The Island of Regos was ten miles wide and forty miles long and it was
ruled by a big and powerful King named Gos. Near to the shores were
green and fertile fields, but farther back from the sea were rugged
hills and mountains, so rocky that nothing would grow there. But in
these mountains were mines of gold and silver, which the slaves of the
King were forced to work, being confined in dark underground passages
for that purpose. In the course of time huge caverns had been hollowed
out by the slaves, in which they lived and slept, never seeing the light
of day. Cruel overseers with whips stood over these poor people, who had
been captured in many countries by the raiding parties of King Gos, and
the overseers were quite willing to lash the slaves with their whips if
they faltered a moment in their work.
Between the green shores and the mountains were forests of thick,
tangled trees, between which narrow paths had been cut to lead up to the
caves of the mines. It was on the level green meadows, not far from the
ocean, that the great City of Regos had been built, wherein was located
the palace of the King. This city was inhabited by thousands of the
fierce warriors of Gos, who frequently took to their boats and spread
over the sea to the neighboring islands to conquer and pillage, as they
had done at Pingaree. When they were not absent on one of these
expeditions, the City of Regos swarmed with them and so became a
dangerous place for any peaceful person to live in, for the warriors
were as lawless as their King.
The Island of Coregos lay close beside the Island of Regos; so close,
indeed, that one might have thrown a stone from one shore to another.
But Coregos was only half the size of Regos and instead of being
mountainous it was a rich and pleasant country, covered with fields of
grain. The fields of Coregos furnished food for the warriors and
citizens of both countries, while the mines of Regos made them all rich.
Coregos was ruled by Queen Cor, who was wedded to King Gos; but so stern
and cruel was the nature of this Queen that the people could not decide
which of their sovereigns they dreaded most.
Queen Cor lived in her own City of Coregos, which lay on that side of
her island facing Regos, and her slaves, who were mostly women, were
made to plow the land and to plant and harvest the grain.
From Regos to Coregos stretched a bridge of boats, set close together,
with planks laid across their edges for people to walk upon. In this way
it was easy to pass from one island to the other and in times of danger
the bridge could be quickly removed.
The native inhabitants of Regos and Coregos consisted of the warriors,
who did nothing but fight and ravage, and the trembling servants who
waited on them. King Gos and Queen Cor were at war with all the rest of
the world. Other islanders hated and feared them, for their slaves were
badly treated and absolutely no mercy was shown to the weak or ill.
When the boats that had gone to Pingaree returned loaded with rich
plunder and a host of captives, there was much rejoicing in Regos and
Coregos and the King and Queen gave a fine feast to the warriors who had
accomplished so great a conquest. This feast was set for the warriors in
the grounds of King Gos's palace, while with them in the great throne
room all the captains and leaders of the fighting men were assembled
with King Gos and Queen Cor, who had come from her island to attend the
ceremony. Then all the goods that had been stolen from the King of
Pingaree were divided according to rank, the King and Queen taking half,
the captains a quarter, and the rest being divided amongst the warriors.
The day following the feast King Gos sent King Kitticut and all the men
of Pingaree to work in his mines under the mountains, having first
chained them together so they could not escape. The gentle Queen of
Pingaree and all her women, together with the captured children, were
given to Queen Cor, who set them to work in her grain fields.
[Illustration]
Then the rulers and warriors of these dreadful islands thought they had
done forever with Pingaree. Despoiled of all its wealth, its houses torn
down, its boats captured and all its people enslaved, what likelihood
was there that they might ever again hear of the desolated island? So
the people of Regos and Coregos were surprised and puzzled when one
morning they observed approaching their shores from the direction of the
south a black boat containing a boy, a fat man and a goat. The warriors
asked one another who these could be, and where they had come from? No
one ever came to those islands of their own accord, that was certain.
Prince Inga guided his boat to the south end of the Island of Regos,
which was the landing place nearest to the city, and when the warriors
saw this action they went down to the shore to meet him, being led by a
big captain named Buzzub.
"Those people surely mean us no good," said Rinkitink uneasily to the
boy. "Without doubt they intend to capture us and make us their slaves."
"Do not fear, sir," answered Inga, in a calm voice. "Stay quietly in the
boat with Bilbil until I have spoken with these men."
He stopped the boat a dozen feet from the shore, and standing up in his
place made a grave bow to the multitude confronting him. Said the big
Captain Buzzub in a gruff voice:
"Well, little one, who may you be? And how dare you come, uninvited and
all alone, to the Island of Regos?"
"I am Inga, Prince of Pingaree," returned the boy, "and I have come here
to free my parents and my people, whom you have wrongfully enslaved."
When they heard this bold speech a mighty laugh arose from the band of
warriors, and when it had subsided the captain said:
"You love to jest, my baby Prince, and the joke is fairly good. But why
did you willingly thrust your head into the lion's mouth? When you were
free, why did you not stay free? We did not know we had left a single
person in Pingaree! But since you managed to escape us then, it is
really kind of you to come here of your own free will, to be our slave.
Who is the funny fat person with you?"
"It is His Majesty, King Rinkitink, of the great City of Gilgad. He has
accompanied me to see that you render full restitution for all you have
stolen from Pingaree."
"Better yet!" laughed Buzzub. "He will make a fine slave for Queen Cor,
who loves to tickle fat men, and see them jump."
King Rinkitink was filled with horror when he heard this, but the
Prince answered as boldly as before, saying:
"We are not to be frightened by bluster, believe me; nor are we so weak
as you imagine. We have magic powers so great and terrible that no host
of warriors can possibly withstand us, and therefore I call upon you to
surrender your city and your island to us, before we crush you with our
mighty powers."
The boy spoke very gravely and earnestly, but his words only aroused
another shout of laughter. So while the men of Regos were laughing Inga
drove the boat well up onto the sandy beach and leaped out. He also
helped Rinkitink out, and when the goat had unaided sprung to the sands,
the King got upon Bilbil's back, trembling a little internally, but
striving to look as brave as possible.
There was a bunch of coarse hair between the goat's ears, and this Inga
clutched firmly in his left hand. The boy knew the Pink Pearl would
protect not only himself, but all whom he touched, from any harm, and as
Rinkitink was astride the goat and Inga had his hand upon the animal,
the three could not be injured by anything the warriors could do. But
Captain Buzzub did not know this, and the little group of three seemed
so weak and ridiculous that he believed their capture would be easy. So
he turned to his men and with a wave of his hand said:
"Seize the intruders!"
Instantly two or three of the warriors stepped forward to obey, but to
their amazement they could not reach any of the three; their hands were
arrested as if by an invisible wall of iron. Without paying any
attention to these attempts at capture, Inga advanced slowly and the
goat kept pace with him. And when Rinkitink saw that he was safe from
harm he gave one of his big, merry laughs, and it startled the warriors
and made them nervous. Captain Buzzub's eyes grew big with surprise as
the three steadily advanced and forced his men backward; nor was he free
from terror himself at the magic that protected these strange visitors.
As for the warriors, they presently became terror-stricken and fled in a
panic up the slope toward the city, and Buzzub was obliged to chase
after them and shout threats of punishment before he could halt them and
form them into a line of battle.
All the men of Regos bore spears and bows-and-arrows, and some of the
officers had swords and battle-axes; so Buzzub ordered them to stand
their ground and shoot and slay the strangers as they approached. This
they tried to do. Inga being in advance, the warriors sent a flight of
sharp arrows straight at the boy's breast, while others cast their long
spears at him.
It seemed to Rinkitink that the little Prince must surely perish as he
stood facing this hail of murderous missiles; but the power of the Pink
Pearl did not desert him, and when the arrows and spears had reached to
within an inch of his body they bounded back again and fell harmlessly
at his feet. Nor were Rinkitink or Bilbil injured in the least, although
they stood close beside Inga.
Buzzub stood for a moment looking upon the boy in silent wonder. Then,
recovering himself, he shouted in a loud voice:
"Once again! All together, my men. No one shall ever defy our might and
live!"
Again a flight of arrows and spears sped toward the the three, and since
many more of the warriors of Regos had by this time joined their
fellows, the air was for a moment darkened by the deadly shafts. But
again all fell harmless before the power of the Pink Pearl, and Bilbil,
who had been growing very angry at the attempts to injure him and his
party, suddenly made a bolt forward, casting off Inga's hold, and
butted into the line of warriors, who were standing amazed at their
failure to conquer.
[Illustration]
Taken by surprise at the goat's attack, a dozen big warriors tumbled in
a heap, yelling with fear, and their comrades, not knowing what had
happened but imagining that their foes were attacking them, turned about
and ran to the city as hard as they could go. Bilbil, still angry, had
just time to catch the big captain as he turned to follow his men, and
Buzzub first sprawled headlong upon the ground, then rolled over two or
three times, and finally jumped up and ran yelling after his defeated
warriors. This butting on the part of the goat was very hard upon King
Rinkitink, who nearly fell off Bilbil's back at the shock of encounter;
but the little fat King wound his arms around the goat's neck and shut
his eyes and clung on with all his might. It was not until he heard Inga
say triumphantly, "We have won the fight without striking a blow!" that
Rinkitink dared open his eyes again. Then he saw the warriors rushing
into the City of Regos and barring the heavy gates, and he was very much
relieved at the sight.
"Without striking a blow!" said Bilbil indignantly. "That is not quite
true, Prince Inga. You did not fight, I admit, but I struck a couple of
times to good purpose, and I claim to have conquered the cowardly
warriors unaided."
"You and I together, Bilbil," said Rinkitink mildly. "But the next time
you make a charge, please warn me in time, so that I may dismount and
give you all the credit for the attack."
There being no one now to oppose their advance, the three walked to the
gates of the city, which had been closed against them. The gates were of
iron and heavily barred, and upon the top of the high walls of the city
a host of the warriors now appeared armed with arrows and spears and
other weapons. For Buzzub had gone straight to the palace of King Gos
and reported his defeat, relating the powerful magic of the boy, the fat
King and the goat, and had asked what to do next.
The big captain still trembled with fear, but King Gos did not believe
in magic, and called Buzzub a coward and a weakling. At once the King
took command of his men personally, and he ordered the walls manned with
warriors and instructed them to shoot to kill if any of the three
strangers approached the gates.
Of course, neither Rinkitink nor Bilbil knew how they had been protected
from harm and so at first they were inclined to resent the boy's
command that the three must always keep together and touch one another
at all times. But when Inga explained that his magic would not otherwise
save them from injury, they agreed to obey, for they had now seen enough
to convince them that the Prince was really protected by some invisible
power.
As they came before the gates another shower of arrows and spears
descended upon them, and as before not a single missile touched their
bodies. King Gos, who was upon the wall, was greatly amazed and somewhat
worried, but he depended upon the strength of his gates and commanded
his men to continue shooting until all their weapons were gone.
Inga let them shoot as much as they wished, while he stood before the
great gates and examined them carefully.
"Perhaps Bilbil can batter down the gates," suggested Rinkitink.
"No," replied the goat; "my head is hard, but not harder than iron."
"Then," returned the King, "let us stay outside; especially as we can't
get in."
But Inga was not at all sure they could not get in. The gates opened
inward, and three heavy bars were held in place by means of stout
staples riveted to the sheets of steel. The boy had been told that the
power of the Blue Pearl would enable him to accomplish any feat of
strength, and he believed that this was true.
The warriors, under the direction of King Gos, continued to hurl arrows
and darts and spears and axes and huge stones upon the invaders, all
without avail. The ground below was thickly covered with weapons, yet
not one of the three before the gates had been injured in the slightest
manner. When everything had been cast that was available and not a
single weapon of any sort remained at hand, the amazed warriors saw the
boy put his shoulder against the gates and burst asunder the huge
staples that held the bars in place. A thousand of their men could not
have accomplished this feat, yet the small, slight boy did it with
seeming ease. The gates burst open, and Inga advanced into the city
street and called upon King Gos to surrender.
But Gos was now as badly frightened as were his warriors. He and his men
were accustomed to war and pillage and they had carried terror into many
countries, but here was a small boy, a fat man and a goat who could not
be injured by all his skill in warfare, his numerous army and thousands
of death-dealing weapons. Moreover, they not only defied King Gos's
entire army but they had broken in the huge gates of the city--as easily
as if they had been made of paper--and such an exhibition of enormous
strength made the wicked King fear for his life. Like all bullies and
marauders, Gos was a coward at heart, and now a panic seized him and he
turned and fled before the calm advance of Prince Inga of Pingaree. The
warriors were like their master, and having thrown all their weapons
over the wall and being helpless to oppose the strangers, they all
swarmed after Gos, who abandoned his city and crossed the bridge of
boats to the Island of Coregos. There was a desperate struggle among
these cowardly warriors to get over the bridge, and many were pushed
into the water and obliged to swim; but finally every fighting man of
Regos had gained the shore of Coregos and then they tore away the bridge
of boats and drew them up on their own side, hoping the stretch of open
water would prevent the magic invaders from following them.
[Illustration]
The humble citizens and serving people of Regos, who had been terrified
and abused by the rough warriors all their lives, were not only greatly
astonished by this sudden conquest of their masters but greatly
delighted. As the King and his army fled to Coregos, the people embraced
one another and danced for very joy, and then they turned to see what
the conquerors of Regos were like.
[Illustration]
Rinkitink Makes a Great Mistake
[Illustration]