Dick, Marjorie and Fidge: A Search for the Wonderful Dodo
chair, as a curious-looking fish--with a very long nose, and wearing
shoes on the end of his long tail, and a tall hat--swam past.
He looked at them inquisitively, and then stood a little way at the back
of them, waiting till they should be disengaged.
"To all to whom it may concern," read Dick, after he had picked up the
note from off the chair. "I suppose that means us as much as any one."
"Of course it does," agreed Marjorie. "It concerns us very much to find
out where the Dodo is."
Dick hesitated no longer, but opened the note eagerly. His face fell,
however, when he beheld the contents.
"_Mind your own business!_" he read, slowly. "What a sell! I believe the
Dodo did write it, though, and intended it as a hint that we were not
to try find and him. I'm half inclined to give it up."
"But Dick, dear, remember," said Marjorie, "we shall be--er--you
know--what the Ambassador said--if we don't find him."
"Oh, ah," said Dick, "I'd forgotten that. Come on, then; let's see what
can be done."
"Can I be of any assistance?" said the thin fish, coming forward with a
polite bow. "Have you lost anything?"
"Oh, thanks," said Dick. "We're looking for a Dodo. Do you happen to
have seen one about here?"
"A Dodo," said the fish, reflectively. "I don't think I have the
pleasure of the gentleman's acquaintance. What kind of a fish is he?"
"Oh, he isn't a fish at all," explained Dick; "he is a kind of bird, you
know."
"Ah! birds we don't encourage below the surface, as a rule," said the
fish, smiling indulgently. "You are scarcely likely to meet with him
here. Perhaps His Majesty the King of the Fishes would advise you."
"Oh, I have a letter of introduction to His Majesty," said Dick. "I'm
afraid it's rather wet," he said, apologetically, drawing it from his
pocket.
"It would be unacceptable to His Majesty were it not so," said the fish.
"Well, now, I _was_ going to a football match, it being a half-holiday;
but under the circumstances, I will put it off, and escort you to the
Palace. This way, please."
Sinking down to the sand at the bottom of the sea, the fish led the way
through a beautiful forest of waving seaweed, of all the colors of the
rainbow. Exquisite shells were strewn about, and brightly-colored
anemones clung to the rocks on every side, while all kinds of
oddly-shaped fishes swam about, peering at the children curiously as
they passed.
Presently they came in sight of a kind of Palace, formed of
quaintly-shaped pieces of coral, which, the fish explained, was where
the King lived.
"Just stay here a moment, please," said he; and the children waited
outside while he went into the Palace.
Fidge pulled aside a piece of seaweed, and they all peeped through a
hole in the coral, and saw a large fish wearing a crown, and with a
curious chain about his neck, to which was attached an enormous
fish-hook, seated on a throne.
Officers of State stood round about, and the little thin fish that had
been so polite to them was bowing and scraping in quite a courtly
fashion.
He was evidently telling His Majesty all about them, for, after hearing
what he had to say, the King of the Fishes nodded; and the thin fish
came out, and informed them that they were to be admitted into the
Presence.
CHAPTER VI.
IN THE KING'S PRESENCE.
"Do you understand fish-language?" whispered the little thin fish,
hurriedly, as he was conducting them into the Presence Chamber.
"I'm afraid not," replied Dick.
"Then you must remain silent, for in the King's presence nothing but the
fish-language is allowed to be spoken. I will interpret for you
afterwards."
Pushing aside some curtains of brightly-colored seaweed he led them into
the Presence Chamber.
The King received them very graciously, and held out one fin as they
approached.
"I expect we ought to kneel on one knee, and kiss it, like they do at
presentations," whispered Marjorie.
But Dick wasn't going to do anything of that sort, and just touched it
lightly with one hand, while the others followed suit. The thin fish
then motioned them to sit down on a kind of divan, upon which large
sponges took the place of cushions, and which the children found to be
most comfortable; and the audience began.
The most extraordinary part about it was that not the slightest sound
could be heard. The little thin fish opened and shut his mouth in
little, short, jerky gasps, to which the King replied by slowly opening
and shutting his, rolling his eyes about meanwhile, just as you may have
seen fishes do in an aquarium.
Then the little fish solemnly handed His Majesty the Sage's letter,
which the King put on his gold-rimmed glasses to read.
Having done so, he turned to the children and smiled, at least that's
what they afterwards found out he was doing; but, really and truly, he
made such a curious grimace that poor little Fidge was frightened, and
wanted to run away.
His Majesty then opened and shut his mouth very slowly three or four
times, to which all the other fishes replied by swimming backwards
three strokes, and then forward three strokes. Then the audience was at
an end.
The little thin fish came and whispered to the children, "It is usual
for mortals, when leaving the presence of the King, to turn three
somersaults backwards. Do you think you can do that?"
"I'm afraid not," replied Dick, anxiously. "At least, I might be able to
manage, but I don't know about Marjorie and Fidge."
"Oh, never mind, then; I'll ask His Majesty to be good enough to excuse
you," said the fish, and, making a low bow to the King, he explained the
situation in a few short gasps.
His Majesty thereupon left the audience chamber, having first graciously
inclined his head towards the children.
As he swam away, two little fishes attached themselves to the tip of His
Majesty's tail, while another held the crown down on his royal head, to
prevent it from slipping off, the rest of the audience swimming behind
at a respectful distance, forming a sort of procession.
"Well," began the thin fish, after the others had all gone, "I
congratulate you. His Majesty had been good enough to place the Royal
Dolphins at your disposal, and if the Dodo you are searching for is
anywhere on, or in, the sea you ought to have no difficulty in finding
him, for the Dolphins swim very quickly indeed, and can take you
anywhere you like in a jiffy. Please follow me to the royal stables, and
we will harness them."
The children passed out after their kind little friend, and followed
him into the gardens of the Palace, which they had to cross in order to
reach the stables.
Marjorie was enraptured at the sight of the beautifully-arranged
gardens, in which brightly-colored anemones took the place of flowers.
On a lawn of the finest short green seaweed, a number of globe-shaped
fishes, with striped bodies, were playing football, and the children
stopped a few minutes to watch the game.
They were very much surprised to find that the football itself was a
fish--a little round chap, just the shape of a football--who, on the
players giving him a smart kick with their tail, shot up through the
water and over the goal in no time.
"Doesn't he object?" said Dick, after they had watched this performance
for some time; "I know I should."
"Oh, dear, no!" exclaimed their guide, "he enjoys it quite as much as
the others do. You see, it's such a delightful sensation to be shot
through the water without the effort of swimming; but, come along, we
must be off if you are going to start to-day."
"There's one little piece of advice I should like to give you in your
search for the Dodo," he continued, kindly, as they swam along. "If you
don't succeed in catching him one way, try another. Remember the bear
with a cold."
"What do you mean?" asked the children.
"Don't you know the story of the bear with a cold?" was the reply.
"No; do tell us!" they cried.
"Why, you see," said the fish, "there was once an old bear, who had a
dreadful cold, and his friends all advised him to try different things
to cure it. One said one thing, and one another, and although he tried
them all, one after the other, he didn't get any better; but still he
persevered, and kept trying all the remedies they suggested, and at last
he _was_ cured, and what do you think did it?"
"What?" inquired the children.
"Why, some one suggested putting his feet into hot mustard and water and
drinking gruel--and he tried it several times with no effect; and at
last he fortunately thought of reversing the process, so he put his feet
into some thick gruel, and drank a lot of mustard and water, and now
he's quite well, thanks. So don't you get discouraged if you don't find
the Dodo at once; but, as I said before, if one way doesn't succeed, try
another."
"Thanks!" said the children, "we'll remember."
Just then they found themselves before a kind of shed, built of coral,
which the fish entered, returning shortly afterwards leading three
curious-looking fishes by a simple sort of bridle.
"Here they are!" he announced; "you will find them quite docile. Just
mount them and see how you like their pace."
The children needed no second invitation, and were soon astride their
strange steeds.
With a whisk of their tails they were soon off, dashing through the
water at such a rate that the little thin fish had the greatest
difficulty in keeping up with them, even for a short distance.
"Oh! this is jolly!" cried Dick.
"Come on, Marjorie, let's have a race."
The Dolphins answered to the slightest pull at the reins, and the
children hadn't the least fear; so, getting into a line, they waited for
their friend the thin fish to come up and give them the signal to
start.
CHAPTER VII.
THE HUMAN RACE.
The little thin fish seemed to be a long while catching them up, and,
while they were waiting, Marjorie espied a curious figure poking about
among the seaweed a short distance away from them.
"I wonder what it is!" she cried, and the children dismounted from the
Dolphins, and, tying them by the reins to some coral stumps, so that
they could not swim away, they half walked and half swam over to where
Marjorie had first noticed the creature, whatever it was.
"Why, it's a man!" cried Dick, as they drew nearer, and could
distinguish him more clearly.
He was a wretched-looking old fellow, with a heavy sack upon his back,
and was clothed only in a ragged old garment, which scarcely reached to
his knees.
"Poor man," said Marjorie, in a whisper, "how unhappy he looks; perhaps
he has lost something."
The man glanced up nervously as the children approached, and, clutching
at his bag jealously, he demanded--
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"Nothing, thank you, poor old man," began Marjorie; "we were only----"
The old man burst into a peal of hoarse laughter.
"_Poor_ old man!" he exclaimed. "Do you know that I am the richest man
in the world. Look!" he exclaimed, opening his bag before the children's
astonished eyes. "Gold! jewels! riches! wealth! they are all
mine--ha--ha--ha--ha!" and he laughed discordantly, and hugged the bag
closely to himself again.
"Oh, come away!" cried Marjorie, catching at Dick's arm. "I'm so
frightened."
"I'm the Old Man of the Sea," continued the man, "and all the treasures
of the deep are mine. I have stacks of golden crowns and jewels without
number, and each day I gather more--they are all mine--mine--mine!"
"But where do they all come from?" asked Dick.