Rinkitink in Oz
for some time the leader asked impatiently: "Do you find anyone else?"
"No," his men told him. "We have captured them all."
"Then," commanded the leader, "remove everything of value from the
palace and tear down its walls and towers, so that not one stone remains
upon another!"
While the warriors were busy with this task we will return to the boy
Prince, who, when the fog lifted and the sun came out, wakened from his
sleep and began to climb down from his perch in the tree. But the
terrifying cries of the people, mingled with the shouts of the rude
warriors, caused him to pause and listen eagerly.
Then he climbed rapidly up the tree, far above his platform, to the
topmost swaying branches. This tree, which Inga called his own, was
somewhat taller than the other trees that surrounded it, and when he had
reached the top he pressed aside the leaves and saw a great fleet of
boats upon the shore--strange boats, with banners that he had never seen
before. Turning to look upon his father's palace, he found it surrounded
by a horde of enemies. Then Inga knew the truth: that the island had
been invaded by the barbaric warriors from the north. He grew so faint
from the terror of it all that he might have fallen had he not wound his
arms around a limb and clung fast until the dizzy feeling passed away.
Then with his sash he bound himself to the limb and again ventured to
look out through the leaves.
The warriors were now engaged in carrying King Kitticut and Queen Garee
and all their other captives down to the boats, where they were thrown
in and chained one to another. It was a dreadful sight for the Prince to
witness, but he sat very still, concealed from the sight of anyone below
by the bower of leafy branches around him. Inga knew very well that he
could do nothing to help his beloved parents, and that if he came down
he would only be forced to share their cruel fate.
Now a procession of the Northmen passed between the boats and the
palace, bearing the rich furniture, splendid draperies and rare
ornaments of which the royal palace had been robbed, together with such
food and other plunder as they could lay their hands upon. After this,
the men of Regos and Coregos threw ropes around the marble domes and
towers and hundreds of warriors tugged at these ropes until the domes
and towers toppled and fell in ruins upon the ground. Then the walls
themselves were torn down, till little remained of the beautiful palace
but a vast heap of white marble blocks tumbled and scattered upon the
ground.
Prince Inga wept bitter tears of grief as he watched the ruin of his
home; yet he was powerless to avert the destruction. When the palace had
been demolished, some of the warriors entered their boats and rowed
along the coast of the island, while the others marched in a great body
down the length of the island itself. They were so numerous that they
formed a line stretching from shore to shore and they destroyed every
house they came to and took every inhabitant prisoner.
The pearl fishers who lived at the lower end of the island tried to
escape in their boats, but they were soon overtaken and made prisoners,
like the others. Nor was there any attempt to resist the foe, for the
sharp spears and pikes and swords of the invaders terrified the hearts
of the defenseless people of Pingaree, whose sole weapons were their
oyster rakes.
When night fell the whole of the Island of Pingaree had been conquered
by the men of the North, and all its people were slaves of the
conquerors. Next morning the men of Regos and Coregos, being capable of
no further mischief, departed from the scene of their triumph, carrying
their prisoners with them and taking also every boat to be found upon
the island. Many of the boats they had filled with rich plunder, with
pearls and silks and velvets, with silver and gold ornaments and all the
treasure that had made Pingaree famed as one of the richest kingdoms in
the world. And the hundreds of slaves they had captured would be set to
work in the mines of Regos and the grain fields of Coregos.
So complete was the victory of the Northmen that it is no wonder the
warriors sang songs of triumph as they hastened back to their homes.
Great rewards were awaiting them when they showed the haughty King of
Regos and the terrible Queen of Coregos the results of their ocean raid
and conquest.
The Deserted Island
CHAPTER 4
All through that terrible night Prince Inga remained hidden in his tree.
In the morning he watched the great fleet of boats depart for their own
country, carrying his parents and his countrymen with them, as well as
everything of value the Island of Pingaree had contained.
Sad, indeed, were the boy's thoughts when the last of the boats had
become a mere speck in the distance, but Inga did not dare leave his
perch of safety until all of the craft of the invaders had disappeared
beyond the horizon. Then he came down, very slowly and carefully, for he
was weak from hunger and the long and weary watch, as he had been in the
tree for twenty-four hours without food.
The sun shone upon the beautiful green isle as brilliantly as if no
ruthless invader had passed and laid it in ruins. The birds still
chirped among the trees and the butterflies darted from flower to flower
as happily as when the land was filled with a prosperous and contented
people.
Inga feared that only he was left of all his nation. Perhaps he might be
obliged to pass his life there alone. He would not starve, for the sea
would give him oysters and fish, and the trees fruit; yet the life that
confronted him was far from enticing.
The boy's first act was to walk over to where the palace had stood and
search the ruins until he found some scraps of food that had been
overlooked by the enemy. He sat upon a block of marble and ate of this,
and tears filled his eyes as he gazed upon the desolation around him.
But Inga tried to bear up bravely, and having satisfied his hunger he
walked over to the well, intending to draw a bucket of drinking water.
Fortunately, this well had been overlooked by the invaders and the
bucket was still fastened to the chain that wound around a stout wooden
windlass. Inga took hold of the crank and began letting the bucket down
into the well, when suddenly he was startled by a muffled voice crying
out:
"Be careful, up there!"
The sound and the words seemed to indicate that the voice came from the
bottom of the well, so Inga looked down. Nothing could be seen, on
account of the darkness.
"Who are you?" he shouted.
"It's I--Rinkitink," came the answer, and the depths of the well echoed:
"Tink-i-tink-i-tink!" in a ghostly manner.
"Are you in the well?" asked the boy, greatly surprised.
"Yes, and nearly drowned. I fell in while running from those terrible
warriors, and I've been standing in this damp hole ever since, with my
head just above the water. It's lucky the well was no deeper, for had my
head been under water, instead of above it--hoo, hoo, hoo, keek,
eek!--under instead of over, you know--why, then I wouldn't be talking
to you now! Ha, hoo, hee!" And the well dismally echoed: "Ha, hoo,
hee!" which you must imagine was a laugh half merry and half sad.
"I'm awfully sorry," cried the boy, in answer. "I wonder you have the
heart to laugh at all. But how am I to get you out?"
"I've been considering that all night," said Rinkitink, "and I believe
the best plan will be for you to let down the bucket to me, and I'll
hold fast to it while you wind up the chain and so draw me to the top."
"I will try to do that," replied Inga, and he let the bucket down very
carefully until he heard the King call out:
"I've got it! Now pull me up--slowly, my boy, slowly--so I won't rub
against the rough sides."
Inga began winding up the chain, but King Rinkitink was so fat that he
was very heavy and by the time the boy had managed to pull him halfway
up the well his strength was gone. He clung to the crank as long as
possible, but suddenly it slipped from his grasp and the next minute he
heard Rinkitink fall "plump!" into the water again.
"That's too bad!" called Inga, in real distress; "but you were so heavy
I couldn't help it."
"Dear me!" gasped the King, from the darkness below, as he spluttered
and coughed to get the water out of his mouth. "Why didn't you tell me
you were going to let go?"
"I hadn't time," said Inga, sorrowfully.
"Well, I'm not suffering from thirst," declared the King, "for there's
enough water inside me to float all the boats of Regos and Coregos--or
at least it feels that way. But never mind! So long as I'm not actually
drowned, what does it matter?"
"What shall we do next?" asked the boy anxiously.
"Call someone to help you," was the reply.
"There is no one on the island but myself," said the boy; "--excepting
you," he added, as an afterthought.
"I'm not on it--more's the pity!--but _in_ it," responded Rinkitink.
"Are the warriors all gone?"
"Yes," said Inga, "and they have taken my father and mother, and all our
people, to be their slaves," he added, trying in vain to repress a sob.
"So--so!" said Rinkitink softly; and then he paused a moment, as if in
thought. Finally he said: "There are worse things than slavery, but I
never imagined a well could be one of them. Tell me, Inga, could you let
down some food to me? I'm nearly starved, and if you could manage to
send me down some food I'd be _well_ fed--hoo, hoo, heek, keek,
eek!--well fed. Do you see the joke, Inga?"
"Do not ask me to enjoy a joke just now, Your Majesty," begged Inga in a
sad voice; "but if you will be patient I will try to find something for
you to eat."
He ran back to the ruins of the palace and began searching for bits of
food with which to satisfy the hunger of the King, when to his surprise
he observed the goat, Bilbil, wandering among the marble blocks.
"What!" cried Inga. "Didn't the warriors get you, either?"
"If they had," calmly replied Bilbil, "I shouldn't be here."
"But how did you escape?" asked the boy.
"Easily enough. I kept my mouth shut and stayed away from the rascals,"
said the goat. "I knew that the soldiers would not care for a skinny old
beast like me, for to the eye of a stranger I seem good for nothing. Had
they known I could talk, and that my head contained more wisdom than a
hundred of their own noddles, I might not have escaped so easily."
"Perhaps you are right," said the boy.
"I suppose they got the old man?" carelessly remarked Bilbil.
"What old man?"
"Rinkitink."
"Oh, no! His Majesty is at the bottom of the well," said Inga, "and I
don't know how to get him out again."
"Then let him stay there," suggested the goat.
"That would be cruel. I am sure, Bilbil, that you are fond of the good
King, your master, and do not mean what you say. Together, let us find
some way to save poor King Rinkitink. He is a very jolly companion, and
has a heart exceedingly kind and gentle."
"Oh, well; the old boy isn't so bad, taken altogether," admitted Bilbil,
speaking in a more friendly tone. "But his bad jokes and fat laughter
tire me dreadfully, at times."
Prince Inga now ran back to the well, the goat following more leisurely.
"Here's Bilbil!" shouted the boy to the King. "The enemy didn't get him,
it seems."
"That's lucky for the enemy," said Rinkitink. "But it's lucky for me,
too, for perhaps the beast can assist me out of this hole. If you can
let a rope down the well, I am sure that you and Bilbil, pulling
together, will be able to drag me to the earth's surface."
"Be patient and we will make the attempt," replied Inga encouragingly,
and he ran to search the ruins for a rope. Presently he found one that