Daimur directed the Captain to steer to the Island of Laurels, which
lay nearest to them, and after two uneventful days of good weather the
island came into view. Late in the afternoon, when they were within a
couple of miles of the harbor they passed a very large warship, very
new and shining, which was flying the flag of Laurels.
"That must be a new ship that Sadna has built," said Prince Redmond.
"He was always talking about a better navy."
The large vessel paid no attention to them, but as they did not know
whether it was coming back or not they drew off and did not enter the
harbor until after dark. They cast anchor and decided not to leave the
ship until morning.
They breakfasted at sunrise and went up on deck to view the city while
the boats were being lowered.
It appeared to be a busy place. On the long wharves a great number of
men were working loading and unloading vessels. Three big warships,
all new, the prince declared, rode at anchor in the bay, but nobody
seemed to pay any attention to the sudden appearance of a strange
warship in their harbor.
To the princes this seemed very queer, and thinking there might be some
plan to attack them unexpectedly they took every man that could be
spared from the ship, only leaving behind enough to man the guns and to
guard the Duchess of Rose Petals, who preferred staying on board.
Forming in fours they marched up the street under great laurel trees,
of such a size as Daimur had never seen anywhere before. Although the
sun was already very hot every street was cool and shady. On they
went, but nobody even turned around to look at them. No crowd
collected, no faces appeared in the windows or doors, and what people
they met looked stupid and sleepy.
"Why, this is most uncanny," exclaimed Daimur, who was marching beside
Prince Tasmir at the head of the marines. "What's the matter with
everybody?"
"I cannot imagine," answered Prince Redmond. "It is a shocking
surprise to me; why they act as if they were all half asleep and do not
seem to recognize us at all."
They passed through a beautiful park, and on the other side the palace,
surrounded by laurel hedges and backed by a very high wooded hill,
appeared to their view.
Two guards were stationed at the palace gates. They drew their swords
in a dazed kind of way and refused to let anyone pass.
"I am your Crown Prince," said Tasmir, "and here is my brother Redmond.
You must let us pass instantly."
The guards looked at them stupidly and shook their heads.
"We have no princes," said one, "our King is not married."
"Where is he?" asked Redmond.
"Don't know," answered the guard sleepily, as his head nodded forward a
couple of times. "Went away on the new ship."
"But when will he return?" asked Tasmir, shaking the man to wake him
up, for he was certainly going to sleep.
"Don' know, don' know," returned the guard, shaking his head slowly.
He kept on shaking it, and although they asked him several other
questions he did not seem to hear them at all.
The other guard was even worse, for all he could say was, "Who goes
there?" whenever they addressed him.
"Don't bother with them," said Prince Redmond impatiently, "let us go
into the palace and see if father is still alive."
Daimur ordered the marines to advance, and as the two guards did
nothing but blink at them, and no other defenders appeared it only took
them a few seconds to reach the palace door.
Prince Tasmir bounded up the steps, turned the big handle and dashed
into the hall with Prince Redmond and Daimur close at his heels. They
met with no opposition from the servants, who appeared to be as sleepy
as the guards, and immediately began a search for the poor old King.
Upstairs and down they went and even into the dungeons, but could find
no trace of him.
Prince Redmond at length stopped and began to weep, for they all felt
that he was dead, and had perhaps been murdered.
Daimur tried to comfort the princes by telling them that they must
search the kingdom through before thinking the worst and suggested that
they go out into the city again and see if his cap would not tell him
something about it.
They left the palace and walked over the lawn and past the Royal
gardens, and finally crossed a rustic bridge over a pretty stream which
wound in and out through the grounds.
"Where does that river flow?" asked Daimur, stopping suddenly. He had
on his cap.
"Oh, that," said Tasmir, "is the Laurel River. It flows right through
the kingdom, down to the sea on the other side of the island."
"Does anybody drink its waters?" asked Daimur, taking out his
spectacles and putting them on.
"Why of course," said Prince Redmond proudly. "It is the source of
water supply for nearly the whole of the kingdom. There isn't purer
water anywhere in the world."
"Purer," said Daimur, who was stooping to examine the waters through
his spectacles, "why, it's poisoned!"
"Poisoned!" exclaimed both the princes, looking at each other
incredulously. "Impossible!"
"I tell you it is," said Daimur, "the poison is an oily substance which
covers the surface of the water. It may not be deadly; I cannot tell."
"Then that's what ails our subjects," cried Tasmir. "They must be
drinking this poison every day."
"Where is the source of this river?" asked Daimur.
Prince Redmond turned and pointed to the highest hill behind them. "In
Mirror Lake, on that hilltop," he said.
"Let us go there at once then," said Daimur, and leaving his marines on
guard duty around the palace he followed the two princes, who had taken
a path that led along the stream. This grew rough and stony as they
came to higher ground, and they soon were clinging to rocks and bushes
as they climbed up the steep hillside.
At length after a great deal of scrambling and some tearing of their
clothes on the thorns and brambles, they managed to reach the top, and
followed a narrow winding path which led to the lake. After half an
hour of quick walking they came upon it very suddenly. It was quite
small, and completely surrounded by trees. The water was as blue as
the sky and reflected every little cloudlet perfectly. Daimur,
however, at once noticed vast quantities of laurel leaves floating
about, coming apparently from a little cove at the far end of the lake.
"It is those leaves that are poisoning the water," he cried excitedly,
"I can see the poisonous oil oozing from them."
"But, Daimur," said Redmond, "how can that be, they are only ordinary
laurel leaves?"
But Daimur was already making his way along the shore towards the cove
from which the leaves seemed to come, and the princes followed him.
At the end of the cove and hidden among the other trees they came upon
a tall willowy laurel tree which, overhanging the water, continually
dropped leaves and shook and moaned as if in a great wind, although all
the other trees were still.
The princes looked at it in awe, which deepened when Daimur, after
surveying it intently for some moments, announced that it must be cut
down as it contained some enchanted creature, which, he said, as his
cap and spectacles could tell him no more, he hoped might not prove to
be another witch or an evil Magician.
They had no axe, but Prince Redmond volunteered to go back to a
woodman's hut which they had passed on their way, and borrow one. He
soon returned with a large sharp axe, and set to work to cut down the
tree. He struck with all his might, but the axe made no impression on
it, beyond a mere scratch on the bark.
Prince Tasmir then tried, but with no better success.
At last Daimur, who through his spectacles, had been examining the
trunk of the tree close to the ground, asked for the axe, and after
scraping the earth away he began to chop at the roots.
He managed with hard work to cut some of them through, and then gave
the axe to Redmond. Thus they all three persevered until the last root
was severed, and the tree fell to the earth with a loud moaning sound.
Immediately a grey mist rose before their eyes, and when it had cleared
away a beautiful fairy clothed in white stood before them in place of
the tree.
"Do not be alarmed," she said, smiling at their startled faces. "You
have nothing to fear. I am the fairy Peaceful and was enchanted by the
Evil Magician because I had rescued your father from his hands, and was
working against him in other ways in this kingdom.
"The leaves you saw upon the waters were my sorrows, and as my
unhappiness increased I was compelled to drop more and more leaves.
These poisoned the water and kept Prince Sadna's people in a kind of
stupor.
"But," she continued, stepping towards the lake, "I can now restore the
water to its natural purity."
She waved her wand over it as she spoke, and Daimur could see that the
oily substance seemed to evaporate immediately.
"Oh, tell us, good fairy, is our father still alive?" cried Prince
Redmond.
"He is," answered the fairy, "though very feeble. He will not live
much longer. Thank goodness I had him safely hidden away before the
Evil Magician pounced upon me on this lonely hilltop. If you will
follow me you may see him."
She led the way to what appeared to be a wall of solid rock a short
distance from the lake shore. Reaching up she tapped the wall with her
wand, and instantly a passage appeared. They followed her through it,
and on the other side found themselves in a long green valley,
completely surrounded on all sides by overhanging cliffs and tree tops.
In the center of the valley stood a long low white thatched cottage,
almost covered with honeysuckle and climbing roses, while about it were
gardens, and plenty of trees where birds sang sweetly.
"This is my own secret bower," the fairy explained with a smile. "It
is hidden from mortal eyes, and on account of my Wonderful Plant the
Evil Magician could not disturb it."
They walked along a pretty path, and turning around a hedge came upon
the aged King, seated in an easy chair under a peach tree. Directly in
front of him stood a Wonderful Plant, fully as large as that which
Tasmir had seen on the oasis, and quite full of golden flowers.
The King was in the act of sipping a glass of milk and eating some
fruit which a maid had just brought him, and looked very bright and
comfortable.
He turned his head at the sound of voices, and at the sight of his sons
arose with a cry of joy, and came slowly forward leaning on his cane.
Tasmir and Redmond wept with happiness as they kissed him, and turning
to the fairy asked what they might do to show their gratitude.
"Only allow me to live in your palace," she said, "coming and going as
I please, and I can help you to keep evil from your kingdom."
This they gladly agreed to.
Then, as the day was growing late, and they had had nothing to eat
since morning, Daimur said that they had better go back at once.
"How shall we carry the King down the hillside," asked Prince Tasmir of
Daimur. But the words were no sooner spoken than the fairy reached out
and touched each of them with her wand. In the twinkling of an eye
they were all in the King's private sitting-room in the palace, with
the King in his own armchair. The fairy smiled at them at they thanked
her.
"I shall now remove the spell from your people," she said, and vanished.
Tasmir and Redmond immediately sent out messengers all over the
kingdom, and it was not long before people began to pour in at the
palace gates, not stupid now, but rejoicing at the restoration of their
good old King and their favorite princess.
None of the nobles seemed to know anything about Prince Sadna,
excepting that he had sailed away a few days before in his latest and
largest warship.
The following day began with a great public reception, and after a
formal luncheon to the nobles and members of Government, there were
several cabinet meetings, at which Daimur was asked as a matter of
courtesy to attend. In the evening the princes were to address the
populace from the palace balcony.
Early in the evening the streets were adorned with colored lights and
huge torches, and people already crowded around the palace doors,
hoping to get a glimpse of the King. Everywhere there was the wildest
excitement.
Daimur walked out into the gardens, through the lawns, and over the
little bridge which spanned the Laurel River, now clear as crystal and
quite pure again. He stopped to watch it rippling in the moonlight.
Suddenly the fairy Peaceful stood beside him.
"King Daimur," said she, "I know you are good and kind. I have known
you ever since you were born, although you did not know me. The fairy
who gave you your magic cap and spectacles was my uncle. I am deeply
indebted to you for killing the Evil Magician and also for breaking the
enchantment which made me a force for evil in the world instead of good.
"You are going to be exposed to grave danger while the Old Witch of
Despair is alive, as she knows you have the two great treasures which
the Evil Magician sought. In order to help you to escape all harm I am
going to give you this little bugle."
She drew from her pocket as she spoke a tiny silver bugle which was
attached to a long chain, fine and strong.
"Wear this around your neck constantly," she said, "and if ever you are
in need of assistance blow three times upon it and three servants of
mine will come immediately to you. Command them and they will obey."
Daimur thanked her warmly and clasped the chain about his neck, and the
good fairy disappeared.
Daimur went back to the palace and joined in the festivities, but as a
great storm was coming up he sent a carriage to fetch the Duchess of
Rose Petals, who was still on the warship, as he feared she would be
afraid if she stayed on board.
She was very glad indeed to be brought to the palace, and she and the
old King enjoyed each other's company very much, and found it very
consoling to relate their troubles together.
Very late that night, after all the people had gone home, the storm
broke and lasted for hours. It was most terrific, and the fury of the
wind broke many trees on the hill behind the palace, and did
considerable damage throughout the city.