THE ROYAL AND OFFICIAL COUNCIL
In the meantime, as may readily be imagined, there was a sad time at the
palace of the King of Gee-Whiz. The Widow Pickle threatened to upset the
royal household if her Twins were not brought back before sundown of
that day. No trace could be found of the royal shadow, nor could any one
tell what had become of the wooden leg of the Royal Army. The Private
Secretary was almost frantic over all these difficulties, and the Court
Physician was also at his wits' end, seeking for some remedy for the
strange disease of the King, which had caused him to lose his shadow,
this being a thing which he could not find mentioned in any of the
medical works which he habitually consulted.
"Oh, my poor head! My poor head!" said the King. "And to think that my
poor, dear shadow may have quite as bad a headache for all I know! Oh,
dear, was ever so unhappy a King as I! Jiji, play for me, and see if you
cannot do something to settle my poor nerves."
The Private Secretary went into his apartment, but presently returned
and fell prostrate upon his face. "O, King," cried he, "I am the most
wretched servant that ever disappointed a royal master!"
"Why, what is the matter now? What is the matter?" asked the King. "Has
anything else gone wrong?"
"O, King," said the Private Secretary, "I regret to say that the
Enchanted Banjo has disappeared from my apartments in the royal palace."
"Ah!" cried the King of Gee-Whiz, as he heard the news. "This is almost
too much! I begin to feel so strange that I really think I shall have to
send for the Court Headsman."
As the King of Gee-Whiz said this, he fixed a stern eye upon the
unfortunate Private Secretary; who, as must be plain to all, had not
been in the least to blame for any of these unhappy events.
"I beg to suggest, your Majesty," said the Private Secretary, "that you
send for the Court Detective instead."
"If in your opinion he can be of the slightest service," replied the
King, "then pray have him come and set to work at once."
So the Court Detective came and was admitted to the presence of the
King. He was an oldish looking man, thin, and dressed in a long,
flowing, black gown. He carried under one arm a large book, and under
the other a basket of plaster-of-paris, with which he was accustomed to
think he would some day make a cast of the footprints of some escaping
criminal. On his nose he wore two pairs of spectacles, one for far
looking and one for close looking, and in general he was a very
wise-appearing man. The King at once explained to him the reasons for
his summons to the palace, and at that the Court Detective became even
more wise.
"I see, your Majesty," he remarked, "you have lost your shadow. Ha! Hum!
Most serious, most serious, I assure your Majesty."
"And the Widow has lost the Royal Hereditary Twins," continued the King.
"Precisely. Most serious, most serious," said the Court Detective. "It
would have been better had I been called much earlier, before the trail
was so cold; but we shall see, your Majesty, we shall see."
"And the Private Secretary has lost the Enchanted Banjo, upon which we
were accustomed to rely for our entertainment."
"Ah, that is very bad, very bad indeed! Whom does your Majesty suspect
of all these things? Is it your Majesty's belief that one and the same
person has committed all these crimes?"
"That is for you to tell," said the King.
"Ah! That will render it more difficult," said the Court Detective,
"very much more difficult; but we shall see, your Majesty, we shall
see."
"You will report at the palace at two this afternoon," said the King,
"and if you have not at that time brought back the missing articles,
your head will be removed and you will also lose your position as Court
Detective."
"Your Majesty," said the Court Detective, "I hope you will not exercise
undue haste. This is the first case I have ever had, and I should like
permission to continue my studies a little later than two o'clock this
afternoon."
"Very well, then," said the King, "you shall have until half-past two.
By that time you must have results." Whereupon, the King bowed and
turned away.
The Court Detective was very much agitated at these sudden
responsibilities, but he now hastened away. After sitting for some time
in deep thought, he began to search all about the palace yard, looking
for footprints. In this he was successful, and of every footprint he
found he made a cast in plaster-of-paris; so that before long he had a
basketful of footprints, and with these he hastened back to the King.
"Your Majesty," he exclaimed, "my eagle eye has discovered many things,
and if my plaster-of-paris had not run out, I should have been able to
show your Majesty even more footprints than these."
The King was much pleased. "You have a good mind," said he to the Court
Detective. "Among these footprints I see several which no doubt belong
to the Royal Hereditary Twins. In which direction were they going?"
"That, your Majesty," replied the Court Detective, "is something which I
did not look into, considering it immaterial; but now that your Majesty
has mixed up these footprints in the basket, I feel that it will be much
more difficult to determine the course which they were taking when I
discovered them."
The King sent out the Court Detective once more with instructions to
examine closely the ground around the home of the Dragon Jankow, as the
Private Secretary had suggested that they might have gone thither. The
Court Detective declared that if the Twins were found, the shadow and
the lost Banjo also would be discovered; but he refused to say what made
him think this, and only wagged his head.
Within a short time after he had gone out the second time, the Court
Detective again returned, very much excited. "Your Majesty, your
Majesty," he cried, "a crime has been committed!"
"Several crimes have been committed," said the King sternly, "but what
is it that you have detected now?"
"The Royal Army has lost its wooden leg."
"Ah," said the King. "Have you just detected that? I knew that long ago,
as also did the Dragon. But did you find any footprints near there?"
asked the King.
"I did not look for any," said the Court Detective; "but had I found any
I should have been helpless, for I was quite out of plaster-of-paris.
But I discovered that a portion of a sandwich and two tins of preserved
herring had been left near the opening of the gorge where the Royal Army
lives."
"Ah," said the King, "let us see them."
"Your Majesty," said the Court Detective, "I regret very much to state
that I was hungry and ate the sandwich and the tinned herring; but if
I had had more plaster-of-paris, I could have made you an excellent cast
of the tins."
[Illustration: The King could bound as high as the tallest palms _Page
99_]
"It seems to me," said the King, "that you are not really accomplishing
much toward taking the criminals."
"But, consider, your Majesty," said the Court Detective, "the handicap
under which I labor. A detective without plaster-of-paris is almost
helpless, and there is no more plaster-of-paris on the Island. This
which I have used was left to me by my father, the Court Detective to
your Majesty's grandfather, and it was a most superior article, which
can not be replaced."
At this time the King looked at the palace clock. "Very well," said he,
"it will not matter, for, as I perceive, it is now half-past two; so I
presume I may as well behead you now."
"Your Majesty," said the Court Detective, "I respectfully request that
you do not behead me."
"I am sure you can do quite as well without your head," said the King.
"No," replied the Court Detective, "that I respectfully deny, your
Majesty; and I request that you leave the matter of the legality of my
execution to the Court Lawyer. I maintain that the lack of
plaster-of-paris is the cause of my failure, and that lack was not my
own fault."
"Oh, very well," said the King, "I always wish to be just. Send for the
Court Lawyer, and let us ask him about it; though thus far I can not see
that we have learned more than we knew before."
The Private Secretary went after the Court Lawyer, who was asleep in his
office, but who awoke and accompanied him to the palace. The Court
Lawyer was a small man, but very wise indeed. He, too, was old and he,
too, wore a long, flowing robe of black, and a high, pointed hat with
narrow rim, which made him look taller than he really was. He carried a
black bag under his arm, in which were many wise and learned books of
the law. To him the King of Gee-Whiz stated the case as it had been
submitted, saying that he would very much like to behead the Court
Detective, but that he did not wish to do anything illegal.
"What do you think in regard to this," asked the King, "and how quickly
can you give me a decision upon this question of law?"
"Your Majesty," said the Court Lawyer, "I have known less knotty
questions than this one to remain in the Courts of Chancery for over a
hundred years; but such is my own great personal skill in this branch of
the law, that I make no doubt I can deliver your Majesty an opinion of
several hundred pages and of great importance in less than half that
time."
"That," said the King, "is absurd, for it would be of no use to the
Court Detective, if he were beheaded now, to learn fifty years hence
that his execution had been illegal."
"The law can not take any cognizance of unimportant details," said the
Court Lawyer; "so I do not presume to enter into any discussion of that
point, as I have had no brief prepared, nor could I have had on such
short notice."
"But can you not guess," asked the King, "and give us an informal
opinion as to whether I can behead this gentleman, and so go take a
nap?"
"Your Majesty," said the Court Lawyer firmly, "the law is not to be
handled in so hurried a manner. I can make no such hasty decision. I
should not undertake to render an opinion upon this question in less
than fifty years, and then only in case I have received my proper fee."
"But in case the act should later be found illegal?" asked the King.
"Then, in that case," said the Court Lawyer, "your Majesty would be in
danger of impeachment proceedings, which might cause your Majesty to
lose your throne."
"It is enough for the King to lose his shadow without losing his
throne," said the King angrily. "Away with you, every one, or, I
declare, I shall send for the Court Executioner and consult with him
alone!"
So they all hastily withdrew from the King's presence, and for the time
the matter was allowed to rest. It may be if the bad Fairy had not
stolen the White Cricket, they might have used the Fairy Telephone and
asked the good Queen Zulena whether any word had been received there of
a missing pair of Twins, a royal shadow, the wooden leg of a Dragon, and
an Enchanted Banjo.
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