Tom Goes to the Rescue
Despite the late hour at which they had gone to bed, Tom awakened
bright and early in the morning, hurried into his clothes and bounded
into Twink's room.
The bed was empty!
Thinking that Twink might have risen before him, Tom dashed into the
living room. There he found Twiffle alone, deep in thought.
"Twiffle! Twiffle! Twink is gone!" exclaimed Tom.
Twiffle nodded his head gravely. "I know," he said. "I looked for
her about half an hour ago and she was gone. I was afraid this would
happen."
"But this is terrible!" protested Tom. "Think of poor Twink--one
of those senseless dummies, just for the amusement of these wicked
people." The boy was thoroughly incensed as he went on. "They call this
the Valley of Romance! Why, they must be heartless. They don't even
know what real romance or love is!"
Twiffle let out a shout and leaped to his feet.
"My boy, you've done it!" he cried.
"Done what?" gasped the astonished Tom.
"You've just given me the solution of all our problems. I now know how
we can save not only Twink and the Shaggy Man, but all the other people
enslaved by King Ticket and Queen Curtain!"
"You do?" said Tom wonderingly.
"Yes," responded Twiffle. "You were wrong about only one thing--King
Ticket, Queen Curtain, and the Lords and Ladies are not heartless. They
have hearts, all right. But you were very right when you said they
don't know what real romance or love is. They don't. We're going to
show them, and in the process we will rescue Twink and Shaggy!"
Twiffle excitedly unfolded his plan. As Tom listened he grew more and
more cheerful. When Twiffle finished, Tom picked up the little clown
and danced exuberantly about the room with him.
"Twiffle," the boy shouted, "you're a wonder!"
Twiffle grinned from ear to ear. "It was you who gave me the idea," he
reminded Tom modestly. "But we must plan very carefully," he went on,
becoming serious. "Remember, there is only a slim chance that our plan
will work. We must take that chance and hope for the best. As there is
nothing we can do until tonight when the play is again presented, we
should make use of this time to work out every single detail of our
plan."
Twiffle and Tom went over their plan again and again. Nevertheless, the
day seemed to Tom one of the longest he had ever spent. The long hours
of waiting were broken only three times--when Lady Cue brought in Tom's
meals.
The food was quite good, but a bit mixed up. For breakfast the
befuddled Lady brought Tom a large slice of roast beef with corn flakes
and apple pie. Lunch consisted of fried eggs, mashed potatoes, and
doughnuts; while dinner was made up of broiled apricots, strawberry
shortcake, and graham crackers. But Tom was hungry and didn't mind the
strange assortment of foods too much. He managed to eat everything even
though Lady Cue brought him six spoons with each meal and no knives or
forks.
When Lady Cue appeared with the evening meal, Tom was a bit worried
because they had not been asked to dine with the Lords and Ladies in
the Royal Dining Room. Could this mean they would not be invited to
the play? If so, then their plan of rescue would be ruined.
Twiffle was not worried. He was sure they would be asked to share the
King and Queen's Royal Box, if only as a form of punishment, since they
would be compelled to see Twink as one of the puppets on the stage.
Twiffle proved to be right. Early in the evening Lady Cue appeared in
the doorway and led them again to the theater.
King Ticket and Queen Curtain were already settled in the Royal Box
when Tom and Twiffle arrived. Except to give them an icy stare, the
monarchs paid no attention to their guests. Twiffle winked at Tom, but
both of them were quaking lest Twiffle's plan might not work. If it did
not work, they would be worse off than ever.
If possible the play--it was the same one--was even worse than on the
previous night. The players went through their parts in a dream-like
fashion, chanting their lines woodenly. Scenery fell apart, the curtain
came down at the wrong moments and everything possible went wrong. But
King Ticket and Queen Curtain were enchanted. Along with the Lords
and Ladies they applauded vociferously and reacted to the ridiculous
performance with even more enthusiasm than they had displayed the
night before.
This night, Tom had no trouble in keeping awake. He squirmed about in
his seat with impatience, waiting until Twink and the Shaggy Man would
appear. This didn't happen until the play was well into the fourth and
last act.
As on the night before, the Shaggy Man wandered blindly onto the stage,
speaking the same lines in an almost indistinguishable voice.
A moment later Tom tensed with excitement. A new character had been
added. It was Twink. Her eyes stared as she moved mechanically across
the stage, murmuring the words of her lines. Tom took a deep breath and
glanced at Twiffle. The time had come to act. Twiffle nodded.
In the next instant Tom climbed to the wide rail that encircled the
Royal Box. Poised there for a moment, he gave a leap and landed on the
stage. Without hesitating a moment he dashed to the Shaggy Man, and to
the amazement of everyone in the audience except Twiffle, went through
the Shaggy Man's pockets. Tom gave an exultant cry. He had found what
he wanted. He held the Love Magnet before him, waving it first at the
Shaggy Man and then at Twink.
Shaggy and Twink started, then rubbed their eyes and stared about
them unbelievingly. Meanwhile Tom was busy. He didn't hesitate until
he had exposed the Love Magnet to the gaze of each of the enchanted
actors and actresses. As each one looked at the Love Magnet he lost
his glassy stare and came to life. In a few seconds the stage was
filled--not with dummies--but with human beings, bewildered, but freed
from the thralldom of King Ticket and Queen Curtain's evil spell. As
they recovered, several of them threw their arms around Tom, while all
gazed at the boy with fondness and love in their eyes. Twink suddenly
realized how greatly she loved her brother, and the first thing the
Shaggy Man said was, "A great boy, that Tom!"
Meanwhile King Ticket and Queen Curtain, as well as the entire audience
of Lords and Ladies had risen to their feet. None of them spoke. The
real drama suddenly being lived on the stage held them fascinated.
At this very moment, Tom advanced to the front center of the stage and
with all eyes upon him, flashed the Love Magnet before the audience.
A vast sigh went through the theater. And then there was a confused
babel as the Lords and Ladies crowded into the aisle, each of them bent
upon reaching the stage and embracing Tom, who, they realized suddenly,
was quite the most lovable person they had ever beheld.
King Ticket leaped from the Royal Box onto the stage, hurrying toward
Tom. "My dear boy," he exclaimed, "how could I have been so blind?
Isn't there something I can do for you? Name it, and you shall have it!
My Kingdom is yours for the asking!"
Queen Curtain was standing in the box, arms out-stretched appealingly
to Tom. "You darling boy!" she cried, "How wonderful it is that you
have come to visit us!"
Twiffle was sitting quietly in the Royal Box, grinning broadly.
"Wouldn't old Conjo be surprised," he thought, "if he knew how well the
Love Magnet has done its work?--Tom really is quite a boy!"