisoner?"
"I have not yet been fully informed, my lord," said the jailer,
fearful that he should lose a prisoner; "but this is his first
offence, and his grandmother, who did not die, has testified to his
general good character."
"Very well," said the Potentate; "but if he ever does it again, let
him be executed; and, by the way, I should like to see the
prisoners."
Thereupon the jailer conducted the Potentate along the corridors, and
let him look through the holes in the doors at the prisoners within.
"What is this little girl in for?" he asked.
The jailer looked at the number over the door, and then at his
report.
"Piracy," he answered.
"A strange offence for such a child," said the Potentate.