_Chap. 12._
THE ENCHANTED ISLAND]
All at once it grew dark around them. Neither Cap'n Bill nor Trotliked this gloom, for it made them nervous not to be able to see theirenemies.
"We must be near a sea cavern, if not within one," whispered PrincessClia, and even as she spoke the network of scarlet arms parted beforethem, leaving an avenue for them to swim out of the cage. There wasbrighter water ahead, too, so the queen said, without hesitation:
"Come along, dear friends; but, let us clasp hands and keep closetogether."
They obeyed her commands and swam swiftly out of their prison and intothe clear water before them, glad to put a distance between themselvesand the loathesome sea devils. The monsters made no attempt to followthem, but they burst into a chorus of harsh laughter which warned ourfriends that they had not yet accomplished their escape.
The four now found themselves in a broad, rocky passage, which wasdimly lighted from some unknown source. The walls overhead, below themand at the sides all glistened, as if made of silver, and in placeswere set small statues of birds, beasts and fishes, occupying niches inthe walls and seemingly made from the same glistening material.
The queen swam more slowly, now that the sea devils had been leftbehind, and she looked exceedingly grave and thoughtful.
"Have you ever been here before?" asked Trot.
"No, dear," said the Queen, with a sigh.
"And do you know where we are?" continued the girl.
"I can guess," replied Aquareine. "There is only one place in all thesea where such a passage as that we are in could exist without myknowledge, and that is in the hidden dominions of Zog. If we are indeedin the power of that fearful magician we must summon all our courage toresist him, or we are lost!"
"Is Zog more powerful than the mermaids?" asked Trot, anxiously.
"I do not know, for we have never before met to measure our strength,"answered Aquareine. "But if King Anko could defeat the magician, as hesurely did, then I think I shall be able to do so."
"I wish I was sure of it," muttered Cap'n Bill.
Absolute silence reigned in the silver passage. No fish were there;not even a sea flower grew to relieve the stern grandeur of this vastcorridor. Trot began to be impressed with the fact that she was a goodway from her home and mother, and she wondered if she would ever getback again to the white cottage on the cliff. Here she was, at thebottom of the great ocean, swimming through a big tunnel that had anenchanted castle at one end, and a group of horrible sea devils at theother! In spite of this thought she was not very much afraid. Althoughtwo fairy mermaids were her companions, she relied, strange to say,more upon her tried and true friend Cap'n Bill, than upon her neweracquaintances to see her safely out of her present troubles.
Cap'n Bill himself did not feel very confident.
"I don't care two cents what becomes o' me," he told Princess Clia, ina low voice, "but I'm drea'ful worrited over our Trot. She's too sweetan' too young to be made an end of in this 'ere fashion."
Clia smiled at the speech.
"I'm sure you will find the little girl's end a good way off," shereplied. "Trust to our powerful queen, and be sure she will find somemeans for us all to escape uninjured."
The light grew brighter as they advanced, until finally they perceiveda magnificent archway just ahead of them. Aquareine hesitated amoment whether to go on, or turn back; but there was no escaping thesea devils behind them, and she decided the best way out of theirdifficulties was to bravely face the unknown Zog, and rely upon herfairy powers to prevent his doing any mischief to herself or herfriends. So she led the way, and together they approached the archwayand passed through it.
They now found themselves in a vast cavern, so great in extent thatthe dome overhead looked like the sky when seen from the earth. In thecenter of this immense sea cavern rose the towers of a splendid castle,all built of coral inlaid with silver, and having windows of clearglass.
Surrounding the castle were beds of beautiful sea flowers, many beingin full bloom, and these were laid out with great care in artisticdesigns. Goldfish and silverfish darted here and there among thefoliage, and the whole scene was so pretty and peaceful that Trot beganto doubt there was any danger lurking in such a lovely place.
As they paused to look around them, a brilliantly colored gregfishapproached and gazed at them curiously with his big, saucer-like eyes.
"So Zog has got you at last!" he said in a pitying tone. "How foolishyou were to swim into that part of the sea where he is powerful."
"The sea devils made us," explained Clia.
"Well, I'm sorry for you, I'm sure," remarked the Greg, and with aflash of his tail he disappeared among the sea foliage.
"Let us go to the castle," said the Queen, in a determined voice. "Wemay as well boldly defy our fate as to wait until Zog seeks us out."
So they swam to the entrance of the castle. The doors stood wide openand the interior seemed as well lighted as the cavern itself, althoughnone of them could discover from whence the light came.
At each side of the entrance lay a fish such as they had never seenbefore. It was flat as a doormat, and seemed to cling fast to thecoral floor. Upon its back were quills, like those of a porcupine, allpointed and sharp. From the center of the fish arose a head shapedlike a round ball, with a circle of piercing, bead-like eyes set init. These strange guardians of the entrance might be able to talk andto tell what their numerous eyes saw, yet they remained silent andwatchful. Even Aquareine gazed upon them curiously, and she gave alittle shudder as she did so.
Inside the entrance was a domed hall, with a flight of stairs leadingto an upper balcony. Around the hall were several doorways hung withcurtains made of woven seaweeds. Chairs and benches stood against thewall, and these astonished the visitors because neither stairs norchairs seemed useful in a kingdom where every living thing was supposedto swim and have a fish's tail. In Queen Aquareine's palaces benchesfor reclining were used, and stairs were wholly unnecessary; but inthe Palace of Zog the furniture and fittings were much like thoseof a house upon earth, and, except that every space was here filledwith water instead of air, Trot and Cap'n Bill might have imaginedthemselves in a handsome earthly castle.
The little group paused half fearfully in the hall, yet so far, therewas surely nothing to be afraid of. They were wondering what to donext, when the curtains of an archway were pushed aside and a boyentered. To Trot's astonishment he had legs, and walked upon themnaturally and with perfect ease. He was a delicate, frail lookinglittle fellow, dressed in a black velvet suit with knee breeches. Thebows at his throat and knees were of colored seaweeds, woven into broadribbons. His hair was yellow, and banged across his forehead. His eyeswere large and dark, with a pleasant, merry sparkle in them. Aroundhis neck he wore a high ruff, but in spite of this Trot could see thatbelow his plump cheeks were several scarlet-edged slits that lookedlike the gills of fishes, for they gently opened and closed as the boybreathed in the water by which he was surrounded. These gills did notgreatly mar the lad's delicate beauty, and he spread out his arms andbowed low and gracefully in greeting.
"Hello," said Trot.
"Why, I'd like to," replied the boy, with a laugh, "but, being a mereslave, it isn't proper for me to hello. But it's good to see earthpeople again, and I'm glad you're here."
"We're not glad," observed the girl; "we're afraid."
"You'll get over that," declared the boy, smilingly. "People lose a lotof time being afraid. Once I was myself afraid, but I found it was nofun, so I gave it up."
"Why were we brought here?" inquired Queen Aquareine, gently.
"I can't say, madam, being a mere slave," replied the boy. "But, youhave reminded me of my errand. I am sent to inform you all that Zogthe Forsaken, who hates all the world and is hated by all the world,commands your presence in his den."
"Do you hate Zog, too?" asked Trot.
"Oh, no," answered the boy. "People lose a lot of time in hatingothers, and there's no
fun in it at all. Zog may be hateful, but I'mnot going to waste time hating him. You may do so, if you like."
"You are a queer child," remarked the Mermaid Queen, looking at himattentively. "Will you tell us who you are?"
"Once, I was Prince Sacho of Sacharhineolaland, which is a sweetcountry, but hard to pronounce," he answered. "But in this domain Ihave but one title and one name, and that is 'Slave.'"
"How came you to be Zog's slave?" asked Clia.
"The funniest adventure you ever heard of," asserted the boy, witheager pride. "I sailed in a ship that went to pieces in a storm. Allon board were drowned but me--and I came mighty near it, to tell thetruth. I went down deep, deep into the sea, and at the bottom was Zog,watching the people drown. I tumbled on his head and he grabbed andsaved me, saying I would make a useful slave. By his magic power hemade me able to live under water, as the fishes live, and he brought meto this castle and taught me to wait upon him, as his other slaves do."
"Isn't it a dreadful, lonely life?" asked Trot.
"No, indeed," said Sacho; "we haven't any time to be lonely, and thedreadful things Zog does are very exciting and amusing, I assureyou. He keeps us guessing every minute, and that makes the life hereinteresting. Things were getting a bit slow an hour ago, but now thatyou are here I'm in hopes we will all be kept busy and amused for sometime."
"Are there many others in the castle besides you and Zog?" askedAquareine.
"Dozens of us. Perhaps hundreds. I've never counted them," said theboy. "But Zog is the only master; all the rest of us are in the sameclass, so there is no jealousy among the slaves."
"What is Zog like?" Cap'n Bill questioned.
At this the boy laughed, and the laugh was full of mischief.
"If I could tell you what Zog is like it would take me a year," was thereply. "But I can't tell you. Every one has a different idea of whathe's like, and soon you will see him yourselves."
"Are you fond of him?" asked Trot.
"If I said yes, I'd get a good whipping," declared Sacho. "I amcommanded to hate Zog, and being a good servant I try to obey. Ifanyone dared to like Zog I am sure he'd be instantly fed to theturtles; so I advise you not to like him."
"Oh, we won't," promised Trot.
"But we're keeping the master waiting, and that is also a dangerousthing to do," continued the boy. "If we don't hurry up Zog will beginto smile, and when he smiles there is trouble brewing."
The queen sighed.
"Lead the way, Sacho," she said. "We will follow."
The boy bowed again, and going to an archway held aside the curtainsfor them. They first swam into a small anteroom which led into a longcorridor, at the end of which was another curtained arch. Through thisSacho also guided them, and now they found themselves in a cleverlyconstructed maze. Every few feet were twists and turns, and sharpcorners, and sometimes the passage would be wide, and again so narrowthat they could just squeeze through in single file.
"Seems like we're gettin' further into the trap," growled Cap'n Bill."We couldn't find our way out o' here to save our lives."
"Oh, yes we could," replied Clia, who was just behind him. "Such a mazemay indeed puzzle you, but the queen or I could lead you safely throughit again, I assure you. Zog is not so clever as he thinks himself."
The sailor, however, found the maze very bewildering, and so did Trot.Passages ran in every direction, crossing and recrossing, and it seemedwonderful that the boy Sacho knew just which way to go. But he neverhesitated an instant. Trot looked carefully to see if there were anymarks to guide him, but every wall was of plain, polished marble, andevery turning looked just like all the others.
Suddenly Sacho stopped short. They were now in a broader passage, butas they gathered around their conductor, they found further advanceblocked. Solid walls faced them, and here the corridor seemed to end.
"Enter!" cried a clear voice.
"But we can't!" protested Trot.
"Swim straight ahead," whispered the boy, in soft tones. "There is noreal barrier before you. Your eyes are merely deceived by magic."
"Ah, I understand," said Aquareine, nodding her pretty head. Andthen she took Mayre's hand and swam boldly forward, while Cap'n Billfollowed holding the hand of Clia. And behold! the marble wall meltedaway before them, and they found themselves in a chamber more splendidthan even the fairy mermaids had ever seen before.