CHAPTER VI
THE HUMAN OCTOPUS SNOOPS AROUND
Watched by the admiring eyes of Dragonfel and his followers the HumanOctopus wriggled and squirmed his way out of the enchanter's palace.And, whether he flew through the air, or swam through the waters, toQueen Titania's fairy kingdom, using his tentacles as propellers, isa matter for conjecture. But, at any rate, he got there with alltentacles. Whenever his suspicions were aroused, or there was theslightest doubt, he would hastily secrete himself among shrubbery orweeds, with which his mottled green sides proved a perfect match, sothat as a whole he blended in admirably with the vegetation.
He did not have a heart, a rather sluggish liver performing for himinstead the necessary functions of the other organ, and, as heapproached Queen Titania's palace with due caution, it thumped withtorpid pleasure.
If there was anything he liked above all others it was sneaking, andthe job which Dragonfel had given him presented most attractivepossibilities.
Noting a gurgling brook in the proximity of the portcullis, he tookgreat pains to soak the round pad-like ends of his tentacles in water sothat when they were applied to a flat surface they would adhere throughatmospheric pressure sufficiently to bear his weight.
In such a manner, when no one was looking, did the wily rascal climb upthe high garden-wall and down the other side, wriggling and squirmingwith ill-concealed chuckles toward the palace.
Only the magic dove that Euphrosyne had left, which was preening itselfon the edge of a fountain's basin, saw him, with the result that it wasstrongly tempted to fly back to the Goddess of Mirth forthwith.
At the fountain the Human Octopus took the precaution to again soak hismultifarious pads in water, after which with his goggle eyes he cockedhis head in a professional survey of the palace. Then he began to ascendone of its towering walls. Higher and higher, and still higher, he wentin perfect safety until at last he gained the roof and squatted on thetop of a chimney.
There he skillfully compressed himself to fit the dimensions of theflue, after which he began to let himself gently down like anelevator-car. A great volume of black, greasy smoke from the kitchensuddenly belched forth and hid him from sight.
It was not so long afterward that, all covered with soot, he crawled outof the big open fireplace in the throne-room. Before he did so he madesure to satisfy himself that no one was there. But there was no tellingwhen someone might come, and he knew it behooved him to secrete himselfand instantly.
His goggle eyes oscillated in all directions around the room, and hecraftily selected for his hiding-place a great tall clock that stood upclose against the wall in a corner by itself.
It was not a grandfather's clock, for there were no grandfathers inQueen Titania's kingdom. It was what might more properly be termed agrandmother's clock.
The villain opened the door, and projected himself into the clock'sinterior, being obliged in order to accomplish this to make hisproportions squarish and oblong. His queer-looking head showed at thetop instead of the clock's face. Then with one of his tentacles glued tothe door he pulled it back in its place.
"Now we shall see what we shall see," he snorted. "I must be patient andbide my time."
The big brass pendulum swaying rhythmically to and fro with its measuredtick-tock! tick-tock! kept hitting his stomach, and it tickled him sothat it was all he could do to keep from laughing.
But he knew that he must not do so. If he even snickered he might betrayhimself. So he put a number of his tentacles over his mouth and triedhard to keep a straight face.
Now, though every month was a fair month, a rare month, for the murmurof the little streams was never hushed, and the fruits and flowersalways were in bloom, with the skies mostly blue above them, and thewinds soft and kind, May to the fairies' way of thinking was thesweetest of all the happy year, and whenever it came round it wastendered a becoming ceremony.
The Eve o' May was a holiday, though it might truthfully be said thatevery day was a holiday.
But at this particular time when all nature was at its best there werespecial observances that sprang from the gladness and exultation in allhearts, the very joy of existence, and the happiness that was manifestedby every living thing.
Queen Titania and her fairies prepared for the innocent revels anddances that were to occur on a velvet sward some distance from thepalace grounds, and their hearts were pleasantly thrilled by a noticewith some pictures of Brownies that had been mysteriously tacked up inthe neighborhood.
Marvelous was the flower-texture of the gowns donned for this galaoccasion, and in her robes of blush-pink mossrose petals which sweptaway in a long, fragrant train Titania never looked more beautiful andcharming.
Little old Dame Drusilda who resembled a human morning-glory, with hat,bodice, and dress all like cornucopias, fumed, fretted, and ordered allthe other fairies around.
"As I live," the fussy dame declared, "we've forgotten to wind the bigclock, and it's almost run down. Violet and Daffodil, go to thethrone-room, and attend to this before we start."
The two good-naturedly ran to do her bidding, and when he saw themcoming the Human Octopus had an uneasy qualm.
He hastily tried to distort his ugly face into a resemblance of theRoman numerals, and stuck up two tentacles for the hour and minutehands, but the deception was a poor one, and would not work. Violet andDaffodil set about to wind the clock, but, on looking up to note thetime, they were confronted by a face twisted in an expression that theHuman Octopus very foolishly thought invited confidence, but whichinstead sent them scurrying and hurrying with gathered-up flower skirtsand ear-splitting shrieks from the room.
"I wonder what they're scared of," said the stupid fellow to himself."Well, it isn't the first time I've given folks a start in life. And nowit behooves me to remove myself from here forthwith, if not sooner, forif they come back and catch me the jig is up!"
The tick-tock! tick-tock! of the pendulum reminded him that everymoment was precious, so he scrambled out of the clock, and wig-waggedhis way out of the room.
When he came to a fountain he lumberingly clambered up into the basin,and puddled around in the water to get the soot off, and once more asthe dove watched him perform his ablutions it found it difficult torefrain from flying back to Euphrosyne.
The Human Octopus peered through a lattice, but none of the fairies wasin sight. Then he hustled up the garden-wall, and down the other side,finally secreting himself in a big floral urn by the portcullis, wherehe awaited further developments.
No one would have guessed he was there, for he seemed to be a partof the luxuriant green growth, and he even let his tentacles droopgracefully over with the branches and stalks of the palms and ferns toheighten the illusion.
Meanwhile Violet and Daffodil were telling a most harrowing story toQueen Titania and the rest of the fairies, but so frightened were theystill that it was hardly intelligible. Finally they were all prevailedupon to accompany the two to the throne-room to see for themselves.
Nothing was inside the clock, of course, but the brass works.
"It seems to me you both have very vivid imaginations, young ladies,"chided Dame Drusilda. "After this I would let Welsh rabbits alone."
"It's not there now, but it was there," persisted Violet stoutly, "andit was the most dreadful looking thing you ever saw."
"It was worse than that," added Daffodil. "It was the most dreadfullooking thing you never saw."
"Well, even if there was such a horrid creature, it's gone," said QueenTitania comfortingly, "so why should we trouble ourselves about it anylonger? It's time for our revels to begin, and if we don't hurry up theice cream will all melt, and remember there's angel-cake, charlotterusse, and lemonade besides!"
The tiny Cupids, whose hearts were going pit-a-pat, for they believedimplicitly every word that Violet and Daffodil had said, hastilygathered up Her Majesty's train.
All started from the palace, the portcullis being raised to let thempass, and from his hiding-place
in the urn the Human Octopus with hisbig, gloating, goggle eyes noted every movement that they made. Butthey had no suspicion that he lurked among the palms and ferns.
After they had disappeared from sight he flopped down, and keeping hiseyes close to the earth followed the wee footprints that they made.
His sleuth-like, sneaky search led him straight to where the fairiessported on the green, and as he drew nearer to them he exercised morecaution.
He compressed himself more closely to the ground, and picking out aluxuriant clump of peculiar rainbow roses whose leaves afforded a mosteffective screen he crawled to it to wait and bide his time.
As he watched the innocent, happy fays garlanded with fragrant,many-hued flowers pose and pirouette he could not deny to them witha certain grace that many enthusiasts would have pronounced mostexquisite. But he had never been to dancing school, and he did not tripthe light, fantastic tentacle himself.
He was greatly interested in all he saw, however, and even more so whenat last he noticed Queen Titania, the Cupids, and several of the fairiesleave the lithe, flushed, happy group. For Queen Titania had spiedthe rainbow roses, different from all the rest, and ran with eager,sparkling eyes to fill her arms with them. Little she dreamed of thedanger that lurked in all their perfumed radiance. Swiftly she came,outdistancing the others, and as she bent over in sweet, innocentpillage the mean, contemptible nature of the Human Octopus manifesteditself. Forgetful of his diplomatic mission, he wound his tentaclesaround her until she looked like a mesh-bag. When she began almostinstantly to scream he grimly increased the pressure. The fairies andCupids, horrified beyond measure by what they beheld, and helpless toaid their beloved queen, fled with wild cries.
The Human Octopus tightened his cruel grip. Titania's head fell back,her golden hair streamed over her shoulders, her eyes distended, and shecould not get her breath.
Slowly but surely the Human Octopus was strangling her!