Only waiting to see the Duchess settled in the palace with a few
servants and enough furniture to make her comfortable, Daimur prepared
for his voyage to the Island of Despair. Prince Redmond insisted upon
accompanying him, and little Princess Helda begged to be allowed to go
too, as she was sure she could help them, and she wished so much to see
her parents even if they were stones.
The Duchess at last consented to her going, and sent an old friend,
Lady Clara Rosered, to look after her. By this time the Princess
looked like a real Princess, for the Duchess had bought her the most
beautiful new clothes, and since she was getting enough to eat for the
first time in years she was beginning to look very pretty.
Prince Redmond was head over heels in love with her and would have
asked her to marry him at once if he had had a kingdom to offer her, or
any prospects at all.
Early one bright morning they set sail, and after sailing all day came
within a few miles of the Island of Despair, when Daimur donned his cap
and spectacles in order to steer the ship into the harbor in safety.
They lay in the lee of a high cliff until dark, and then when the wind
was strong enough ran the ship up into the small sheltered cove beside
the Magician's house, and made it fast to the wharf with as little
noise as possible.
There was nobody in sight as they cautiously crept up the path, and
Redmond remarked that the witch must be away on some errand of mischief.
After waiting for an hour and seeing no one, the three adventurers went
up the steps to the door of the house. They tried the handle, but it
was locked.
Only then did Daimur remember that he had left his magic key in the box
of magic tablets on the window sill the night they made their escape.
So much had happened he had not once thought of it since, and it gave
him a great shock to realize how careless he had been, for now he
needed it again.
The Princess Helda, who of course knew nothing of the magic key, was
already fumbling at the lock with a hairpin, and after poking at it for
several minutes it flew back with a snap.
"It's a good thing I knew that lock's defects," she whispered, "or we
should never have got in this way," and she turned the handle and
walked into the kitchen.
With their hands on their swords Redmond and Daimur followed her.
It was quite dark in the kitchen, the only light coming from a solitary
candle on a high shelf, which threw long shadows everywhere. The fire
in the fireplace was out and there was no sign of life.
Motioning to the others to follow Princess Helda led the way across the
kitchen to a door, which she opened and began to descend a flight of
stone stairs.
The stairs led down to a wide stone flagged hall with rooms opening
from it, and narrow passages running in all directions into the
distance.
Here and there high up near the roof a smoky lantern burned dimly.
Across the wide hall went Helda and down one of the long narrow
passages until she reached a door at the very end.
She knocked softly upon it three times. There was no answer. She
knocked again, and then opened the door. There was no lock on it on
the inside, only a big bolt on the outside. She glanced in. The room
was completely bare.
"She is not here," she whispered to Daimur and Redmond, who followed
her into the room. Lighting some matches they looked into all the
rooms adjoining, but found them deserted too.
They went back up the narrow passage.
"What shall we do?" asked Prince Redmond. "Where shall we look now?"
"We must look in all of the rooms," said Helda. "They have moved her,
but she is here somewhere. If we separate we shall perhaps get along
better. There is no danger of getting lost as all the passages open
into the wide hall."
So they separated, Prince Redmond following Princess Helda and Daimur
going alone in the opposite direction, as he thought perhaps his magic
cap and spectacles might help him in his quest.
Up and down the narrow passages they went, opening all the doors and
looking into all the rooms, until they grew a long way apart, for these
underground passages extended away into the hill and covered a much
longer area than the house above.
At last Daimur opened a little door in a dark corner. It was so low
that he had to stoop to get in, but once inside the ceiling was high
enough.
"Oh," he said to himself, "she is not in here, I am sure."
But to his surprise his cap, which up to that time had not been able to
tell him anything, suddenly told him that she was in there.
He stepped forward into the room cautiously and tried to look about,
but it was so dark that he could only dimly see some articles of
furniture that were very close to him.
On the further side, however, on the floor he saw a streak of light,
and making his way over to it found that it came under a door. This
door was not locked either, and he opened it far enough to see that the
light was shining down a long hallway from a door at the other end of
it. Seeing and hearing nothing, he crept down the hall until he came
to the other door, which was even lower than the first. The door was
open, but was hung with heavy curtains. He peered in, but could not
see anyone. The room was very comfortable looking, with easy chairs,
books and a piano, and on a small table lay some needlework in a basket.
While he stood considering whether he dare venture into the lighted
room he heard the sound of voices, and then advancing through the room
he beheld the Old Witch herself, accompanied by the witch who had been
Queen of Shells.
Instantly he turned and fled down the long hall and back into the
little dark room, where he felt his way into the furtherest corner and
lay still hardly daring to breathe.
In a minute or two he heard them coming down the hall. They were
talking in a language he could not understand.
"What if they should have a light," thought Daimur. "All would be
lost, for in this place they could easily make me a prisoner."
They entered the room. As they did so the Old Witch hesitated, and
Daimur noticed her voice change, but all she did was to close the door
leading into the hall. Then still talking the two made their way in
the dark across the room and out of the other door.
When their footsteps had ceased to echo down the corridor, for they
walked noisily, Daimur came out of his corner and tried the door
leading into the long passage. It was locked. Then he tried the door
which led to the main hall, but that too was locked.
He was trapped.
Just at that moment a faint spicy smell came to his nostrils. He stood
still, wondering what it could be. It grew stronger and stronger and
sweeter and sweeter, until he could feel himself growing sleepy. Alas,
he knew now that the witches had seen him.
In vain he looked around for some means of escape. There was none.
His cap could tell him nothing. He beat upon the doors, but his
strength soon failed him, and he fell down in a stupor.
How long he lay there he did not know, but when he awoke at length a
faint light was shining into the room from a small iron grating close
up to the ceiling, and the spicy smell was gone.
The first thing he did was to feel for his cap and spectacles which he
had had on when he fell asleep.
THEY WERE GONE.
Poor Daimur. For the first time since the beginning of his adventure
he felt completely helpless, and with a very dejected countenance
indeed he sat down to await the next happening.
He had not been sitting there for more than half an hour when a light
step sounded in the inner hall and stopped at the door.
A key was turned in the lock and a voice said: "Oh, bother this lock."
The key rattled again, the door opened rather suddenly, and there
entered--not a witch as Daimur expected--but the loveliest lady he had
ever seen.
She had big blue eyes, a lovely complexion, though it was a trifle pale
as if from being indoors a long time, and golden hair that hung over
her shoulders in long ringlets. Her gown was of a deep blue silk that
almost matched her eyes. At sight of Daimur she stood still in
astonishment, then came quickly towards him.
"Oh, poor young man," she cried. "Surely you are not a prisoner too."
"I am afraid I am," answered Daimur sadly, as he gazed at the beautiful
lady, "but tell me, do you know whether Queen Amy is here? I must find
her."
"I am that unhappy Queen," answered the lady. "Can it be that my
faithful subjects have sent you to seek me, sir?"
"Rather I have come because I wished to undo in a small measure the
mischief that the Evil Magician did," and Daimur hurriedly told her
something of his adventure, and finished by wishing he had his cap and
spectacles back, as he was afraid without them they would have great
difficulty in escaping.
Daimur at first had hopes that Princess Helda and Redmond might find
them and perhaps be able to open the door, as it was only bolted on the
outside, but then he remembered that the day was now well advanced and
that they must either have been trapped themselves long before this or
had crept back to the ship while it was still dark.
"Is there no other way of escape but by this door?" he asked Queen Amy,
after some reflection.
"No," said she. "No other way excepting through the door in my
sitting-room which leads into the witches' sitting-room, and that opens
into the main hall. There is generally one witch stationed in their
sitting-room to keep watch over me. They still hope to get my chest of
gold, you see, and that is why I am kept a prisoner here."
Daimur drew his sword and announced his intention of trying to get out
to the main hall if Queen Amy was willing to go with him, to which she
replied that she would indeed take any risk to get out of that dungeon
and back to her dear people.
She turned at once and led the way bade through her apartment to the
door which was to decide their fortunes. It was a swinging door, and
Daimur pushed it open and looked in. What he saw was a great bare room
with cupboards all around it, and a few plain old kitchen rockers here
and there. A number of the cupboard doors were open and there could be
seen on the shelves dozens of bottles, boxes, tins and pots, while over
the fire in a large black pot some vile-smelling mixture was cooking.
Beside the fire on a mat, lay the old witch's black cat, apparently
asleep. There was no one in the room.
"Now is your chance," whispered Daimur, and sword in hand he went
softly across the floor, closely followed by Queen Amy.
As they passed the cat he opened one of his green eyes and looked at
them, but they did not notice him. As soon as they were out of the
room and into the hall he sat up on the mat and began to yowl in a most
blood-curdling manner.
"We are lost," said the Queen, wringing her hands. "Listen to that
cat. We must have awakened him. He is calling the Old Witch I am
sure."
"Run," said Daimur, and seizing Queen Amy by the hand he almost dragged
her along the wide hall towards the staircase. But they were too late.
Down the stairs came the Old Witch, followed by her daughter and the
other witch from Shells.
At the sight of Daimur with his sword drawn and the terrified Queen Amy
shrinking at his side the Old Witch gave a howl of rage and said
something quickly to the others.
Instantly three great tigers were bounding towards them, their teeth
showing in a dreadful manner, and their deep growls filling the whole
hall.
Thrusting Queen Amy behind him Daimur clutched his sword in despair and
set his teeth with a determination to kill them all if possible--when
suddenly he thought of the tiny silver bugle which he had had around
his neck all the time.
Raising it quickly to his lips he blew three times upon it. The faint
sound it made was not heard amid the terrible roaring of the tigers,
but before he had finished the last blast there stood in front of him
three giants, so tall that their heads almost touched the high ceiling,
and that was more than ten feet. They were dressed like Roman soldiers
and each carried a huge flat sword.
"The tigers. Kill the tigers!" cried Daimur.
It all happened so suddenly that the tigers did not have time to stop
their rush, and in a second the giants were upon them and you may be
sure soon cut their heads off. Then before Daimur could even say
"Thank you," they had disappeared again.
The three witches lay dead at their feet and they were free.
Daimur turned towards Queen Amy and found her leaning against the wall
in a half-fainting condition, and while he was trying to induce her to
make an effort to pass the dead tigers and get away upstairs there
suddenly rang out a loud cry of "Fire! Fire!"
[Illustration: He was trying to induce her to make an effort to pass
the dead tigers.]
Daimur recognized Prince Redmond's voice. Doors banged overhead and
footsteps scurried across the floor. Daimur waited for no more.
Picking up the Queen in his arms he almost flew towards the staircase
and up the stairs. As he reached the top a puff of smoke came from an
inner room and half blinded him. He rushed across the kitchen and at
the door almost ran into Prince Redmond and Princess Helda, who were
coming in again shouting his name at the top of their voices.
"Here I am," said Daimur breathlessly. "Help me to carry the Queen
out."
"To the ship instantly," shouted Prince Redmond, as he seized Queen Amy
from Daimur's arms and ran towards the shore. Daimur snatched Helda's
hand and they hurried after him.
Shouting orders to the sailors Prince Redmond boarded the ship. Up
went the sails, and as there was a good breeze the boat began to move
out. It was not a moment too soon.
They were not more than a hundred feet away when a long flame burst
through the roof of the Evil Magician's castle and in a moment the
whole building was burning.
"What happened?" cried Daimur.
"We accidentally set the place on fire," said Prince Redmond.
"Last night," he continued, "after wandering about those long passages
without finding the Queen, and seeing no sign of you, we crawled
through a small window in the coal cellar and Came back to the ship.
Then as you did not come we grew very much alarmed, and at daybreak
went back the way we had come, intending to search for you.
"Anxious not to miss finding you we even mounted a stair which led up
to a long half-dark room, quite off by itself. It was full of
mysterious-looking bottles and pots, many of them marked 'poison,' but
the queerest thing of all was a tiny well in one corner, on the cover
of which was printed in large black letters 'Enchanting Oil.'
"We lifted the cover and peered in. It was so dark in there that we
could see nothing, so I lit a match and by the light of it we looked
down a terrible depth and could see the oil shining dimly at the bottom.
"Just then Princess Helda accidentally touched the handle of the little
brass bucket which was drawn up to the top, knocking the match out of
my fingers. It fell into the bucket, which contained a few drops of
the oil. Immediately a flame leaped into our very faces and shot up
nearly to the ceiling. We turned and ran down the stairs again, and up
another flight near it which Helda knew would take us to one of the
living-rooms. There we ran about like mad shouting 'Fire,' and
thinking that you and the Queen would surely perish. We knew that some
of the fire must soon drop into the oil well, and when that happens I
am sure it will explode."
He had hardly said the words when a terrific roar shook the earth. The
flaming house suddenly scattered into a million burning pieces which
dropped into the sea, and some of which fell on the ship and had to be
thrown overboard.
A column of black smoke rose into the air and hid the island entirely
from view.
They lay to all morning, waiting for the smoke to clear away, but it
was not until mid afternoon that it began to disappear.
They sailed slowly nearer to the island, wondering what damage had been
done besides the burning of the house. As they came closer they seemed
to see houses by the waterside through the haze of smoke, which was
steadily growing thinner, and then what appeared to be streets.
Their wonder grew when they carefully steered back to the cove and
found that they were in a harbor that was lined with stone docks. Some
ships lay at anchor, packages of goods were piled up on the wharves,
workmen went back and forth loading and unloading the vessels, piling
goods into long warehouses, and the scene was a busy one.
The first thought that sprang to Daimur's mind was that they had made a
mistake and in some manner got to one of the other islands again.
It was Princess Helda who first spoke as she stepped out on the quay.
"The enchantment is broken," she cried, holding out her hands.
"Welcome to Oaklands."
Nobody would have recognized in the beautiful kingdom of Oaklands the
Island of Despair of rank undergrowth and poisoned fruit trees.
The afternoon sun shone down upon wide streets, clean and well kept,
faced by rows of fine houses and lined with tall oak trees. The smoke
had apparently drifted upwards until it was now only a small black
cloud in the western sky. On the hill where had been the Magician's
house there now stood a tall and stately castle built of shining white
marble. There could be no doubt it was the palace.
They walked towards it and were surprised to find that they were
expected, as a guard of honor stood waiting at the entrance to the
grounds to conduct them to the presence of the King and Queen.
They were taken to the drawing room, and at sight of her father and
mother Princess Helda burst into tears and rushed towards them. It was
a touching scene.
Words could not express the gratitude of their majesties to King Daimur
and Prince Redmond for their deliverance, both of whom they remembered,
for having then been the stones that formed the window sill and the
door sill respectively they had heard every word that was said, and had
witnessed the escape from the island.
Helda's father was very anxious to have them stay and pay him a visit,
even if only for a few days, but Daimur, who wanted to restore Queen
Amy to her throne at once, declined, saying, however, that he had a
proposal to make before leaving.
He then asked the King of Oaklands to bestow on Prince Redmond the hand
of his daughter Helda, declaring that it was to Prince Redmond that
they owed the breaking of the enchantment, and not to himself.
This the King was very willing to do, and Prince Redmond's joy was
unbounded, for with no fortune and no throne to offer her he would
never have dared to ask the Princess to marry him, and they would both
have been very unhappy to the end of their lives.
It was arranged that the wedding should take place as soon as the
Princess could get her trousseau made, and as Prince Redmond had
decided to accept the King's invitation and stay for a few days' visit
Daimur and Queen Amy said good-bye and prepared to depart, but not
before they had been presented with two beautiful armchairs, each
carved from a single piece of oak, which the King of Oaklands prized
very much. Even Lady Clara Rosered, who had accompanied Princess
Helda, was not forgotten, but received a handsome lace shawl.
Their voyage back to the Island of Roses was rather slow, owing to the
poor wind, but it was very quiet and restful, and they arrived to find
a large crowd gathered on the dock to meet them, all very anxious to
see whether Queen Amy was aboard.
In an open space surrounded by some of the Royal Guard, who stood on
either side making a long avenue right down to the edge of the quay,
sat the Duchess of Rose Petals in the state carriage.
When Queen Amy appeared on the deck, looking a little pale, but
otherwise as well as ever, loud shouts went up and flowers were flung
at her feet as she walked up the avenue made by the Guards, King Daimur
walking at her side.
"Long live our Queen. Long live noble King Daimur," resounded on every
side, while rockets were sent into the air and all the bells in the
kingdom were rung.
A great procession of carriages followed the Queen to the palace, where
the Duchess had arranged a luncheon and a splendid reception, at which
Daimur received nearly as much attention as Queen Amy.
When it was all over Daimur felt that, as he had now fulfilled his
promises, he, should return at once to his own kingdom, but first he
went to Queen Amy and told her that he was going away. She looked at
him with tears in her eyes and begged him to let her know what she
could first bestow on him as a small token of her undying gratitude.
"I want nothing less than your own heart and hand," declared Daimur,
and he told her that he had fallen in love with her the moment he had
first seen her, but could not, of course, say anything about it until
she was safely at home.
Queen Amy blushed, and acknowledged that she also loved him very
dearly, so then and there they decided to be married at the same time
as Prince Redmond and Princess Helda.
And so it happened. Daimur went back to his kingdom, where his
faithful subjects were so proud of him that they built a magnificent
new palace and presented it to him as a wedding gift.
In due time the triple marriage was celebrated at Queen Amy's palace,
for Tasmir and Princess Maya, on hearing the news, insisted upon being
married at the same time.
In the midst of the ceremony the good fairy appeared and gave each of
them a small gold ring, which she said would bring them good luck as
long as they lived.
So ended all the enchantments and wicked plots of Evil Magician, and
ever after peace and happiness reigned over the Islands of Sunshine.
THE END
End of Project Gutenberg's The Enchanted Island, by Fannie Louise Apjohn