of the crowd. But the news of what had happened had spread all over
Dolltown by this time, and there were many dolls at the windows and on
the pavements to see them pass. They did not know yet that Selim had
kidnapped Queen Rosebud, but they knew that she was alive, and that he
was a usurper. When they saw all the soldiers they knew that something
stirring was going to happen, and by the way they shouted and waved
their hands it seemed that Selim had very few friends in Dolltown, and
had better look out for himself if he ever came back there.
At the end of the town, where the country began, there was a gate,
and a sentry box beside it, where a wooden sentry was keeping guard.
They stopped to question him. He remembered the two carriages driving
through the gate, and had wondered who they belonged to. It was not his
duty to challenge them, as he was there chiefly for ornament; but when
Teddy had galloped up, he had asked him, more out of curiosity than
anything else, why he was going so fast. Teddy had said, “Open the gate
and I’ll tell you.” So he had opened the gate, and the moment Teddy had
got through it he had galloped off again, shouting out to the sentry,
“I’m going fast because my horse is.” Of course this was true, but it
had made the sentry angry; and he had been still more annoyed when
Teddy had jumped himself round on his horse, just as if he had been a
rider in a circus, and ridden away backwards, making long noses at him.
The sentry said that this was disrespectful to a servant of the Crown,
and asked the Lord Chancellor to send Teddy to prison for it. But they
had no time to waste over his grievances, and set off again.
They trotted through the country roads, and Peggy enjoyed the ride very
much. She felt quite safe, with all the soldiers riding behind them,
but thought it was hardly necessary to have brought so many of them, as
Mr. Noah and Teddy, to say nothing of Colonel Jim and his two special
troopers, would have been enough to take Selim prisoner when they
caught up with him. But it was a good thing that they had brought the
soldiers, as will presently appear.
By-and-by they came to an inn, which was a farm as well, and looked
very peaceful and comfortable, with its neat toy barns and outhouses
among the trees and fields, and the toy animals feeding all about them.
They stopped for a minute or two to ask questions of the innkeeper,
who was a wooden doll of a rather stolid appearance. When the Lord
Chancellor began to ask him questions he went and fetched his wife, and
she was more intelligent, and gave her answers well.
[Illustration: He went and fetched his wife]
She said that the two carriages had stopped at the inn, and a lady in
the first one had put her head out and asked for a glass of water. The
blinds of the carriage were drawn down, but when the innkeeper’s wife
had brought the glass of water she had seen the lady who asked for it
give it to another lady inside the carriage. She thought that this
second lady had tried to say something to her, but the first lady had
put her hand over her mouth and stopped her, and then somebody else in
a corner of the carriage--she thought it was a man by the size of his
hand--had passed the glass out to her, with a piece of money, and the
window had been pushed up at once and the carriages had driven off.
She was rather confused about it all, as it had passed so quickly; but
it seemed plain that Queen Rosebud had thought of this way of making
it known that she was being carried off. She must have said that she
didn’t feel very well, and would like a glass of water at the next
house they stopped at, meaning to tell whoever brought it who she was.
But Rose had prevented her. This was one more thing against Rose.
That was not all the innkeeper’s wife told them. As the carriage drove
off, a wooden lady had put her head out of the second one and called
out, “Here we go round the mulberry bush!” The innkeeper’s wife had
thought afterwards that perhaps these were some lunatics--for there
are a few lunatics amongst dolls--being taken out for an airing. But,
of course, it had only been Wooden’s aunt acting in her usual silly
fashion.
But the odd thing was that the innkeeper’s wife had seen nothing of
Teddy. She said she must have seen him if he had passed along the road,
as she had been in her kitchen, which was in front of the house, all
the time. So as they went on they had something to wonder about, as to
what had become of Teddy. Wooden thought he had missed the way, but
this seemed impossible, as the road ran straight towards the sea. The
Lord Chancellor thought that he might have tumbled off his horse, but
this seemed more unlikely still, as he was clever enough to jump about
on it and ride backwards. What Peggy thought she kept to herself. It
was that Teddy had some clever plan in his head, which they would hear
about all in good time, and had never meant to catch up the carriages
all by himself. For of course he could easily have done so if he had
liked, as he could go much faster than they could.
They went up the road over the hills, which you remember that the river
had come through in a gorge, and when they came to the top of it they
could see the sea a few miles away. The road ran straight down to it.
They could see several specks on the road at a good distance off, but
there was nothing that looked like the two carriages.
This was a disappointment, as they had quite expected to catch sight of
the fugitives from the top of the hill, and to come up with them before
they could reach the sea. If they had already got there, it seemed as
if they must have escaped them after all.
But it seemed impossible that the carriages should have got so far
ahead. They had not been more than half an hour behind them at the inn,
and even if they had not gained on them since, they must have seen them
on the road in front, if they had been there. So they must have left
the straight road, and the question was what to do next.
As they were talking it over, Peggy thought she heard a cry in the
wood on their right. She listened with all her ears, and then thought
she heard another. She told Wooden, and all of them listened.
Yes, there was no doubt about it. The noise was some distance off,
and could not be heard very plainly; but it kept on, and seemed to be
somebody calling for help. They got off their horse and went into the
wood, in the direction from which the call seemed to be coming. As they
got farther in among the trees it became louder. It was like a woman
calling “Help! Help!” every second or two, but in a strangled voice, as
if there were something in the way.
Wooden called out “Coming! Coming!” and they ran on as fast they could.
They came to a little clearing in the wood, and there, sitting on the
ground with her back against a great fir-tree, was Wooden’s unfortunate
aunt. She had a handkerchief tied over her mouth, and a rope went round
her body and tied her tight to the tree. Her hands were behind her, and
seemed to be tied too, so that she could not free herself. Altogether,
she was in a very sorry plight.
But she did not seem to have altogether lost her spirits, for when she
saw them coming towards her she kicked her legs up and gave a little
sort of crow, which sounded rather pathetic, coming through her
handkerchief.
Wooden untied the handkerchief, murmuring sounds of distress and
sympathy all the time, while Colonel Jim busied himself with the rope,
and when he found he couldn’t untie it cut it with his sword. In a
very short time, Wooden’s aunt was standing up free, shaking the pine
needles off her skirts.
“I thought somebody would come if I yelled long enough,” she said, in
quite a cheerful voice, which did her credit, as it showed she had a
great deal of pluck, in spite of the numerous faults of her nature.
“But how did you come to be here, dear?” asked Wooden. “And what has
become of mother?”
“Oh, yer mother’s all right,” said Wooden’s aunt. “She’s with the
quality. I don’t like their ways of going on, so I asked them to kindly
drop me anywhere that was convenient.”
“But why did they tie you up like this, dear?” asked Wooden.
“Oh, they thought we was playing Blind Man’s Bluff,” said her aunt.
It was all very well for her to take it in this light-hearted spirit,
and Peggy rather admired her for it. But she must have had a very rough
time, for her dress was all torn, and her wrists were scarred where
the rope had bound them. As she spoke she was rubbing them, to restore
the circulation, and she looked white, and as if she might faint at any
moment.
[Illustration]
Fortunately, there was a little pool of water quite near, and Colonel
Jim, who showed himself kind and useful in this emergency, filled his
helmet with water and gave it to her to drink, as she sat on the ground
again with Wooden kneeling by her side and holding her.
“Ah, that’s better,” she said, smacking her lips, when she had had a
good drink. “I’ve been looking at that pond and wishing I could get at
it. Drat that Selim! I wish I could get at _him_! _I_’d mark him.”
She said these last sentences in her usual vigorous way, which showed
that she was recovering; and when she had rested a little longer, they
got her story out of her.
“They’d said we was going to be took to the palace,” she said, “and at
first I didn’t think nothing of going such a long way round. None of
us didn’t. But by-and-by Lady Grace says, ‘I wonder who’s in the first
carriage,’ she says. ‘Oh, I’ll soon find that out,’ I says, and I pokes
my head out of window and hollers out to the driver, ‘Hi, Mister! Who
have you got in front there?’”
“Was that before or after you had passed the inn where they got some
water?” asked the Lord Chancellor.
“Never you mind whether it was before or after,” said Wooden’s aunt.
“I’m telling this story, and I’m going to tell it in my own way.”
This was not very polite of her, but she had been through a great deal,
and her nerves were in an irritable state. The Lord Chancellor asked no
more questions, and she finished her story to the end.
She said the coachman told her that it was the King who was in the
first carriage, and advised her not to put her head out of window again
as he had orders to hit anybody who did so with his whip.
This seemed such an extraordinary order for him to have received
that the three dolls in the carriage began to suspect that there was
something wrong, especially as they had now been driving for a long
time, and when Wooden’s aunt had put her head out of window she had
seen that they were getting near the hills, which she recognized. It
was not exactly observant of them not to have suspected something
before, but, as you know by now, dolls are apt to take everything that
happens as a matter of course.
Well, by the time the carriages had reached the top of the hill, the
three dolls had come to the conclusion that they were being run away
with. Wooden’s aunt said she wasn’t going to stand that, and was going
to ask Selim what he meant by it. She said she would jump out of the
carriage as it was going, and run forward to the first carriage. The
others said that the coachman would hit her with his whip, but she said
she would run the risk of his missing her.
Well, as the carriages came to the top of the hill, she opened the
carriage door quickly and jumped out, and ran forward to the first
carriage. The driver shouted at her, and gave her a great cut with his
whip, which unfortunately did not miss her, but hit her in the face,
where there was still an ugly-looking mark. But she hardly felt it at
the time, and ran forward to the first carriage, shouting out, “Hi, you
there, Selim! Come out and show your ugly face!”
Oh, there was no doubt about the pluck of Wooden’s aunt, in spite of
the numerous faults of her character.
The rest was soon told. Selim had been furious with her, and he and
Rose had dragged her into the wood and tied her to the tree, and then
they had gone off. But before they had left her, Rose had stood in
front of her and laughed her scornful laugh, and said, “That’s for
calling me Sawdust. Perhaps you’ll be sorry now for crossing the path
of Rose, who never forgets and never forgives.”
This was one more thing against Rose.
The Lord Chancellor asked Wooden’s aunt if she had any idea where
the carriages were going, and told her they could not see them on the
straight road to Dollport. This was the name of the little town by the
sea, where the dolls landed from “over there.”
“Well, silly,” said Wooden’s aunt, “if they ain’t on that road, of
course they’re on the other one. It don’t take a pair of specs to see
that.”
The Lord Chancellor, slightly annoyed at being addressed in this
fashion, said stiffly, “I should have thought of that if I had been
given time. We have delayed long enough. Let us at once take the road
to Dollfort.” Now, Dollfort was the place in which the wooden soldiers
of Toyland were trained. If Selim had gone there, it looked as if he
expected the wooden soldiers to be on his side.
[Illustration]
XVI
COLONEL JIM ATTEMPTS A RESCUE
The road to Dollfort turned to the right at the top of the hill, and
ran for some way through the wood. When it got to the bottom of the
hill there was a stretch of open country for about a mile; then there
was another thick wood on another hill.
There was no sign of the carriages on the straight bit of road, but the
pursuers had been some time freeing Wooden’s aunt and listening to her
story, and could hardly have expected to catch them up yet. Wooden’s
aunt was riding between Peggy and Wooden. She had nearly recovered
from her disagreeable experience, and was inclined to like being on
horseback. She said the motion reminded her of being in a small boat on
a choppy sea.
When they had got about halfway between the two woods, Colonel Jim
halted them with a sharp word of command. “Women and children behind!!”
he said, and then ordered his men in front.
It was a good thing that this was done, for as they approached the
second wood two armed wooden soldiers sprang out of it and levelled
their rifles at them. They did not fire them, but it would have given
Peggy and the dolls a nasty fright if they had been riding in front.
The wooden sentries challenged Colonel Jim, riding at the head of his
little troop, with a “Halt!” and a “Who goes there?” He said “Friend!”
but they did not say “Pass Friend!” as is the usual custom. They told
him that the King had recently gone through to Dollfort, and had told
them that they were to let nobody pass until they received further
orders from the fort.
Now Colonel Jim engaged in the duties of his profession was quite a
different person from the amiable but rather slow-witted person we have
hitherto seen. He didn’t tell the sentries that Selim wasn’t the King
at all, or engage in any argument with them. He said, “I’m an officer
of the Royal Body Guard, so your orders can’t apply to me.” Then he
gave them the password for the day, which, as you remember, was the
word “pot-plants.”
Now, you must also remember that, although Selim had thought he might
be followed in his flight, which was the reason why he had given orders
to the sentries to let no one pass the wood, he could not have known
that he would be immediately followed by a troop of Household cavalry,
which is, of course, the special protection of a King or Queen. So he
had naturally not warned the sentries of this, and as Colonel Jim spoke
with authority, they were inclined to obey him.
“Well, I suppose it’s all right for you and your men,” said one of the
sentries, “but what about these here civs?” He meant civilians.
The Lord Chancellor now showed considerable resource. The sentries had
lowered their rifles, which, strictly speaking, they ought not yet to
have done, so he pushed his way to the front, and said in an important
voice, “I am the highest official of this country; this gentleman here
is the Royal Head Bargeman; this lady is the one the King has asked to
marry him, and this is her aunt; and this little girl is a human being,
and therefore doesn’t come under your orders at all.”
“Oh, well, I suppose it’s all right,” said the sentry in a grumbling
voice. “You can pass through, all of you, and if me and my mate thinks
it isn’t all right afterwards, why we can shoot after you.”
“Have you got your rifles in order?” asked Colonel Jim in a sharp
voice. “Let’s have a look at them.”
Because he was an officer, and had spoken in a voice of command, they
obediently handed him their rifles to look at.
“Thank you,” said Colonel Jim, and handed the rifles to one of his
men. “Now, you take these two and bring them along with us,” he said
to another one. The surprised sentries found themselves prisoners, and
made to walk by the side of the horses, which now proceeded at a foot’s
pace up through the wood.
So far, all had gone well.
They kept a sharp look-out going through the wood, but saw no more
soldiers. When they came to the edge of the wood they could see
Dollfort across the open downs about a mile away.
Dollfort was a very fine toy fort, something like the one Peggy had
seen driving into Dolltown, but much bigger. There were battlements all
round it, with gates in them, and on the top of the fort was a large
citadel. Outside the walls was a little town of dolls’ houses, where
the families of the wooden soldiers lived. None but wooden soldiers
occupied this fort, and of course that was why Selim had taken refuge
there. He would tell them a great many lies and get them on his side.
[Illustration: Dollfort was a very fine toy fort]
The pursuing party remained in the shelter of the wood, where they
could not be seen from the fort, even with a telescope, but they
could see the fort themselves quite plainly, and the country that lay
between. This was all open grass-land, and woolly sheep were feeding on
it. There were no houses between the wood and the fort.
Colonel Jim at once announced that he was going to take his soldiers
to the fort and summon Selim to surrender. The Lord Chancellor thought
this was a dangerous proceeding, but Colonel Jim refused to listen to
him. “I’m in military command here,” he said, “and that is what I am
going to do.” No doubt he was in a hurry, not only because of the Queen
being shut up there, in the power of Selim, but because his dear Lady
Grace was also shut up there. But he did not say this. He left Mr.
Noah in charge, and set off with his gallant little band. They watched
them ride down the hill, and trot across the open road over the downs,
and very fine they looked on their splendid black chargers, with the
sun glittering on their helmets and cuirasses, and their white plumes
waving in the breeze.
The two captured wooden soldiers had had their hands tied, but when
Mr. Noah told them all about Selim’s wickedness, and about the Queen
being still alive, they expressed such horror that he allowed them to
be untied. They said that if the soldiers in the fort knew what had
happened none of them would be on Selim’s side. They had only been
prepared to obey him as King because he was of wood, but they were
loyal to Queen Rosebud, and would be glad to have her reigning over
them again. They were none of them pleased at the shutting up of all
the Waxes, who had done them no harm, and rumours had come through
to Dollfort that not only Waxes but some Woods also had been sent to
prison, and this had pleased them still less. When the sentries were
told that Wooden and her aunt had been two of the dolls in question,
they were very interested, and said that their comrades would never
fight for Selim, if it came to fighting. Whether this was true or not,
you will soon see.
They watched the little troop of soldiers get smaller and smaller,
and at last disappear among the houses outside the fort. Then they
waited for a long time, while the sheep fed peacefully on the downs in
the evening sunlight, and no other signs of life could be seen at all
except the smoke rising from the houses round the fort.
They had finished talking, and had been sitting silent for about five
minutes, when Wooden’s aunt, whose ears were very sharp, said suddenly,
“Hark! What’s that?”
Nobody else had heard anything, but almost immediately Mr. Noah said,
“There are guns firing.” And then Peggy distinctly heard some faint
pops coming from the direction of the fort.
[Illustration]
This was serious, because the life guardsmen had no rifles, but only
their swords, and if they were being fired upon by the wooden soldiers
it would be difficult for them to defend themselves.
“Look!” cried Peggy in great excitement.
Just where the houses began, a mile away, there was a flash of sun
on bright metal, and no sooner had she spoken than they could all see
that it was on the helmets and breastplates of the soldiers. Then they
saw the life guardsmen galloping towards them, and directly they had
got clear of the houses, they saw the scarlet and white of the wooden
soldiers following them, and heard their guns shooting. But none of the
horse-soldiers seemed to be hit, and on they came, galloping along the
road, and on the grass on either side of it. The foot-soldiers came
running after them, but of course they could not go nearly so fast, and
presently Colonel Jim and his men galloped up the road into the wood.
By this time the wooden soldiers were about a quarter of the way
between the fort and the wood. There seemed to be an enormous number of
them. They had left off firing their rifles, but were coming on at a
good pace. In not so very long they would reach the wood, and it really
seemed as if they must capture not only Colonel Jim and his troop, but
Peggy and the Woodens and all the rest of them. Peggy _was_ a little
frightened then, for the red and white was coming towards them like a
great wave, and all the soldiers had rifles, which they would certainly
use if any resistance were offered to them.
Colonel Jim cast one hurried glance round him. “If we had axes,” he
said, “we could make a barricade, and keep them at bay until we could
send for reinforcements. As it is, I’m afraid we must clear out.”
“What, and leave my sister-in-law shut up there!” exclaimed Wooden’s
aunt. “Never! If nobody else stays, I shall. I’ve got a sharp pair of
nails, and I can give them a few scratches.”
Now, this was plucky of Wooden’s aunt, and loyal too. She had only
mentioned Wooden’s mother, but no doubt she had had the Queen in her
mind as well. But she had left out of account the military situation,
not knowing much about that sort of thing, and her opinion could not be
allowed to stand against that of Colonel Jim, who was quite as brave as
she was, but knew when there was a chance of fighting successfully and
when it was better to retreat.
“We shall have to go,” he said decidedly. “If they take us prisoners we
can’t do any more good, but if we get back to Dolltown we can bring out
reinforcements and take the fort. To horse, all of you!”
The wooden soldiers were now about halfway across the stretch of open
country. They were not running so fast now, as they must have got
rather winded with their first effort, but more and more of them were
coming out of the fort, and it was quite plain that the little band in
the wood would have no possible chance against them.
They untied the horses and ponies, and were just preparing to mount,
when Wooden’s aunt said, “Hark! I heard a shout.”
She turned towards the interior of the wood, and they all listened.
Yes, there was somebody shouting, and they heard the noise of a horse
galloping furiously, besides. In a moment there came into sight, among
the trees--who do you think? None other than Peggy’s faithful old Teddy.
[Illustration]
XVII
THE BATTLE
Teddy galloped up to them and threw himself off his horse. One glance
at the advancing wave of wooden soldiers showed him what the position
was. There was no time to explain what he had been doing. Every moment
was of value. “There’s cavalry and infantry coming up,” he said to
Colonel Jim. “We can make a stand here. Better send one of your men
back to hurry up the guns.”
But there was no necessity to do this, for as Teddy was speaking they
could hear the noise of horses trotting along through the wood, and
almost immediately a lot of lead soldiers made their appearance, and
came rapidly towards them. They were Lancers, on bright bay horses, and
very smart they looked with the little flags fluttering at the tops of
their lances.
The Colonel of the regiment rode at the head of them. He came up to
Colonel Jim, and saluted. “Just in time, eh, sir?” he said. Colonel Jim
saluted, too, and said, “Are your men ready for a charge, sir? If so,
we can keep them off till the guns come up.”
[Illustration]
The Colonel of the Lancer regiment threw one glance at the approaching
wooden soldiers. There were thousands and thousands of them, and only
a few of his men could come up at a time, by the narrow road through
the wood. But odds did not daunt him, and he at once gave the order to
charge.