Part 8

"I've often heard of you, your Majesty," returned the chief cook, bowing respectfully, "and I must say I've heard only good of you. Now that you have unfortunately become my master's prisoners it will give me pleasure to serve you as well as I am able."

"We thank you, good sir," said Aquareine.

"What have you got to eat?" inquired Trot. "Seems to me I'm hollow way down to my toes--my tail, I mean--and it'll take a lot to fill me up. We haven't eaten a morsel since breakfast, you know."

"I think I shall be able to give you almost anything you would like," said the cook. "Zog is a wonderful magician, and can procure anything that exists with no more effort than a wiggle of his thumb. But some eatables, you know, are hard to serve under water, because they get so damp that they are soon ruined."

"Ah, it is different with the mermaids," said Princess Clia.

"Yes; all your things are kept dry because they are surrounded by air. I've heard how the mermaids live. But here it is different."

"Take this ring," said the Queen, handing the chief cook a circlet which she drew from her finger. "While it is in your possession the food you prepare will not get wet--or even moist."

"I thank your Majesty," returned the cook, taking the ring. "My name is Tom Atto, and I'll do my best to please you. How would you like for luncheon some oysters on the half shell, clam broth, shrimp salad, broiled turtle steak and watermelon?"

"That will do very nicely," answered the Queen.

"Do watermelons grow in the sea?" asked Trot.

"Of course; that is why they are called watermelons," replied Tom Atto. "I think I shall serve you a water ice, in addition to the rest. Water ice is an appropriate sea food."

"Have some water cress with the salad," said Cap'n Bill.

"I'd thought of that," declared the cook. "Doesn't my bill of fare make your mouths water?"

"Hurry up and get it ready," suggested Trot.

Tom Atto at once bowed and retired, and when they were alone, Cap'n Bill said to the queen:

"Do you think, ma'am, we can manage to escape from Zog and his castle?"

"I hope we shall find a way," replied Aquareine. "The evil powers of magic, which Zog controls, may not prove to be as strong as the fairy powers I possess; but of course I cannot be positive until I discover what this wicked magician is able to do."

Princess Clia was looking out of one of the windows.

"I think I can see an opening far up in the top of the dome," she said.

They all hastened to the windows to look, and although Trot and Cap'n Bill could see nothing but a solid dome above the castle--perhaps, because it was so far away from them--the sharp eyes of Aquareine were not to be deceived.

"Yes," she announced, "there is surely an opening in the center of the great dome. A little thought must convince us that such an opening is bound to exist, for otherwise the water confined within the dome would not be fresh or clear."

"Then, if we could escape from this castle, we could swim up to the hole in the dome and get free!" exclaimed Trot.

"Why, Zog has probably ordered the opening well guarded, as he has all other outlets," responded the Queen. "Yet it may be worth while for us to make the attempt to get back into the broad ocean this way. The night would be the best time, when all are asleep; and surely it will be quicker to reach the ocean through this hole in the roof, than by means of the long, winding passages by which we entered."

"But we will have to break out of the castle, in some way," observed Cap'n Bill.

"That will not be difficult," answered Aquareine. "It will be no trouble for me to shatter one of these panes of glass, allowing us to pass out and swim straight up to the top of the dome."

"Let's do it now!" said Trot, eagerly.

"No, my dear; we must wait for a good opportunity, when we are not watched closely. We do not wish the terrible Zog to thwart our plan," answered the Queen, gently.

Presently, two sailor boys entered, bearing trays of food which they placed upon a large table. They were cheery-faced young fellows, with gills at their throats but had laughing eyes, and Trot was astonished not to find any of the slaves of Zog weeping or miserable. Instead, they were as jolly and good-natured as could be, and seemed to like their life under the water. Cap'n Bill asked one of these boys how many slaves were in the castle, and the youth replied that he would try to count them and let him know.

Tom Atto had, they found, prepared for them an excellent meal, and they ate heartily because they were really hungry. After luncheon Cap'n Bill smoked his pipe contentedly and they renewed their conversation, planning various ways to outwit Zog and make their escape. While thus engaged the gong at the door sounded and Sacho entered.

"My diabolical master commands you to attend him," said the boy.

"When?" asked Aquareine.

"At once, your Majesty."

"Very well; we will follow you," she said.

So they swam down the corridors, following Sacho, until they again reached the golden domed room they had formerly visited.

Here sat Zog, just as they had left him, seemingly; but when his prisoners entered the magician arose and stood upon his cloven feet, and then silently walked to a curtained archway.

Sacho commanded the prisoners to follow, and beyond the archway they found a vast chamber that occupied the center of the castle and was as big as a ballroom. Zog, who seemed to walk with much difficulty because his ungainly body swayed back and forth, did not go far beyond the arched entrance. A golden throne was set near by, and in this the monster seated himself.

At one side of the throne stood a group of slaves. They were men, women and children. All had broad gold bands clasped around their ankles, as a badge of servitude, and at each throat were the fish's gills that enabled them to breathe, and live under water. Yet every face was smiling and serene, even in the presence of their dread master. In parts of the big hall were groups of other slaves.

Sacho ranged the prisoners in a circle before Zog's throne, and slowly the magician turned his eyes, glowing like live coals, upon the four.

"Captives," said he, speaking in his clear, sweet voice, "in our first interview you defied me, and both the mermaid queen and the princess declared they could not die. But if that is a true statement, as I have yet to discover, there are various ways to make you miserable and unhappy, and this I propose to do in order to amuse myself at your expense. You have been brought here to undergo the first trial of strength between us."

None of the prisoners replied to this speech, so Zog turned to one of his slaves and said:

"Rivivi, bring in the Yell-Maker."

Rivivi was a big fellow, brown of skin, and with flashing black eyes. He bowed to his master and left the room by an archway covered with heavy draperies. The next moment these curtains were violently pushed aside and a dreadful sea creature swam into the hall. It had a body much like that of a crab, only more round and of a jet-black color. Its eyes were bright yellow balls set on the ends of two horns that stuck out of its head. They were cruel looking eyes, too, and seemed able to see every person in the room at the same time.

The legs of the Yell-Maker, however, were the most curious part of the creature. There were six of them, slender and black as coal, and each extended twelve to fifteen feet from its body, when stretched out in a straight line. They were hinged in several places, so they could be folded up, or extended at will. At the ends of these thin legs were immense claws shaped like those of a lobster, and they were real "nippers," of a most dangerous sort.

The prisoners knew, as soon as they saw the awful claws, why the thing was called the "Yell-Maker," and Trot gave a little shiver and crept closer to Cap'n Bill.

Zog looked with approval upon the creature he had summoned, and said to it:

"I give you four victims--the four people with fish's tails. Let me hear how loud they can yell."

The Yell-Maker uttered a grunt of pleasure and in a flash stretched out one of its long legs toward the queen's nose, where its powerful claws came together with a loud snap. Aquareine did not stir; she only smiled. Both Zog and the creature that had attacked her seemed much surprised to find she was unhurt.

"Again!" cried Zog; and again the Yell-Maker's claw shot out and tried to pinch the queen's pretty ear. But the magic of the fairy mermaid was proof against this sea-rascal's strength and swiftness, nor could he touch any part of Aquareine, although he tried again and again, roaring with anger like a mad bull.

Trot began to enjoy this performance, and as her merry, childish laughter rang out the Yell-Maker turned furiously upon the little girl, two of the dreadful claws trying to nip her at the same time. She had no chance to cry out, or jump backward; yet she remained unharmed. For the Fairy Circle of Queen Aquareine kept her safe.

Now Cap'n Bill was attacked, and Princess Clia as well. The half-dozen slender legs darted in every direction, like sword thrusts, to reach their victims, and the cruel claws snapped so rapidly that the sound was like the rattling of castanets. But the four prisoners regarded their enemy with smiling composure, and no yell greeted the Yell-Maker's efforts.

"Enough!" said Zog, softly and sweetly. "You may retire, my poor Yell-Maker, for with these people you are powerless."

The creature paused, and rolled its yellow eyes.

"May I nip just one of the slaves, oh, Zog?" it asked, pleadingly. "I hate to leave without pleasing your ears with a single yell."

"Let my slaves alone," was Zog's answer. "They are here to serve me, and must not be injured. Go, feeble one!"

"Not so!" cried the Queen. "It is a shame, Zog, that such an evil thing should exist in our fair sea." With this, she drew her fairy wand from a fold of her gown and waved it toward the creature. At once, the Yell-Maker sank down unconscious upon the floor; its legs fell apart in many pieces, the claws tumbling in a heap beside the body. Then all grew withered and lost shape, becoming a pulpy mass, like gelatine. A few moments later the creature had melted away to nothing at all, forever disappearing from the ocean where it had caused so much horror and pain.

Zog watched this destruction with surprising patience. When it was all over he nodded his head and smiled, and Trot noticed that whenever Zog smiled his slaves lost their jolly looks and began to tremble.

"That is very pretty magic, Aquareine," said the monster. "I, myself, learned the trick several thousand years ago, so it does not astonish me. Have you fairies nothing that is new to show me?"

"We desire only to protect ourselves," replied the Queen, with dignity.

"Then I will give you a chance to do so," said Zog.

As he spoke the great marble blocks in the ceiling of the room, directly over the heads of the captives, gave way and came crashing down upon them. Many tons of weight were in these marble blocks, and the magician had planned to crush his victims where they stood.

But the four were still unharmed. The marble, being unable to touch them, was diverted from its course, and when the roar of the great crash had died away Zog saw his intended victims standing quietly in their places, and smiling scornfully at his weak attempts to destroy them.

Cap'n Bill's heart was beating pretty fast, but he did not let Zog know that. Trot was so sure of the protection of the fairy mermaids that she would not allow herself to become frightened. Aquareine and Clia were as calm as if nothing had happened.

"Please excuse this little interruption," said Zog. "I knew very well the marble blocks could not hurt you. But the play is over for a time. You may now retire to your rooms, and when I again invite you to my presence I shall have found some better way to entertain you."

Without reply to this threat they turned and followed Sacho from the hall, and the boy led them straight back to their own rooms.

"Zog is making a great mistake," said Sacho, with a laugh. "He has no time for vengeance, but the great magician does not know that."

"What is he trying to do, anyway?" asked Trot.

"He does not tell me his secrets, but I've an idea he wants to kill you," replied Sacho. "How absurd it is to be plotting such a thing, when he might spend his time in laughing and being jolly! Isn't it, now?"

"Zog is a wicked, wicked, creature!" exclaimed Trot.

"But he has his good points," replied Sacho, cheerfully. "There is no one in all the world so bad that there is nothing good about him."

"I'm not so sure of that," said Cap'n Bill. "What are Zog's good points?"

"All his slaves were saved from drowning, and he is kind to them," said Sacho.

"That is merely the kindness of selfishness," said Aquareine. "Tell me, my lad, is the opening in the great dome outside guarded?"

"Yes, indeed," was the reply. "You cannot hope to escape in that way, for the prince of the sea devils, who is the largest and fiercest of his race, lies crouched over the opening, night and day, and none can pass his network of curling legs."

"Is there no avenue that is not guarded?" continued Aquareine.

"None at all, your Majesty. Zog is always careful to be well guarded, for he fears the approach of an enemy. What this enemy can be, to terrify the powerful magician, I do not know; but Zog is always afraid and never leaves an entrance unguarded. Besides, it is an enchanted castle, you know, and none in the ocean can see it unless Zog wishes him to. So it will be very hard for his enemy to find him."

"We wish to escape," said Clia. "Will you help us, Sacho?"

"In any way I can," replied the boy.

"If we succeed, we will take you with us," continued the Princess. But Sacho shook his head, and laughed.

"I would indeed like to see you escape Zog's vengeance," said he, "for vengeance is wrong and you are too pretty, and too good to be destroyed. But I am happy here, and have no wish to go away, having no other home or friends, other than my fellow slaves."

Then he left them, and when they were again alone, Aquareine said:

"We were able to escape Zog's attacks to-day, but I am quite sure he will plan more powerful ways to destroy us. He has shown that he knows some clever magic and perhaps I shall not be able to foil it. So it will be well for us to escape to-night, if possible."

"Can you fight and conquer the big sea devil up in the dome?" asked Trot.

The queen was thoughtful, and did not reply to this question at once. But Cap'n Bill said, uneasily:

"I can't abide them devil critters, an' I hopes, for my part, we won't be called on to tackle 'em. You see, Trot, we're in consider'ble of a bad mess, an' if we ever live to tell the tale--"

"Why not, Cap'n?" asked the child. "We're safe enough, so far. Can't you trust to our good friend the queen?"

"She don't seem plumb sure o' things herself," remarked the sailor. "The mermaids is all right an' friendly, mate, but this 'ere magic maker--ol' Zog--is a bad one, out 'n' out, an' means to kill us, if he can."

"But he can't!" cried Trot, bravely.

"I hope you're right, dear. I wouldn't want to bet on Zog's chances, jes' yet, an' at the same time it would be riskin' money to bet on our chances. Seems to me it's a case of luck which wins."

"Don't worry, friend," said the Queen. "I have a plan to save us. Let us wait patiently until nightfall."

They waited in the Rose Chamber a long time, talking earnestly together; but the brilliant light that flooded both the room and the great dome outside did not fade in the least.

After several hours had passed away the gong sounded and Tom Atto again appeared, followed by four slaves bearing many golden dishes upon silver trays. The friendly cook had prepared a fine dinner and they were all glad to find that, whatever Zog intended to do to them, he had no intention of starving them. Perhaps the magician realized that Aquareine's fairy powers, if put to the test, would be able to provide food for her companions; but whatever his object may have been, their enemy had given them splendid rooms and plenty to eat.

"Isn't it nearly night time?" asked the Queen, as Tom Atto spread the table with a cloth of woven seaweed and directed his men to place the dishes upon it.

"Night!" he exclaimed, as if surprised. "There is no night here."

"Doesn't it ever get dark?" inquired Trot.

"Never. We know nothing of the passage of time, or of day and night. The light always shines just as you see it now, and we sleep whenever we are tired and rise again as soon as we are rested."

"What causes the light?" Princess Clia asked.

"It's magic, your Highness," said the cook, solemnly. "It's one of the curious things Zog is able to do. But you must remember all this place is a big cave, in which the castle stands, so the light is never seen by anyone, except those who live here."

"But why does Zog keep his light going all the time?" asked the Queen.

"I suppose it is because he himself never sleeps," replied Tom Atto. "They say the master hasn't slept for hundreds of years; not since Anko, the sea serpent, defeated him and drove him into this place."

They asked no more questions, and began to eat their dinner in silence. Before long Cap'n Joe came in to visit his brother, and took a seat at the table with the prisoners. He proved a jolly fellow, and when he and Cap'n Bill talked about their boyhood days the stories were so funny that everybody laughed, and for a time forgot their worries.

When dinner was over, however, and Cap'n Joe had gone back to his work of sewing on buttons and the servants had carried away the dishes, the prisoners remembered their troubles and the fate that awaited them.

"I am much disappointed," said the Queen, "to find there is no night here, and that Zog never sleeps. It will make our escape more difficult. Yet we must make the attempt, and as we are tired and a great struggle is before us, it will be best for us to sleep and refresh ourselves."

They agreed to this, for the day had been long and adventurous, so Cap'n Bill kissed Trot and went into the Peony Room, where he lay down upon his spongy couch and soon fell fast asleep.

The mermaids and Trot followed this example, and I think none of them was much worried, after all, because they quickly sank into peaceful slumber and forgot all the dangers that threatened them.

"Goodness me!" exclaimed Trot, raising herself by a flirt of her pink-scaled tail and a wave of her fins; "isn't it dreadful hot here?"

The mermaids had risen at the same time, and Cap'n Bill came swimming in from the Peony Room in time to hear the little girl's speech.

"Hot!" echoed the sailor, "why, I feel like the inside of a steam engine!"

The perspiration was rolling down his round, red face, and he took out his handkerchief and carefully wiped it away, waving his fishtail gently at the same time.

"What we need most in this room," said he, "is a fan."

"What's the trouble, do you s'pose?" inquired Trot.

"It is another trick of the monster Zog," answered the Queen, calmly. "He has made the water in our rooms boiling hot, and if it could touch us we would be well cooked by this time. Even as it is, we are all made uncomfortable by breathing the heated air."

"What shall we do, ma'am?" the sailorman asked, with a groan. "I expected to get into hot water afore we've done with this foolishness, but I don't like the feel o' bein' par-boiled, jes' the same."

The queen was waving her fairy wand, and paid no attention to Cap'n Bill's moans. Already, the water felt cooler and they began to breathe more easily. In a few moments more the heat had passed from the surrounding water altogether, and all danger from this source was over.

"This is better," said Trot, gratefully.

"Do you care to sleep again?" asked the Queen.

"No; I'm wide awake, now," answered the child.

"I'm afraid if I goes to sleep ag'in I'll wake up a pot roast," said Cap'n Bill.

"Let us consider ways to escape," suggested Clia. "It seems useless for us to remain here, quietly, until Zog discovers a way to destroy us."

"But we must not blunder," added Aquareine, cautiously. "To fail in our attempt would be to acknowledge Zog's superior power, so we must think well upon our plan before we begin to carry it out. What do you advise, sir?" she asked, turning to Cap'n Bill.

"My opinion, ma'am, is that the only way for us to escape is to get out o' here," was the sailor's vague answer. "How to do it is your business, seein' as I ain't no fairy myself, either in looks or in eddication."

The queen smiled, and said to Trot:

"What is your opinion, my dear?"

"I think we might swim out the same way we came in," answered the child. "If we could get Sacho to lead us back through the maze, we would follow that long tunnel to the open ocean, and--"

"And there would be the sea devils waitin' for us," added Cap'n Bill, with a shake of his bald head. "They'd drive us back inter the tunnel, like they did the first time, Trot. It won't do, mate; it won't do."

"Have you a suggestion, Clia?" inquired the Queen.

"I have thought of an undertaking," replied the pretty princess; "but it is a bold plan, your Majesty, and you may not care to risk it."

"Let us hear it, anyway," said Aquareine, encouragingly.

"It is to destroy Zog himself, and put him out of the world forever. Then we would be free to go home, whenever we pleased."

"Can you suggest a way to destroy Zog?" asked Aquareine.

"No, your Majesty," Clia answered. "I must leave the way for you to determine."

"In the old days," said the Queen, thoughtfully, "the mighty King Anko could not destroy this monster. He succeeded in defeating Zog, and drove him into this great cavern; but even Anko could not destroy him."

"I have heard the sea serpent explain that it was because he could not reach the magician," returned Clia. "If King Anko could have seized Zog in his coils he would have made an end of the wicked monster quickly. Zog knows this, and that is why he does not dare to venture forth from his retreat. Anko is the enemy he constantly dreads. But with you, my queen, the case is different. You may easily reach Zog, and the only question is whether your power is sufficient to destroy him."

For a while, Aquareine remained silent.

"I am not sure of my power over Zog," she said at last, "and for that reason I hesitate to attack him personally. His slaves, and his allies the sea devils, I can easily conquer; so I prefer to find a way to overcome the guards at the entrances, rather than to encounter their terrible master. But even the guards have been given strength and power by the magician, as we have already discovered; so I must procure a weapon with which to fight them."

"A weapon, ma'am?" said Cap'n Bill; and then he took a jackknife from his coat pocket and opened the big blade, afterward handing it to the queen. "That ain't a bad weapon," he announced.

"But it is useless in this case," she replied, smiling at the old sailor's earnestness. "For my purpose I must have a golden sword."

"Well, there's plenty of gold around this castle," said Trot, looking around her. "Even in this room there's enough to make a hundred golden swords."

"But we can't melt or forge gold under water, mate," the Cap'n said.

"Why not? Don't you s'pose all these gold roses and things were made under water?" asked the little girl.

"Like enough," admitted the sailor; "but I don't see how."