Part 10

The Lord Chancellor now showed considerable resource. The sentries had lowered their rifles, which, strictly speaking, they ought not yet to have done, so he pushed his way to the front, and said in an important voice, “I am the highest official of this country; this gentleman here is the Royal Head Bargeman; this lady is the one the King has asked to marry him, and this is her aunt; and this little girl is a human being, and therefore doesn’t come under your orders at all.”

“Oh, well, I suppose it’s all right,” said the sentry in a grumbling voice. “You can pass through, all of you, and if me and my mate thinks it isn’t all right afterwards, why we can shoot after you.”

“Have you got your rifles in order?” asked Colonel Jim in a sharp voice. “Let’s have a look at them.”

Because he was an officer, and had spoken in a voice of command, they obediently handed him their rifles to look at.

“Thank you,” said Colonel Jim, and handed the rifles to one of his men. “Now, you take these two and bring them along with us,” he said to another one. The surprised sentries found themselves prisoners, and made to walk by the side of the horses, which now proceeded at a foot’s pace up through the wood.

So far, all had gone well.

They kept a sharp look-out going through the wood, but saw no more soldiers. When they came to the edge of the wood they could see Dollfort across the open downs about a mile away.

Dollfort was a very fine toy fort, something like the one Peggy had seen driving into Dolltown, but much bigger. There were battlements all round it, with gates in them, and on the top of the fort was a large citadel. Outside the walls was a little town of dolls’ houses, where the families of the wooden soldiers lived. None but wooden soldiers occupied this fort, and of course that was why Selim had taken refuge there. He would tell them a great many lies and get them on his side.

The pursuing party remained in the shelter of the wood, where they could not be seen from the fort, even with a telescope, but they could see the fort themselves quite plainly, and the country that lay between. This was all open grass-land, and woolly sheep were feeding on it. There were no houses between the wood and the fort.

Colonel Jim at once announced that he was going to take his soldiers to the fort and summon Selim to surrender. The Lord Chancellor thought this was a dangerous proceeding, but Colonel Jim refused to listen to him. “I’m in military command here,” he said, “and that is what I am going to do.” No doubt he was in a hurry, not only because of the Queen being shut up there, in the power of Selim, but because his dear Lady Grace was also shut up there. But he did not say this. He left Mr. Noah in charge, and set off with his gallant little band. They watched them ride down the hill, and trot across the open road over the downs, and very fine they looked on their splendid black chargers, with the sun glittering on their helmets and cuirasses, and their white plumes waving in the breeze.

The two captured wooden soldiers had had their hands tied, but when Mr. Noah told them all about Selim’s wickedness, and about the Queen being still alive, they expressed such horror that he allowed them to be untied. They said that if the soldiers in the fort knew what had happened none of them would be on Selim’s side. They had only been prepared to obey him as King because he was of wood, but they were loyal to Queen Rosebud, and would be glad to have her reigning over them again. They were none of them pleased at the shutting up of all the Waxes, who had done them no harm, and rumours had come through to Dollfort that not only Waxes but some Woods also had been sent to prison, and this had pleased them still less. When the sentries were told that Wooden and her aunt had been two of the dolls in question, they were very interested, and said that their comrades would never fight for Selim, if it came to fighting. Whether this was true or not, you will soon see.

They watched the little troop of soldiers get smaller and smaller, and at last disappear among the houses outside the fort. Then they waited for a long time, while the sheep fed peacefully on the downs in the evening sunlight, and no other signs of life could be seen at all except the smoke rising from the houses round the fort.

They had finished talking, and had been sitting silent for about five minutes, when Wooden’s aunt, whose ears were very sharp, said suddenly, “Hark! What’s that?”

Nobody else had heard anything, but almost immediately Mr. Noah said, “There are guns firing.” And then Peggy distinctly heard some faint pops coming from the direction of the fort.

This was serious, because the life guardsmen had no rifles, but only their swords, and if they were being fired upon by the wooden soldiers it would be difficult for them to defend themselves.

“Look!” cried Peggy in great excitement.

Just where the houses began, a mile away, there was a flash of sun on bright metal, and no sooner had she spoken than they could all see that it was on the helmets and breastplates of the soldiers. Then they saw the life guardsmen galloping towards them, and directly they had got clear of the houses, they saw the scarlet and white of the wooden soldiers following them, and heard their guns shooting. But none of the horse-soldiers seemed to be hit, and on they came, galloping along the road, and on the grass on either side of it. The foot-soldiers came running after them, but of course they could not go nearly so fast, and presently Colonel Jim and his men galloped up the road into the wood.

By this time the wooden soldiers were about a quarter of the way between the fort and the wood. There seemed to be an enormous number of them. They had left off firing their rifles, but were coming on at a good pace. In not so very long they would reach the wood, and it really seemed as if they must capture not only Colonel Jim and his troop, but Peggy and the Woodens and all the rest of them. Peggy _was_ a little frightened then, for the red and white was coming towards them like a great wave, and all the soldiers had rifles, which they would certainly use if any resistance were offered to them.

Colonel Jim cast one hurried glance round him. “If we had axes,” he said, “we could make a barricade, and keep them at bay until we could send for reinforcements. As it is, I’m afraid we must clear out.”

“What, and leave my sister-in-law shut up there!” exclaimed Wooden’s aunt. “Never! If nobody else stays, I shall. I’ve got a sharp pair of nails, and I can give them a few scratches.”

Now, this was plucky of Wooden’s aunt, and loyal too. She had only mentioned Wooden’s mother, but no doubt she had had the Queen in her mind as well. But she had left out of account the military situation, not knowing much about that sort of thing, and her opinion could not be allowed to stand against that of Colonel Jim, who was quite as brave as she was, but knew when there was a chance of fighting successfully and when it was better to retreat.

“We shall have to go,” he said decidedly. “If they take us prisoners we can’t do any more good, but if we get back to Dolltown we can bring out reinforcements and take the fort. To horse, all of you!”

The wooden soldiers were now about halfway across the stretch of open country. They were not running so fast now, as they must have got rather winded with their first effort, but more and more of them were coming out of the fort, and it was quite plain that the little band in the wood would have no possible chance against them.

They untied the horses and ponies, and were just preparing to mount, when Wooden’s aunt said, “Hark! I heard a shout.”

She turned towards the interior of the wood, and they all listened. Yes, there was somebody shouting, and they heard the noise of a horse galloping furiously, besides. In a moment there came into sight, among the trees--who do you think? None other than Peggy’s faithful old Teddy.

XVII

THE BATTLE

Teddy galloped up to them and threw himself off his horse. One glance at the advancing wave of wooden soldiers showed him what the position was. There was no time to explain what he had been doing. Every moment was of value. “There’s cavalry and infantry coming up,” he said to Colonel Jim. “We can make a stand here. Better send one of your men back to hurry up the guns.”

But there was no necessity to do this, for as Teddy was speaking they could hear the noise of horses trotting along through the wood, and almost immediately a lot of lead soldiers made their appearance, and came rapidly towards them. They were Lancers, on bright bay horses, and very smart they looked with the little flags fluttering at the tops of their lances.

The Colonel of the regiment rode at the head of them. He came up to Colonel Jim, and saluted. “Just in time, eh, sir?” he said. Colonel Jim saluted, too, and said, “Are your men ready for a charge, sir? If so, we can keep them off till the guns come up.”

The Colonel of the Lancer regiment threw one glance at the approaching wooden soldiers. There were thousands and thousands of them, and only a few of his men could come up at a time, by the narrow road through the wood. But odds did not daunt him, and he at once gave the order to charge.

The Lancers who had gathered at the edge of the wood immediately charged down the hill, shouting and singing in the most gallant fashion, the Colonel at their head; and the others who were coming up behind quickened their pace and followed them. They spread out as they got into the open, so as to charge the whole front of the wooden infantry. Colonel Jim held his own little troop back, partly out of politeness to the Colonel of Lancers, partly because their horses were blown.

It had all happened so quickly that Peggy had not had time to be frightened yet. But the noise of the horses galloping and the men shouting got louder and louder, and the wooden soldiers had now got so near that their shouts could be heard too, as they stood to receive the shock of the cavalry. She suddenly shrieked, and clung to Wooden. “Oh, they’re not going to kill each other, are they?” she cried. “Do let’s go away!”

Wooden soothed her. “Of course they’re not going to kill each other, dear,” she said. “Soldiers don’t do that in Toyland. They only knock each other down; and whichever side knocks most down wins.”

This relieved Peggy’s fears a little, and in any case she was in the thick of it now, and had to see it through. She was really a plucky little girl, and by the time the cavalry got to the bottom of the hill she had partly recovered from her fright, and did not shut her eyes.

The cavalry rode gallantly at the thick mass of soldiers, with their lances levelled, and whenever they hit a wooden soldier, down he went. The wooden soldiers fired their rifles at them as they came down the hill, and knocked over a few. But the bullets, which were small peas, of a kind grown specially for rifle ammunition, were not big enough to do much damage against men and horses coming so fast. It was only when several bullets hit the same soldier, or his horse, that they were knocked over. But the foot-soldiers left off firing and began to use their bayonets when the cavalry got amongst them, and then they did knock over a large number of men and horses, though not nearly so many as the Lancers knocked over of them.

It was most fascinating to watch. The Lancers went on and on through the masses of infantry, and wherever they went, down fell heaps of wooden soldiers. And when they were knocked down they lay quite still on the ground, and took no further interest in the proceedings. But the farther in the Lancers went the less they became, as men and horses were bowled over in their turn. It was just as if they were being swallowed up in the great mass of red and white, and there were so many of the wooden soldiers that it soon became plain that in a short time the Lancers would all disappear.

Peggy watched the Colonel, who was always in front, fight his way steadily on, dealing lightning blows to right and left of him. But at last he went down, and the red coats were almost as thick as before, and still more were always coming up from the fort.

It was then that Colonel Jim rallied his little troop for a last gallant charge. Teddy had galloped back through the wood, while the Lancers were charging, to hurry up the guns. He now came tearing back, and said to Colonel Jim in a hurried voice, “The guns will be here in a couple of minutes. If you can keep them back till then we shall have them beaten.”

“I’ll try,” said Colonel Jim, looking at his little troop, which seemed almost nothing at all compared to the masses of soldiers advancing on them; and then he gave the word to charge.

It was a desperate effort. The shock of the Lancers’ charge had now spent itself. The wooden soldiers, who had been kept back by it for a time which was short measured by minutes, but of inestimable value to the defenders of the wood, were now forming at the foot of the hill. If they succeeded in getting to the top of it, the little party in the wood would be surrounded and taken prisoners. Could Colonel Jim’s handful of men save them?

The troopers were given instructions to form themselves into a line at the edge of the wood, and then to charge down the hill all together. They rode out of the shelter of the trees, and formed their line with as much coolness as if they were on parade. The foot-soldiers began firing again, and the bullets pattered on their cuirasses like hail, but had no effect upon these heroes, except to sting them up when they caught them in their faces, and to make their horses restive. Peggy could hear the bullets whistling and pattering amongst the leaves of the trees over her head, but she and the dolls had been withdrawn a little into the wood. Owing to the angle at which the wooden soldiers fired, there was no danger for them as long as the firing was from the bottom of the hill.

It took the life-guardsmen a very short time to form into line, and, as the wooden soldiers had halted to fire at them, the time was not wasted. The moment they were in line, Colonel Jim, who was in the middle, slightly in advance of the rest, gave the word to charge.

Down swept the splendid little band, in an irresistible charge. It was no good firing at them any longer, and the wooden soldiers stood with bayonets fixed to receive the shock. Wooden’s aunt, who had been getting more and more excited at what was happening, ran forward to the edge of the wood to watch, and Peggy and the others went with her.

The sudden leaving off of the firing made a lull, in which the noise of the horses’ hoofs could be heard thundering down the hill. When they reached the bottom, the shock of the encounter was just like hammer blows, as wood met metal.

The front line of wooden soldiers seemed to waver a little as the horsemen approached them. And no wonder! The wooden soldiers were brave enough, and they did not yet know that they were fighting in a bad cause, so there was nothing to make them cowards. But the first line of them, at least, must have known that they would all go down before the irresistible charge, and it spoke well for them that they stood and waited for it, instead of running away.

It was not only the front line that went down under the weight, but the second and third. It really looked for a moment as if that single line of heavy cavalry would push the opposing host back all by itself. And, so far, not a single man or horse of them had fallen.

But the impetus of the furious charge was bound to spend itself. A life-guardsman went down, and then another. But still they struggled on, Colonel Jim in front of them fighting desperately, as the Colonel of the Lancers had done. It was no longer a line of steel destroying everything in front of it as it swept on, but a few scattered horsemen, fighting gloriously against overwhelming odds.

But still they did advance, and for every horse and rider that went down a score or more of foot soldiers bit the dust.

“They’ll do it! They’ll do it!” yelled Wooden’s aunt, dancing about in a state of tremendous excitement.

Teddy, sitting on his horse, was no less excited. “They’re giving way!” he cried. And Peggy distinctly saw a quiver run through the mass of wooden soldiers, like wind passing over a field of corn.

At this very moment there was a roar and a rumble from the wood behind, and the artillery came galloping up, just in the nick of time. A great shout was raised, which struck terror into the hearts of the wooden soldiers down below. Before the first gun could be unlimbered and pointed at them, the great mass of red coats turned and broke. Colonel Jim, and all that was left of his little troop, took up the shout, and redoubled their efforts. They had it all their own way now. The enemy was flying, and not one wooden soldier tried to knock them down any more, but only to escape their blows, and get back in safety to the fort.

The big guns got to work. One of them was quite near to where Peggy and the Woodens were standing. It was quickly loaded with gunpowder and an enormous pea. She stopped her ears as it was fired, but the noise was not so bad as if it had been a real gun. She distinctly saw the great pea fall in the middle of the fleeing army, and then go bowling along, knocking over lots of soldiers before its force had spent itself.

Orders soon came, however, for the artillery to cease firing. More regiments of cavalry were coming up through the wood. As they arrived they were sent down to pursue the wooden soldiers, and also to ride round them, and cut them off from the fort. There was no necessity to knock down any more of them. If they were surrounded they would be obliged to surrender, and this would come to the same thing. The guns would be wanted to reduce the fort, and, until further supplies of ammunition came up, they did not want to waste it.

It was a pretty sight to see the cavalry galloping over the downs, outflanking the flying red coats, and presently getting between them and the fort. But a good many wooden soldiers who had only got a little way out when the rout began had already succeeded in making their way back. There would be plenty to defend the fort, if Selim should decide to try to hold it.

XVIII

THE SIEGE

The great contest that would be known in the history of Toyland as the Battle of the Downs had been fought and won. But Queen Rosebud was not yet set free, and Selim was not yet captured. There was still stern work to be done. Dollfort must be taken at all costs, and as it was one of the strongest forts in the country that would be no light matter.

The affair, however, was set in hand at once. The artillery limbered up and galloped down the hill and trotted across the downs, making a fine show. There were about twenty guns--quite enough to make a breach in the walls. But when they had done so, infantry would be required to pour in through the breach and complete the work that the guns had begun. The cavalry had already done their share, and would not be of much use for this task For in the valiant army of Toyland it was not customary to use horse-soldiers apart from their horses.

But Teddy, who seemed to have thought of everything, had asked for infantry to be sent from Dolltown, as well as cavalry and artillery, and almost as soon as the guns had thundered off down the hill the first detachment of foot-soldiers came up through the wood.

If they had had to march from Dolltown they could not have been there in time; but all the available conveyances had been used to bring them up. The first lot arrived in toy motor-cars, and then followed carriages and cabs and carts in quick succession, until quite enough men were there to overcome any resistance the fort might make.

Peggy, and the little group of civilian dolls watched the first regiment form up and march away towards their task at Dollfort. It was a regiment of wooden soldiers, and the Lord Chancellor said he thought that was a mistake, as they would not like fighting against their own sort. But Teddy, who came up to say a word to them now and then, laughed at this. “They are all loyal,” he said. “So will the soldiers at Dollfort be, when they know the truth.”

There was certainly no lack of eagerness shown by this fine regiment, as it marched down the hill with its flag at its head. Peggy was interested to see Captain Louisa marching with one of the companies. He had said that his men would follow him anywhere, and she was glad to see that he was prepared to fight on the side of the right.

When the first regiment had marched off, Teddy came up to them and said, “I think we might go now. You’d like to see the guns knock the fort down, wouldn’t you?”

Peggy said she should like it very much. She had always liked playing with her boy cousin with his soldiers, and this was just like one of the battles and sieges that they had arranged, only on an enormous, glorious scale. Since she had seen that there was no horrible bloodshed, but only fair and square knocking down, from which none of the soldiers would be much the worse afterwards, she had ceased to feel any alarm at the fighting, and was quite ready to see some more of it.

They rode across the downs towards Dollfort, and now Teddy had time to tell them how he had so luckily been able to bring up the troops, and spoil Selim’s little game.

He had been galloping along the road after the two carriages and must have nearly caught them up, when he had met Japhet, Mr. Noah’s third son. He had been just about to pass him with a wave of the paw, when Japhet had stopped him, and told him some most important news.

Now Japhet was a mild-mannered, studious young man, whose great hobby was the collection of wildflowers, which he pressed in a book. Whenever he was off duty on the royal Ark, he used to wander about the country picking flowers. Sometimes he went alone, and sometimes with a friend, who shared the same tastes. This friend was also in the royal service. In fact, he was none other than the driver of the carriage in which Selim had run away with Queen Rosebud. Japhet had made arrangements to meet him that very evening on the road between Dolltown and Dollfort, and have a good long ramble with him.

It was fortunate that it was just on this road that Japhet had arranged to meet his friend. Of course, if he had not come, Japhet would have known that it was because he was on duty; but he would not have known where he was going.

As the carriage passed, Japhet waved to his friend, and asked him where he was going. His friend said “Dollfort.” They both spoke under their breaths, making great movement with their mouths, and the driver also made a movement with his head towards the carriage behind him, and said in the same way, “I’ve got the old man with me.” This was how these two talked to each other about Selim, and was not meant for disrespect, as they would not have done it in public.

Teddy said, “Are you sure he said Dollfort and not Dollport?”

Japhet said he was quite sure, because he had jerked his thumb to the right, where Dollfort was. If he had meant Dollport, he would have pointed straight ahead.

Then Teddy had seen it all. Selim was not going to try to escape by sea, with Queen Rosebud, but was going to rouse the wooden soldiers of Dollfort, and perhaps try to get the kingdom back with their help. So Teddy turned sharp round, and rode back to Dolltown--but not along the road by which he had come--leaving Japhet standing there in considerable surprise.