The Sea Fairies

BY L.  FRANK BAUM



CHAPTER 1

TROT AND CAP'N BILL

"Nobody," said Cap'n Bill solemnly, "ever sawr a mermaid an' lived to
tell the tale."

"Why not?" asked Trot, looking earnestly up into the old sailor's
face.

They were seated on a bench built around a giant acacia tree that grew
just at the edge of the bluff.  Below them rolled the blue waves of
the great Pacific.  A little way behind them was the house, a neat
frame cottage painted white and surrounded by huge eucalyptus and
pepper trees.  Still farther behind that--a quarter of a mile distant
but built upon a bend of the coast--was the village, overlooking a
pretty bay.

Cap'n Bill and Trot came often to this tree to sit and watch the ocean
below them.  The sailor man had one "meat leg" and one "hickory leg,"
and he often said the wooden one was the best of the two.  Once Cap'n
Bill had commanded and owned the "Anemone," a trading schooner that
plied along the coast; and in those days Charlie Griffiths, who was
Trot's father, had been the Captain's mate.  But ever since Cap'n
Bill's accident, when he lost his leg, Charlie Griffiths had been the
captain of the little schooner while his old master lived peacefully
ashore with the Griffiths family.

This was about the time Trot was born, and the old sailor became very
fond of the baby girl.  Her real name was Mayre, but when she grew big
enough to walk, she took so many busy little steps every day that both
her mother and Cap'n Bill nicknamed her "Trot," and so she was
thereafter mostly called.

It was the old sailor who taught the child to love the sea, to love it
almost as much as he and her father did, and these two, who
represented the "beginning and the end of life," became firm friends
and constant companions.

"Why hasn't anybody seen a mermaid and lived?" asked Trot again.

"20'Course, Trot; arms like any other lady.  An' pretty faces that
smile an' look mighty sweet an' fetchin'.  Their hair is long an' soft
an' silky, an' floats all around 'em in the water.  When they comes up
atop the waves, they wring the water out'n their hair and sing songs
that go right to your heart.  If anybody is unlucky enough to be
'round jes' then, the beauty o' them mermaids an' their sweet songs
charm 'em like magic; so's they plunge into the waves to get to the
mermaids.  But the mermaids haven't any hearts, Trot, no more'n a fish
has; so they laughs when the poor people drown an' don't care a fig.
That's why I says, an' I says it true, that nobody never sawr a
mermaid an' lived to tell the tale."

"Nobody?" asked Trot.

"Nobody a tall." (sic)

"Then how do you know, Cap'n Bill?" asked the little girl, looking up
into his face with big, round eyes.

Cap'n Bill coughed.  Then he tried to sneeze, to gain time.  Then he
took out his red cotton handkerchief and wiped his bald head with it,
rubbing hard so as to make him think clearer.  "Look, Trot; ain't that
a brig out there?" he inquired, pointing to a sail far out in the sea.

"How does anybody know about mermaids if those who have seen them
never lived to tell about them?" she asked again.

"Know what about 'em, Trot?"

"About their green and pink scales and pretty songs and wet hair."

"They don't know, I guess.  But mermaids jes' natcherly has to be like
that, or they wouldn't be mermaids."

She thought this over.  "Somebody MUST have lived, Cap'n Bill," she
declared positively.  "Other fairies have been seen by mortals; why
not mermaids?"

"P'raps they have, Trot, p'raps they have," he answered musingly.
"I'm tellin' you as it was told to me, but I never stopped to inquire
into the matter so close before.  Seems like folks wouldn't know so
much about mermaids if they hadn't seen 'em; an' yet accordin' to all
accounts the victim is bound to get drownded."

"P'raps," suggested Trot softly, "someone found a fotygraph of one of
'em."

"That might o' ben, Trot, that might o' been," answered Cap'n Bill.

A nice man was Cap'n Bill, and Trot knew he always liked to explain
everything so she could fully understand it.  The aged sailor was not
a very tall man, and some people might have called him chubby, or even
fat.  He wore a blue sailor shirt with white anchors worked on the
corners of the broad, square collar, and his blue trousers were very
wide at the bottom.  He always wore one trouser leg over his wooden
limb and sometimes it would flutter in the wind like a flag because it
was so wide and the wooden leg so slender.  His rough kersey coat was
a pea-jacket and came down to his waistline.  In the big pockets of
his jacket he kept a wonderful jackknife, and his pipe and tobacco,
and many bits of string, and matches and keys and lots of other
things.  Whenever Cap'n Bill thrust a chubby hand into one of his
pockets, Trot watched him with breathless interest, for she never knew
what he was going to pull out.

The old sailor's face was brown as a berry.  He had a fringe of hair
around the back of his head and a fringe of whisker around the edge of
his face, running from ear to ear and underneath his chin.  His eyes
were light blue and kind in expression.  His nose was big and broad,
and his few teeth were not strong enough to crack nuts with.

Trot liked Cap'n Bill and had a great deal of confidence in his
wisdom, and a great admiration for his ability to make tops and
whistles and toys with that marvelous jackknife of his.  In the
village were many boys and girls of her own age, but she never had as
much fun playing with them as she had wandering by the sea accompanied
by the old sailor and listening to his fascinating stories.

She knew all about the Flying Dutchman, and Davy Jones' Locker, and
Captain Kidd, and how to harpoon a whale or dodge an iceberg or lasso
a seal.  Cap'n Bill had been everywhere in the world, almost, on his
many voyages.  He had been wrecked on desert islands like Robinson
Crusoe and been attacked by cannibals, and had a host of other
xciting adventures.  So he was a delightful comrade for the little
girl, and whatever Cap'n Bill knew Trot was sure to know in time.

"How do the mermaids live?" she asked.  "Are they in caves, or just in
the water like fishes, or how?"

"Can't say, Trot," he replied.  "I've asked divers about that, but
none of 'em ever run acrost a mermaid's nest yet, as I've heard of."

"If they're fairies," she said, "their homes must be very pretty."

"Mebbe so, Trot, but damp.  They are sure to be damp, you know."

"I'd like to see a mermaid, Cap'n Bill," said the child earnestly.

"What, an' git drownded?" he exclaimed.

"No, and live to tell the tale.  If they're beautiful, and laughing,
and sweet, there can't be much harm in them, I'm sure."

"Mermaids is mermaids," remarked Cap'n Bill in his most solemn voice.
"It wouldn't do us any good to mix up with 'em, Trot."

"May-re!  May-re!" called a voice from the house.

"Yes, Mamma!"

"You an' Cap'n Bill come in to supper."



CHAPTER 2

THE MERMAIDS

The next morning, as soon as Trot had helped wipe the breakfast dishes
and put them away in the cupboard, the little girl and Cap'n Bill
started out toward the bluff.  The air was soft and warm and the sun
turned the edges of the waves into sparkling diamonds.  Across the bay
the last of the fisherboats was speeding away out to sea, for well the
fishermen knew this was an ideal day to catch rockbass, barracuda and
yellowtail.

The old man and the young girl stood on the bluff and watched all this
with interest.  Here was their world.  "It isn't a bit rough this
morning.  Let's have a boat ride, Cap'n Bill," said the child.

"Suits me to a T," declared the sailor.  So they found the winding
path that led down the face of the cliff to the narrow beach below and
cautiously began the descent.  Trot never minded the steep path or the
loose rocks at all, but Cap'n Bill's wooden leg was not so useful on a
downgrade as on a level, and he had to be careful not to slip and take
a tumble.

But by and by they reached the sands and walked t a spot just beneath
the big acacia tree that grew on the bluff.  Halfway to the top of the
cliff hung suspended a little shed-like structure that sheltered
Trot's rowboat, for it was necessary to pull the boat out of reach of
the waves which beat in fury against the rocks at high tide.  About as
high up as Cap'n Bill could reach was an iron ring securely fastened
to the cliff, and to this ring was tied a rope.  The old sailor
unfastened the knot and began paying out the rope, and the rowboat
came out of its shed and glided slowly downward to the beach.  It hung
on a pair of davits and was lowered just as a boat is lowered from a
ship's side.  When it reached the sands, the sailor unhooked the ropes
and pushed the boat to the water's edge.  It was a pretty little
craft, light and strong, and Cap'n Bill knew how to sail it or row it,
as Trot might desire.

Today they decided to row, so the girl climbed into the bow and her
companion stuck his wooden leg into the water's edge "so he wouldn't
get his foot wet" and pushed off the little boat as he climbed aboard.
Then he seized the oars and began gently paddling.

"Whither away, Commodore Trot?" he asked gaily.

"I don't care, Cap'n.  It's just fun enough to be on the water," she
answered, trailing one hand overboard.  So he rowed around by the
North Promontory, where the great caves were, and much as they were
enjoying the ride, they soon began to feel the heat of the sun.

"That's Dead Man's Cave, 'cause a skellington was found there,"
observed the child as they passed a dark, yawning mouth in the cliff.
"And that's Bumble Cave, 'cause the bumblebees make nests in the top
of it.  And here's Smuggler's Cave, 'cause the smugglers used to hide
things in it."

She knew all the caves well, and so did Cap'n Bill.  Many of them
opened just at the water's edge, and it was possible to row their boat
far into their dusky depths.

"And here's Echo Cave," she continued, dreamily, as they slowly moved
along the coast, "and Giant's Cave, and--oh, Cap'n Bill!  Do you
s'pose ther were ever any giants in that cave?"

"20'Course I am," declared the little girl.  "We don't get such
inv'tations every day, Cap'n, and if I don't go now I may never find
out how the mermaids live."

"I don't care how they live, myself," said Cap'n Bill.  "I jes' want
'em to let ME live."

"There's no danger," insisted Trot.

"I do' know 'bout that.  That's what all the other folks said when
they dove after the mermaids an' got drownded."

"Who?" asked the girl.

"I don't know who, but I've heard tell20'tain't that.  I've got to look
after Trot."

"Then you'll have to come with me," said Trot decidedly, "for I'm
going to 'cept this inv'tation.  If you don't care to come, Cap'n
Bill, you go home and tell mother I'm visitin' the mermaids."

"She'd scold me inter shivers!" moaned Cap'n Bill with a shudder.  "I
guess I'd ruther take my chance down below."

"All right, I'm ready, Miss Mermaid," said Trot.  "What shall I do?
Jump in, clothes and all?"

"Give me your hand, dear," answered the mermaid, lifting a lovely
white arm from the water.  Trot took the slender hand and found it
warm and soft and not a bit "fishy."

"My name is Clia," continued the mermaid, "and I am a princess in our
deep-sea kingdom."

Just then Trot gave a flop and flopped right out of the boat into the
water.  Cap'n Bill caught a gleam of pink scales as his little friend
went overboard, and the next moment there was Trot's face in the water
among those of the mermaids.  She was laughing with glee as she looked
up into Cap'n Bill's face and called, "Come on in, Cap'n!  It didn't
hurt a bit!"



CHAPTER 3

THE DEPTHS OF THE DEEP BLUE SEA

Cap'n Bill stood up in the boat as if undecided what to do.  Never a
sailor man was more bewildered than this old fellow by the strangeness
of the adventure he had encountered.  At first he could hardly believe
it was all true and that he was not dreaming; but there was Trot in
the water, laughing with the mermaids and floating comfortably about,
and he couldn't leave his dear little companion to make the trip to
the depths of the ocean alone.

"Take my hand, please, Cap'n Bill," said Princess Clia, reaching her
dainty arm toward him; and suddenly the old man took courage and
clasped the soft fingers in his own.  He had to lean over the boat to
do this, and then there came a queer lightness to his legs and he had
a great longing to be in the water.  So he gave a flop and flopped in
beside Trot, where he found himself comfortable enough, but somewhat
frightened.

"Law sakes!" he gasped.  "Here's me in the waer with my rheumatics!
I'll be that stiff termorrer I can't wiggle."

"You're wigglin' all right now," observed Trot.  "That's a fine tail
you've got, Cap'n, an' its green scales is jus' beautiful."

"Are they green, eh?" he asked, twisting around to try to see them.

"Green as em'ralds, Cap'n.  How do they feel?"

"Feel, Trot, feel?  Why, this tail beats that ol' wooden leg all
holler!  I kin do stunts now that I couldn't o' done in a thousand
years with ol' peg."

"And don't be afraid of the rheumatism," advised the Princess.  "No
mermaid ever catches cold or suffers pain in the water."

"Is Cap'n Bill a mermaid now?" asked Trot.

"Why, he's a merMAN, I suppose," laughed the pretty princess.  "But
when he gets home, he will be just Cap'n Bill again."

"Wooden leg an' all?" inquired the child.

"To be sure, my dear."

The sailor was now trying his newly discovered power of swimming, and
became astonished at the feats he could accomplish.  He could dart
this way and that with wonderful speed, and turn and dive, and caper
about in the water far better than he had ever been able to do on
land--even before he got the wooden leg.  And a curious thing about
this present experience was that the water did not cling to him and
wet him as it had always done before.  He still wore his flannel shirt
and pea jacket and his sailor cap; but although he was in the water
and had been underneath the surface, the cloth still seemed dry and
warm.  As he dived down and came up again, the drops flashed from his
head and the fringe of beard, but he never needed to wipe his face or
eyes at all.

Trot, too, was having queer experiences and enjoying them.  When she
ducked under water, she saw plainly everything about her as easily and
distinctly as she had ever seen anything above water.  And by looking
over her shoulder she could watch the motion of her new tail, all
covered with pretty iridescent pink scales, which gleamed like jewels.
She wore her dress the same as before, and the water failed to affect
it in the least.

She now notied that the mermaids were clothed, too, and their
exquisite gowns were the loveliest thing the little girl had ever
beheld.  They seemed made of a material that was like sheeny silk, cut
low in the neck and with wide, flowing sleeves that seldom covered the
shapely, white arms of her new friends.  The gowns had trains that
floated far behind the mermaids as they swam, but were so fleecy and
transparent that the sparkle of their scales might be seen reaching
back of their waists, where the human form ended and the fish part
began.  The sea fairies wore strings of splendid pearls twined around
their throats, while more pearls were sewn upon their gowns for
trimmings.  They did not dress their beautiful hair at all, but let it
float around them in clouds.

The little girl had scarcely time to observe all this when the
princess said, "Now, my dear, if you are ready, we will begin our
journey, for it is a long way to our palaces."

"All right," answered Trot, and took the hand extended to her with a
trustful smile.

"Will you allow me to guide you, Cap'n Bill?" asked the blonde
mermaid, extending her hand to the old sailor.

"Of course, ma'am," he said, taking her fingers rather bashfully.

"My name is Merla," she continued, "and I am cousin to Princess Clia.
We must all keep together, you know, and I will hold your hand to
prevent your missing the way."

While she spoke they began to descend through the water, and it grew
quite dark for a time because the cave shut out the light.  But
presently Trot, who was eagerly looking around her, began to notice
the water lighten and saw they were coming into brighter parts of the
sea.  "We have left the cave now," said Clia, "and may swim straight
home."

"I s'pose there are no winding roads in the ocean," remarked the
child, swimming swiftly beside her new friend.

"Oh yes indeed.  At the bottom, the way is far from being straight or
level," replied Clia.  "But we are in mid-water now, where nothing
will hinder our journey, unless20--"

Just then the crabs started fiddling again, harder than ever, and as
it promised to be a long performance, they left the little creatures
scraping away at their fiddles as if for dear life and swam along the
rocky canyon until, on turning a corner, they came upon a new and
different scene.

There were crabs here, too, many of them, and they were performing the
queerest antics imaginable.  Some were building themselves into a
pyramid, each standing on edge, with the biggest and strongest ones at
the bottom.  When the crabs were five or six rows high, they would all
tumble over, still clinging to one another and, having reached the
ground, they would separate and commence to build the pyramid over
again.  Others were chasing one another around in a circle, always
moving backward or sidewise, and trying to play "leapfrog" as they
went.  Still others were swinging on slight branches of seaweed or
turning cartwheels or indulging in similar antics.

Merla and the earth people watched the busy little creatures for some
time before they were themselves observed, but finally Trot gave a
laugh when one crab fell on its back and began frantically waving its
legs to get right-side-up again.  At the sound of her laughter they
all stopped their play and came toward the visitors in a flock,
looking up at them with their bright eyes in a most comical way.

"Welcome home!" cried one as he turned a back somersault and knocked
another crab over.

"What's the difference between a mermaid and a tadpole?" asked another
in a loud voice, and without a pause continued, "Why, one drops its
tail and the other holds onto it.  Ha, ha!  Ho, ho!  Hee, hee!"

"These," said Merla, "are the clown crabs.  They are very silly
things, as you may already have discovered, but for a short time they
are rather amusing.  One tires of them very soon."

"They're funny," said Trot, laughing again.  "It's almost as good as a
circus.  I don't think they would make me tired, but then I'm not a
mermaid."

The clown crabs had now formed a row in front ofthem.  "Mr.
Johnsing," asked one, "why is a mermaid like an automobile?"

"I don't know, Tommy Blimken," answered a big crab in the middle of
the row. "WHY do you think a mermaid is like an automobile?"

"Because they both get tired," said Tommy Blimken.  Then all the crabs
laughed, and Tommy seemed to laugh louder than the rest.

"How do the crabs in the sea know anything 'bout automobiles?" asked
Trot.

"Why, Tommy Blimken and Harry Hustle were both captured once by humans
and put in an aquarium," answered the mermaid.  "But one day they
climbed out and escaped, finally making their way back to the sea and
home again.  So they are quite traveled, you see, and great favorites
among the crabs.  While they were on land they saw a great many
curious things, and so I suppose they saw automobiles."

"We did, we did!" cried Harry Hustle, an awkward crab with one big
claw and one little one.  "And we saw earth people with legs, awfully
funny they were; and animals called horses, with legs; and other
creatures with legs; and the people cover themselves with the queerest
things--they even wear feathers and flowers on their heads,
and20" said Cap'n
Bill.  "They've got dispositions jes' like these 'ere hermit crabs."

Presently they came upon a small flock of mackerel, and noticed that
the fishes seemed much excited.  When they saw the mermaid, they cried
out, "Oh, Merla!  What do you think?  Our Flippity has just gone to
glory!"

"When?" asked the mermaid.

"Just now," one replied.  "We were lying in the water, talking quietly
together when a spinning, shining thing came along and our dear
Flippity ate it.  Then he went shooting up to the top of the water and
gave a flop and--went to glory!  Isn't it splendid, Merla?"

"Poor Flippity!" sighed the mermaid.  "I'm sorry, for he was the
prettiest and nicest mackerel in your whole flock."

"What does it mean?" asked Trot.  "How did Flippity go to glory?"

"Why, he was caught by a hook and pulled out of the water into some
boat," Merla explained.  "But these poor stupid creatures do not
understand that, and when one of them is jerked out of the water and
disappears, they have the idea he has gone to glory, which means to
them some unknown but beautiful sea."

"I've often wondered," said Trot, "why fishes are foolish enough to
bite on hooks."

"They must know enough to know they're hooks," added Cap'n Bill
musingly.

"Oh, they do," replied Merla.  "I've seen fishes gather around a hook
and look at it carefully for a long time.  They all know it is a hook
and that if they bite the bait upon it they will be pulled out of the
water.  But they are curious to know what will happen to them
afterward, and think it means happiness instead of death.  So finally
one takes the hook and disappears, and the others never know what
becomes of him."

"Why don't you tell 'em the truth?" asked Trot.

"Oh, we do.  The mermaids have warned them many times, but it does no
good at all.  The fish are stupid creatures."

"But I wish I was Flippity," said one of the mackerel, staring at Trot
with his big, round eyes.  "He went to glory before I could eat the
hook myself."

"You're lucky," answered the child.  "Flippity wil be fried in a pan
for someone's dinner.  You wouldn't like that, would you?"

"Flippity has gone to glory!" said another, and then they swam away in
haste to tell the news to all they met.

"I never heard of anything so foolish," remarked Trot as she swam
slowly on through the clear, blue water.

"Yes, it is very foolish and very sad," answered Merla.  "But if the
fish were wise, men could not catch them for food, and many poor
people on your earth make their living by fishing."

"It seems wicked to catch such pretty things," said the child.

"I do not think so," Merla replied laughingly, "for they were born to
become food for someone, and men are not the only ones that eat
fishes.  Many creatures of the sea feed upon them.  They even eat one
another at times.  And if none was ever destroyed, they would soon
become so numerous that they would clog the waters of the ocean and
leave no room for the rest of us.  So after all, perhaps it is just as
well they are thoughtless and foolish."

Presently they came to some round balls that looked much like balloons
in shape and were gaily colored.  They floated quietly in the water,
and Trot inquired what they were.

"Balloonfish," answered Merla.  "They are helpless creatures, but have
little spikes all over them so their enemies dare not bite them for
fear of getting pricked."

Trot found the balloonfish quite interesting.  They had little dots of
eyes and dots for mouths, but she could see no noses, and their fins
and tails were very small.

"They catch these fish in the South Sea Islands and make lanterns of
'em," said Cap'n Bill.  "They first skin 'em and sew the skin up again
to let it dry, and then they put candles inside, and the light shines
through the dried skin."

Many other curious sights they saw in the ocean that afternoon, and
both Cap'n Bill and Trot thoroughly enjoyed their glimpse of sea life.
At last Merla said it was time to return to the palace, from which she
claimed they had not at any time been very far distant.  "We must
prepare for dinner, as itwill soon begin to grow dark in the water,"
continued their conductor.  So they swam leisurely back to the groves
that surrounded the palaces, and as they entered the gardens the sun
sank, and deep shadows began to form in the ocean depths.



CHAPTER 8

A BANQUET UNDER WATER

The palaces of the mermaids were all aglow with lights as they
approached them, and Trot was amazed at the sight.  "Where do the
lamps come from?" she asked their guide wonderingly.

"They are not lamps, my dear," replied Merla, much amused at this
suggestion.  "We use electric lights in our palaces and have done so
for thousands of years, long before the earth people knew of electric
lights."

"But where do you get 'em?" inquired Cap'n Bill, who was as much
astonished as the girl.

"From a transparent jellyfish which naturally emits a strong and
beautiful electric light," was the answer.  "We have many hundreds of
them in our palaces, as you will presently see."

Their way was now lighted by small, phosphorescent creatures scattered
about the sea gardens and which Merla informed them were hyalaea, or
sea glowworms.  But their light was dim when compared to that of the
electric jellyfish, which they found placed in clusters upon the
ceilings of all the rooms of the palaces, rendering them light as day.
Trot watched these curious creatures with delight, for delicately
colored lights ran around their bodies in every direction in a
continuous stream, shedding splendid rays throughout the vast halls.

A group of mermaids met the visitors in the hall of the main palace
and told Merla the queen had instructed them to show the guests to
their rooms as soon as they arrived.  So Trot followed two of them
through several passages, after which they swam upward and entered a
circular opening.  There were no stairs here, because there was no
need of them, and the little girl soon found herself in an upper room
that was very beautiful indeed.

All the walls were covered with iridescent shells, polished till they
resembled mother-of-pearl, and upon the gass ceiling were clusters of
the brilliant electric jellyfish, rendering the room bright and
cheerful with their radiance.  In one corner stood a couch of white
coral, with gossamer draperies hanging around it from the four high
posts.  Upon examining it, the child found the couch was covered with
soft, amber sponges, which rendered it very comfortable to lie upon.
In a wardrobe she found several beautiful gossamer gowns richly
embroidered in colored seaweeds, and these Mayre was told she might
wear while she remained the guest of the mermaids.  She also found a
toilet table with brushes, combs and other conveniences, all of which
were made of polished tortoise-shell.

Really, the room was more dainty and comfortable than one might
suppose possible in a palace far beneath the surface of the sea, and
Trot was greatly delighted with her new quarters.  The mermaid
attendants assisted the child to dress herself in one of the prettiest
robes, which she found to be quite dry and fitted her comfortably.
Then the sea-maids brushed and dressed her hair, and tied it with
ribbons of cherry-red seaweed.  Finally they placed around her neck a
string of pearls that would have been priceless upon the earth, and
now the little girl announced she was ready for supper and had a good
appetite.

Cap'n Bill had been given a similar room near Trot, but the old sailor
refused to change his clothes for any others offered him, for which
reason he was ready for supper long before his comrade.  "What bothers
me, mate," he said to the little girl as they swam toward the great
banquet hall where Queen Aquareine awaited them, "is why ain't we
crushed by the pressin' of the water agin us, bein' as we're down here
in the deep sea."

"How's that, Cap'n?  Why should we be crushed?" she asked.

"Why, ev'r'body knows that the deeper you go in the sea,, the more the
water presses agin you," he explained.  "Even the divers in their
steel jackets can't stand it very deep down.  An' here we be, miles
from the top o' the water, I s'pect, an' we don't fel crowded a bit."

"I know why," answered the child wisely.  "The water don't touch us,
you see.  If it did, it might crush us, but it don't.  It's always
held a little way off from our bodies by the magic of the fairy
mermaids."

"True enough, Trot," declared the sailor man.  "What an idjut I was
not to think o' that myself!"

In the royal banquet hall were assembled many of the mermaids, headed
by the lovely queen, and as soon as their earth guests arrived,
Aquareine ordered the meal to be served.  The lobsters again waited
upon the table, wearing little white caps and aprons which made them
look very funny; but Trot was so hungry after her afternoon's
excursion that she did not pay as much attention to the lobsters as
she did to her supper, which was very delicious and consisted of many
courses.  A lobster spilled some soup on Cap'n Bill's bald head and
made him yell for a minute, because it was hot and he had not expected
it, but the queen apologized very sweetly for the awkwardness of her
servants, and the sailor soon forgot all about the incident in his
enjoyment of the meal.

After the feast ended, they all went to the big reception room, where
some of the mermaids played upon harps while others sang pretty songs.
They danced together, too--a graceful, swimming dance, so queer to the
little girl that it interested and amused her greatly.  Cap'n Bill
seemed a bit bashful among so many beautiful mermaids, yet he was
pleased when the queen offered him a place beside her throne, where he
could see and hear all the delightful entertainment provided for the
royal guests.  He did not talk much, being a man of few words except
when alone with Trot, but his light-blue eyes were big and round with
wonder at the sights he saw.

Trot and the sailor man went to bed early and slept soundly upon their
sponge-covered couches.  The little girl never wakened until long
after the sun was shining down through the glass roof of her room, and
when she opened her eyes she was startled to find a number of big,
small and middle-ized fishes staring at her through the glass.
"That's one bad thing 'bout this mermaid palace," she said to herself.
"It's too public.  Ever'thing in the sea can look at you through the
glass as much as it likes.  I wouldn't mind fishes looking at me if
they hadn't such big eyes, an'--goodness me!  There's a monster that's
all head!  And there goes a fish with a sail on its back, an' here's
old Mummercubble, I'm sure, for he's got a head just like a pig."

She might have watched the fishes on the roof for hours, had she not
remembered it was late and breakfast must be ready.  So she dressed
and made her toilet, and swam down into the palace to find Cap'n Bill
and the mermaids politely waiting for her to join them.  The sea
maidens were as fresh and lovely as ever, while each and all proved
sweet tempered and merry, even at the breakfast table--and that is
where people are cross, if they ever are.  During the meal the queen
said, "I shall take you this morning to the most interesting part of
the ocean, where the largest and most remarkable sea creatures live.
And we must visit King Anko, too, for the sea serpent would feel hurt
and slighted if I did not bring my guests to call upon him."

"That will be nice," said Trot eagerly.

But Cap'n Bill asked, "Is there any danger, ma'am?"

"I think not," replied Queen Aquareine.  "I cannot say that you will
be exposed to any danger at all, so long as I'm with you.  But we are
going into the neighborhood of such fierce and even terrible beings
which would attack you at once did they suspect you to be earth
people.  So in order to guard your safety, I intend to draw the Magic
Circle around both of you before we start."

"What is the Magic Circle?" asked Trot.

"A fairy charm that prevents any enemy from touching you.  No monster
of the sea, however powerful, will be able to reach your body while
you are protected by the Magic Circle," declared the Queen.

"Oh, then I'll not be a bit afraid," returned the child with perfect
confidence.

"Am I to have the Magic Circle drawn aound me, too?" asked Cap'n
Bill.

"Of course," answered Aquareine.  "You will need no other protection
than that, yet both Princess Clia and I will both be with you.  For
today I shall leave Merla to rule our palaces in my place until we
return."

No sooner was breakfast finished than Trot was anxious to start.  The
girl was also curious to discover what the powerful Magic Circle might
prove to be, but she was a little disappointed in the ceremony.  The
queen merely grasped her fairy wand in her right hand and swam around
the child in a circle, from left to right.  Then she took her wand in
her left hand and swam around Trot in another circle, from right to
left.  "Now, my dear," said she, "you are safe from any creature we
are liable to meet."

She performed the same ceremony for Cap'n Bill, who was doubtful about
the Magic Circle because he felt the same after it as he had before.
But he said nothing of his unbelief, and soon they left the palace and
started upon their journey.



CHAPTER 9

THE BASHFUL OCTOPUS

It was a lovely day, and the sea was like azure under the rays of the
sun.  Over the flower beds and through the gardens they swam, emerging
into the open sea in a direction opposite that taken by the visitors
the day before.  The party consisted of but four: Queen Aquareine,
Princess Clia, Trot and Cap'n Bill.  "People who live upon the land
know only those sea creatures which they are able to catch in nets or
upon hooks or those which become disabled and are washed ashore,"
remarked the Queen as they swam swiftly through the clear water.  "And
those who sail in ships see only the creatures who chance to come to
the surface.  But in the deep ocean caverns are queer beings that no
mortal has ever heard of or beheld, and some of these we are to visit.
We shall also see some sea shrubs and flowering weeds which are sure
to delight you with their beauty."

The sights really began before they had gone very far from the palace,
and a school of butterfly fish, having gorgeous colors spattered over
their broa wings, was first to delight the strangers.  They swam just
as butterflies fly, with a darting, jerky motion, and called a merry
"Good morning!" to the mermaids as they passed.

"These butterfly fish are remarkably active," said the Princess, "and
their quick motions protect them from their enemies.  We like to meet
them; they are always so gay and good-natured."

"Why, so am I!" cried a sharp voice just beside them, and they all
paused to discover what creature had spoken to them.

"Take care," said Clia in a low voice.  "It's an octopus."

Trot looked eagerly around.  A long, brown arm stretched across their
way in front and another just behind them, but that did not worry her.
The octopus himself came slowly sliding up to them and proved to be
well worth looking at.  He wore a red coat with brass buttons, and a
silk hat was tipped over one ear.  His eyes were somewhat dull and
watery, and he had a moustache of long, hair-like "feelers" that
curled stiffly at the ends.  When he tried to smile at them, he showed
two rows of sharp, white teeth.  In spite of his red coat and
yellow-embroidered vest, his standing collar and carefully tied
cravat, the legs of the octopus were bare, and Trot noticed he used
some of his legs for arms, as in one of them was held a slender cane
and in another a handkerchief.

"Well, well!" said the Octopus.  "Are you all dumb?  Or don't you know
enough to be civil when you meet a neighbor?"

"We know how to be civil to our friends," replied Trot, who did not
like the way he spoke.

"Well, are we not friends, then?" asked the Octopus in an airy tone of
voice.

"I think not," said the little girl.  "Octopuses are horrid
creatures."

"OctoPI, if you please; octoPI," said the monster with a laugh.

"I don't see any pie that pleases me," replied Trot, beginning to get
angry.

"OctoPUS means one of us; two or more are called octoPI," remarked the
creature, as if correcting her speech.

"I suppose a lot of you would be a whole bakery!" she said scornfully.

"Our name is Latin.  It was given t us by learned scientists years
ago," said the Octopus."

"That's true enough," agreed Cap'n Bill.  "The learned scientists
named ev'ry blamed thing they come across, an' gener'ly they picked
out names as nobody could understand or pernounce."

"That isn't our fault, sir," said the Octopus.  "Indeed, it's pretty
hard for us to go through life with such terrible names.  Think of the
poor little seahorse.  He used to be a merry and cheerful fellow, but
since they named him 'hippocampus' he hasn't smiled once."

"Let's go," said Trot.  "I don't like to 'sociate with octopuses."

"OctoPI," said the creature, again correcting her.

"You're jus' as horrid whether you're puses or pies," she declared.

"Horrid!" cried the monster in a shocked tone of voice.

"Not only horrid, but horrible!" persisted the girl.

"May I ask in what way?" he inquired, and it was easy to see he was
offended.

"Why, ev'rybody knows that octopuses are jus' wicked an' deceitful,"
she said.  "Up on the earth, where I live, we call the Stannerd Oil
Company an octopus, an' the Coal Trust an octopus, an'20"

"How came you to be Zog's slave?" asked Clia.

"The funniest adventure you ever heard of," asserted the boy with
eager pride.  "I sailed in a ship that went to pieces in a storm.  All
on board were drowned but me, and I came mighty near it, to tell the
truth.  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
and saved me, saying I would make a useful slave.  By his magic power
he made me able to live under water as the fishes live, and he brought
me to 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 the
dreadful things Zog does are very exciting and amusing, I assure you.
He keeps us guessing every minute, and that makes the life here
interesting.  Things were getting a bit slow an hour ago, but now that
you are here, I'm in hopes we will all be kept busy and amused for
some time."

"Are there many others in the castle besides you and Zog?" asked
Aquareine.

"Dozens of us.  Perhaps hundreds.  I've never counted them," said the
boy.  "But Zog is the only master; all the rest of us are in the same
class, 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 the
reply.  "But I can't tell you.  Every one has a different idea of what
he'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 am
commanded to hate Zog, and being a good servant, I try to obey.  If
anyone dared to like Zog, I am sure he'd be instantly fed to the
turtles; 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 dangerous
thing to do," continued the boy.  "If we don't hurry up, Zog will
begin to smile, an 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 curtains
for them.  They first swam into a small anteroomn which led into a
long corridor, at the end of which was another curtained arch.
Through this Sacho also guided them, and now they found themselves in
a cleverly constructed maze.  Every few feet were twists and turns and
sharp corners, and sometimes the passage would be wide, and again so
narrow that 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
maze may indeed puzzle you, but the queen or I could lead you safely
through it 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
seemed wonderful that the boy Sacho knew just which way to go.  But he
never hesitated an instant.  Trot looked carefully to see if there
were any marks to guide him, but every wall was of plain, polished
marble, and every turning looked just like all the others.  Suddenly
Sacho stopped short.  They were now in a broader passage, but as they
gathered around their conductor they found further advance blocked.
Solid walls faced them, and here the corridor seemed to end.

"Enter!" said a clear voice.

"But we can't!" protested Trot.

"Swim straight ahead," whispered the boy in soft tones.  "There is no
real barrier before you.  Your eyes are merely deceived by magic."

"Ah, I understand," said Aquareine, nodding her pretty head.  And then
she took Mayre's hand and swam boldly forward, while Cap'n Bill
followed holding the hand of Clia.  And behold! the marble wall melted
away before them, and they found themselves in a chamber more splendid
than even the fairy mermaidshad ever seen before.



CHAPTER 13

PRISONERS OF THE SEA MONSTER

The room in the enchanted castle which Zog called the "den" and in
which the wicked sea monster passed most of his time was a perfectly
shaped dome of solid gold.  The upper part of this dome was thickly
set with precious jewels--diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds,
which sparkled beautifully through the crystal water.  The lower walls
were as thickly studded with pearls, all being of perfect shape and
color.  Many of the pearls were larger than any which may be found
upon earth, for the sea people knew where to find the very best and
hide them away where men cannot discover them.

The golden floor was engraved with designs of rare beauty, depicting
not only sea life, but many adventures upon land.  In the room were
several large, golden cabinets, the doors of which were closed and
locked, and in addition to the cabinets there were tables, chairs and
sofas, the latter upholstered with softest sealskins.  Handsome rugs
of exquisitely woven seaweeds were scattered about, the colors of
which were artistically blended together.  In one corner a fountain of
air bubbled up through the water.  The entire room was lighted as
brilliantly as if exposed to the direct rays of the sun, yet where
this light came from our friends could not imagine.  No lamp or other
similar device was visible anywhere.

The strangers at first scarcely glanced at all these beautiful things,
for in an easy chair sat Zog himself, more wonderful than any other
living creature, and as they gazed upon him, their eyes seemed
fascinated as if held by a spell.  Zog's face was the face of a man,
except that the tops of his ears were pointed like horns and he had
small horns instead of eyebrows and a horn on the end of his chin.  In
spite of these deformities, the expression of the face was not
unpleasant or repulsive.  His hair was carefully parted and brushed,
and his mouth and nose were not only perfect in shape but quite
handsome.

Only the eyes betrayed Zog and made him terribleto all beholders.
They seemed like coals of glowing fire and sparkled so fiercely that
no one ever cared to meet their gaze for more than an instant.
Perhaps the monster realized this, for he usually drooped his long
lashes over his fiery eyes to shut out their glare.  Zog had two
well-shaped legs which ended in the hoofs of beasts instead of feet,
and these hoofs were shod with gold.  His body was a shapeless mass
covered with richly embroidered rainment, over which a great robe of
cloth of gold fell in many folds.  This robe was intended to hide the
magician's body from view, but Trot noticed that the cloth moved
constantly in little ripples, as if what lay underneath would not keep
still.

The best features of which Zog could boast were his arms and hands,
the latter being as well formed, as delicate and white as those of a
well-bred woman.  When he spoke, his voice sounded sweet and clear,
and its tones were very gentle.  He had given them a few moments to
stare at him, for he was examining them in turn with considerable
curiosity.  "Well," said he, "do you not find me the most hateful
creature you have ever beheld?"

The queen refrained from answering, but Trot said promptly, "We do.
Nothing could be more horrider or more disgustin' than you are, it
seems to me."

"Very good, very good indeed," declared the monster, lifting his
lashes to flash his glowing eyes upon them.  Then he turned toward
Cap'n Bill.  "Man-fish," he continued, "what do YOU think of me?"

"Mighty little," the sailor replied.  "You orter be 'shamed to ask
sech a question, knowin' you look worse ner the devil himself."

"Very true," answered Zog, frowning.  He felt that he had received a
high compliment, and the frown showed he was pleased with Cap'n Bill.

But now Queen Aquareine advanced to a position in front of their
captor and said, "Tell me, Zog, why have you trapped us and brought us
here?"

"To destroy you," was the quick answer, and the magician turned for an
instant to flash his eyes upon the beautiful mermaid.  "For two
hundredyears I have been awaiting a chance to get within my power
some friend of Anko the Sea Serpent--of Anko, whom I hate!" he added,
smiling sweetly.  "When you left your palace today, my swift spies
warned me, and so I sent the sea devils to capture you.  Often have
they tried to do this before, but always failed.  Today, acting by my
command, they tricked you, and by surrounding you forced you to the
entrance of my enchanted castle.  The result is a fine capture of
important personages.  I have now in my power the queen and princess
of the fairy mermaids, as well as two wandering earth people, and I
assure you I shall take great pleasure in destroying you utterly."

"You are a coward," declared the Queen proudly.  "You dared not meet
us in the open sea."

"No, I dare not leave this castle," Zog admitted, still smiling.  "But
here in my own domain my power is supreme.  Nothing can interfere with
my vengeance."

"That remains to be seen," said Aquareine, firmly meeting the gaze of
the terrible eyes.

"Of course," he answered, nodding his head with a graceful movement.
"You will try to thwart me and escape.  You will pit your fairy power
against my powers of magic.  That will give me great pleasure, for the
more you struggle, the greater will be my revenge."

"But why should you seek revenge upon us?" asked Clia.  "We have never
harmed you."

"That is true," replied Zog.  "I bear you no personal ill will.  But
you are friends of my great enemy, King Anko, and it will annoy him
very much when he finds that you have been destroyed by me.  I cannot
hurt the rascally old sea serpent himself, but through you I can make
him feel my vengeance."

"The mermaids have existed thousands of years," said the Queen in a
tone of pride.  "Do you imagine the despised and conquered Zog has
power to destroy them?"

"I do not know," was the quiet answer.  "It will be interesting to
discover which is the more powerful."

"I challenge you to begin the test at once, vile magician!" exclaimed
Aquareine.

"There is no hurry, fair Queen," answred Zog in his softest tones.
"I have been so many years in accomplishing your capture that it is
foolish to act hastily now.  Besides, I am lonely.  Here in my forced
retirement I see only those uninteresting earth mortals whom I have
made my slaves, for all sea dwellers are forbidden to serve me save
the sea devils, and they dare not enter my castle.  I have saved many
mortals from drowning and brought them here to people my castle, but I
do not love mortals.  Two lovely mermaids are much more interesting,
and before I allow you to perish, I shall have much amusement in
witnessing your despair and your struggles to escape.  You are now my
prisoners.  By slow degrees I shall wear out your fairy powers and
break your hearts, as well as the hearts of these earth dwellers who
have no magic powers, and I think it will be a long time before I
finally permit you to die."

"That's all right," said Trot cheerfully.  "The longer you take, the
better I'll be satisfied."

"That's how I feel about it," added Cap'n Bill.  "Don't get in a hurry
to kill us Zog.  It'll be such a wear an' tear on your nerves.  Jes'
take it easy an' let us live as long as we can."

"Don't you care to die?" asked the magician.

"It's a thing I never longed for," the sailor replied.  "You see, we
had no business to go on a trip with the mermaids to begin with.  I've
allus heard tell that mermaids is dangerous, an' no one as met 'em
ever lived to tell the tale.  Eh, Trot?"

"That's what you said, Cap'n Bill."

"So I guess we're done for, one way 'r 'nother, an' it don't matter
much which.  But Trot's a good child, an' mighty young an' tender.  It
don't seem like her time has come to die.  I'd like to have her sent
safe home to her mother.  So I've got this 'ere proposition to make,
Zog.  If your magic could make ME die twice, or even THREE times fer
good measure, why you go ahead an' do it an' I won't complain.  All I
ask is fer you to send this little girl safe back to dry land again."

"Don't you do it, Zog!" cried Trot indignantly, and turning t Cap'n
Bill, she added, "I'm not goin' to leave you down here in all this
mess, Cap'n, and don't you think it.  If one of us gets out of the
muddle we're in, we'll both get out, so don't you make any bargains
with Zog to die twice."

Zog listened to this conversation very carefully.  "The dying does not
amount to much," he said.  "It is the thinking about it that hurts you
mortals most.  I've watched many a shipwreck at sea, and the people
would howl and scream for hours before the ship broke up.  Their
terror was very enjoyable.  But when the end came, they all drowned as
peacefully as if they were going to sleep, so it didn't amuse me at
all."

"I'm not worrying," said Trot.

"Ner me," said Cap'n Bill.  "You'll find we can take what comes jes'
as easy as anybody."

"I do not expect to get much from you poor mortals," said Zog
carelessly.  "You are merely a side show to my circus, a sort of
dessert to my feast of vengeance.  When the time comes, I can find a
hundred ways to kill you.  My most interesting prisoners are these
pretty mermaids, who claim that none of their race has ever yet died
or been destroyed.  The first mermaid ever created is living yet, and
I am told she is none other than Queen Aquareine.  So I have a pretty
problem before me to invent some way to destroy the mermaids or put
them out of existence.  And it will require some thought."

"Also, it will require some power you do not possess," suggested the
Queen.

"That may be," replied Zog softly.  "But I am going to experiment, and
I believe I shall be able to cause you a lot of pain and sorrow before
I finally make an end of you.  I have not lived twenty-seven thousand
years, Aquareine, without getting a certain amount of wisdom, and I am
more powerful than you suspect."

"You are a monster and a wicked magician," said the Mermaid Queen.

"I am," agreed Zog, "but I cannot help it.  I was created part man,
part bird, part fish, part beast and part reptile, and such a
monstrosity could not be otherwise than wicked.  Everybody hates me,
and I hae everybody."

"Why don't you kill yourself?" asked Trot.

"I've tried that and failed," he answered.  "Only one being in the
world has power to destroy me, and that is King Anko, the sea
serpent."

"Then you'd better let him do it," advised the little girl.

"No.  Much as I long to die, I cannot allow King Anko the pleasure of
killing me.  He has always been my worst enemy, and it would be such a
joy to him to kill me that I really cannot allow him.  Indeed, I have
always hoped to kill Anko.  I have now been three thousand six hundred
and forty-two years, eleven months and nine days figuring out a plan
to destroy old Anko, and as yet I have not discovered a way."

"I'd give it up, if I were you," advised Trot.  "Don't you think you
could get some fun out of trying to be good?"

"No!" cried Zog, and his voice was not so soft as before.  "Listen,
Aquareine, you and your attendants shall be prisoners in this castle
until I can manage to stop you from living.  Rooms will be placed at
your disposal, and I wish you to go to them at once, as I am tired of
looking at you."

"You're no more tired than we are," remarked Trot.  "It's lucky you
can't see yourself, Zog."

He turned his glowing eyes full upon her.  "The worst of my queer body
I keep concealed," he said.  "If ever you see it, you will scream with
terror."  He touched a bell beside him, and the girl was surprised to
find how clearly its tones rang out through the water.  In an instant
the boy Sacho appeared and bowed low before his dreadful master.
"Take the mermaids and the child to the Rose Chamber," commanded Zog,
"and take the old man-fish to the Peony Room."

Sacho turned to obey.  "Are the outer passages well guarded?" asked
the monster.

"Yes, as you have commanded," said the boy.

"Then you may allow the prisoners to roam at will throughout the
castle.  Now, go!"

The prisoners followed Sacho from the room, glad to get away.  The
presence of this evil being had grown oppressive to them, and Zog had
himself seemed ill at ease during the last few minutes  The robe so
closely wound around his body moved jerkily, as if something beneath
disturbed it, and at such times Zog shifted nervously in his seat.

Sacho's thin little legs trotted through the water and led the way
into a different passage from the one by which they had entered.  They
swam slowly after him and breathed easier when they had left the
golden domed chamber where their wicked enemy sat enthroned.  "Well,
how do you like him?" asked Sacho with a laugh.

"We hate him!" declared Trot emphatically.

"Of course you do," replied Sacho.  "But you're wasting time hating
anything.  It doesn't do you any good, or him any harm.  Can you
sing?"

"A little," said Trot, "but I don't feel like singing now."

"You're wrong about that," the boy asserted.  "Anything that keeps you
from singing is foolishness, unless it's laughter.  Laughter, joy and
song are the only good things in the world."

Trot did not answer this queer speech, for just then they came to a
flight of stairs, and Sacho climbed up them while the others swam.
And now they were in a lofty, broad corridor having many doors hung
with seaweed draperies.  At one of these doorways Sacho stopped and
said, "Here is the Rose Chamber where the master commands you to live
until you die.  You may wander anywhere in the castle as you please;
to leave it is impossible.  Whenever you return to the Rose Chamber,
you will know it by this design of roses sewn in pearls upon the
hangings.  The Peony Room where the man-fish is to live is the next
one farther on."

"Thank you," replied Queen Aquareine.  "Are we to be fed?"

"Meals will be served in your rooms.  If you desire anything, ring the
bell and some of the slaves will be sure to answer it.  I am mostly in
attendance upon my master, but whenever I am at liberty I will look
after your comfort myself."

Again they thanked the strange boy, and he turned and left them.  They
could hear him whistle and sing as he returned along the passage.
Then Princess Clia parted the curtains that her queen and companions
might eter the Rose Chamber.



CHAPTER 14

CAP'N JOE AND CAP'N BILL

The rooms Zog had given his prisoners were as handsome as all other
parts of this strange enchanted castle.  Gold was used plentifully in
the decorations, and in the Rose Chamber occupied by the mermaids and
Trot golden roses formed a border around the entire room.  The sea
maidens had evidently been expected, for the magician had provided
couches for them to recline upon similar to the ones used in the
mermaid palaces.  The frames were of mother of pearl and the cushions
of soft, white sponges.  In the room were toilet tables, mirrors,
ornaments and many articles used by earth people, which they afterward
learned had been plundered by Zog from sunken ships and brought to his
castle by his allies, the sea devils.

While the mermaids were examining and admiring their room, Cap'n Bill
went to the Peony Room to see what it was like and found his quarters
were very cozy and interesting.  There were pictures on the wall,
portraits of grave-looking porpoises, bashful seals, and smug and
smiling walruses.  Some of the wall panels were formed of mirrors and
reflected clearly the interior of the room.  Around the ceiling was a
frieze of imitation peonies in silver, and the furniture was
peony-shaped, the broad leaves being bent to form seats and couches.
Beside a pretty dressing table hung a bell cord with a tassel at the
end.  Cap'n Bill did not know it was a bell cord, so he pulled it to
see what would happen and was puzzled to find that nothing seemed to
happen at all, the bell being too far away for him to hear it.  Then
he began looking at the treasures contained in this royal apartment,
and was much pleased with a golden statue of a mermaid that resembled
Princess Clia in feature.  A silver flower vase upon a stand contained
a bouquet of gorgeous peonies, "as nat'ral as life," said Cap'n Bill,
although he saw plainly that they must be made of metal.

Trot came in just then to see how her dear friend was located.  She
entered from the doorway that conneced the two rooms and said, "Isn't
it pretty, Cap'n?  And who'd ever think that awful creature Zog owned
such a splendid castle and kept his prisoners in such lovely rooms?"

"I once heard tell," said the sailor, "of a foreign people that
sacrificed humans to please their pagan gods, an' before they killed
'em outright they stuffed the victims full of good things to eat an'
dressed 'em in pretty clothes an' treated 'em like princes.  That's
why I don't take much comfort in our fine surroundin's, Trot.  This
Zog is a pagan, if ever there was one, an' he don't mean us any good,
you may depend on 't."

"No," replied Trot soberly, "I'm sure he does not expect us to be
happy here.  But I'm going to fool him and have just as good a time as
I can."  As she spoke they both turned around--an easy thing to do
with a single flop of their flexible tails--and Cap'n Bill uttered a
cry of surprise.  Just across the room stood a perfect duplicate of
himself.  The round head, with its bald top and scraggly whiskers, the
sailor cap and shirt, the wide pantaloons, even the wooden leg, each
and every one were exact copies of those owned by Cap'n Bill.  Even
the expression in the light-blue eyes was the same, and it is no
wonder the old sailor stared at his "double" in amazement.  But the
next minute he laughed and said, "Why, Trot, it's ME reflected in a
mirror.  But at first I thought it was someone else."

Trot was staring, too.  "Look, Cap'n!" she whispered.  "Look at the
wooden leg."

"Well, it's MY wooden leg, ain't it?" he inquired.

"If it is, it can't be a reflection in a mirror," she argued, "for YOU
haven't got a wooden leg.  You've got a fish's tail."

The old sailor was so startled by this truth that he gave a great flop
with his tail that upset his balance and made him keel a somersault in
the water before he got right side up again.  Then he found the other
sailor man laughing at him and was horrified to find the "reflection"
advancing toward them by stumping along on its wooden leg.  "Keep
away!  Get out, there!" yelld Cap'n Bill.  "You're a ghost, the ghost
o' me that once was, an' I can't bear the sight o' you.  Git out!"

"Did you ring jes' to tell me to git out?" asked the other in a mild
voice.

"I--I didn't ring," declared Cap'n Bill.

"You did.  You pulled that bell cord," said the one-legged (one or
more lines missing here in this edition)

"Oh, did pullin' that thing ring a bell?" inquired the Cap'n, a little
ashamed of his ignorance and reassured by hearing the "ghost" talk.

"It surely did," was the reply, "and Sacho told me to answer your bell
and look after you.  So I'm a-lookin' after you."

"I wish you wouldn't," protested Cap'n Bill.  I've no use fer--fer
ghostses, anyhow."

The strange sailor began to chuckle at hearing this, and his chuckle
was just like Cap'n Bill's chuckle, so full of merry humor that it
usually made everyone laugh with him.

"Who are you?" asked Trot, who was very curious and much surprised.

"I'm Cap'n Joe," was the reply.  "Cap'n Joe Weedles, formerly o' the
brig 'Gladsome' an' now a slave o' Zog at the bottom o' the sea."

"J--J--Joe Wee-Weedles!" gasped Cap'n Bill, amazed.  "Joe Weedles o'
the 'Gladsome'!  Why, dash my eyes, mate, you must be my brother!"

"Are YOU Bill Weedles?" asked the other.  And then he added, "But no,
you can't be.  Bill wasn't no mermaid.  He were a human critter like
myself."

"That's what I am," said Cap'n Bill hastily.  "I'm a human critter,
too.  I've jes' borrered this fish tail to swim with while I'm
visitin' the mermaids."

"Well, well," said Cap'n Joe in astonishment.  "Who'd o' thought it!
An' who'd ever o' thought as I'd find my long-lost brother in Zog's
enchanted castle full fifty fathoms deep down in the wet, wet water!"

"Why, as fer that," replied Cap'n Bill, "it's YOU as is the long-lost
brother, not me.  You an' your ship disappeared many a year ago, an'
ain't never been heard of since, while, as you see, I'm livin' on
earth yet."

"You don't look it to all appearances," remarked Cap'n Joe in a
reflective tone of voice.  "But I'll agree it's any a year since I
saw the top o' the water, an' I'm not expectin' to ever tramp on dry
land again."

"Are you dead, or drownded, or what?" asked Cap'n Bill.

"Neither one nor t'other," was the answer.  "But Zog gave me gills
so's I could live in the water like fishes do, an' if I got on land I
couldn't breathe air any more'n a fish out o' water can.  So I guess
as long as I live, I'll hev to stay down here."

"Do you like it?" asked Trot.

"Oh, I don't objec' much," said Cap'n Joe.  "There ain't much
excitement here, fer we don't catch a flock o' mermaids ev'ry day, but
the work is easy an' the rations fair.  I might o' been worse off, you
know, for when my brig was wrecked, I'd 'a' gone to Davy Jones's
Locker if Zog hadn't happened to find me an' made me a fish."

"You don't look as much like a fish as Cap'n Bill does," observed
Trot.

"P'raps not," said Cap'n Joe, "but I notice Bill ain't got any gills
an' breathes like you an' the mermaids does.  When he gets back to
land, he'll have his two legs again an' live in comfort breathin'
air."

"I won't have two legs," asserted Cap'n Bill, "for when I'm on earth
I'm fitted with one wooden leg, jes' the same as you are, Joe."

"Oh, I hadn't heard o' that, Bill, but I'm not surprised," replied
Brother Joe.  "Many a sailor gets to wear a wooden leg in time.
Mine's hick'ry."

"So's mine," said Cap'n Bill with a air of pride.  "I'm glad I've run
across you, Joe, for I often wondered what had become of you.  Seems
too bad, though, to have to spend all your life under water."

"What's the odds?" asked Cap'n Joe.  "I never could keep away from the
water since I was a boy, an' there's more dangers to be met floatin'
on it than there is soakin' in it.  An' one other thing pleases me
when I think on it: I'm parted from my wife, a mighty good woman with
a tongue like a two-edge sword, an' my pore widder'll get the
insurance money an' live happy.  As fer me, Bill, I'm a good deal
happier than I was when she kep' scoldin' me from mornin' to night
every minute I was home."

"Is og a kind master?" asked Trot.

"I can't say he's kind," replied Cap'n Joe, "for he's as near a devil
as any livin' critter CAN be.  He grumbles an' growls in his soft
voice all day, an' hates himself an' everybody else.  But I don't see
much of him.  There's so many of us slaves here that Zog don't pay
much attention to us, an' we have a pretty good time when the ol'
magician is shut up in his den, as he mostly is."

"Could you help us to escape?" asked the child.

"Why, I don't know how," admitted Cap'n Joe.  "There's magic all
around us, and we slaves are never allowed to leave this great cave.
I'll do what I can, o' course, but Sacho is the boy to help you if
anyone can.  That little chap knows a heap, I can tell you.  So now,
if nothin' more's wanted, I must get back to work."

"What work do you do?"  Cap'n Bill asked.

"I sew buttons on Zog's clothes.  Every time he gets mad, he busts his
buttons off, an' I have to sew 'em on again.  As he's mad most o' the
time, it keeps me busy."

"I'll see you again, won't I, Joe?" said Cap'n Bill.

"No reason why you shouldn't, if you manage to keep alive," said Cap'n
Joe.  "But you mustn't forget, Bill, this Zog has his grip on you, an'
I've never known anything to escape him yet."

Saying this, the old sailor began to stump toward the door, but
tripped his foot against his wooden leg and gave a swift dive forward.
He would have fallen flat had he not grabbed the drapery at the
doorway and saved himself by holding fast to it with both hands.  Even
then he rolled and twisted so awkwardly before he could get upon his
legs that Trot had to laugh outright at his antics.  "This hick'ry
leg," said Cap'n Joe, "is so blamed light that it always wants to
float.  Agga-Groo, the goldworker, has promised me a gold leg that
will stay down, but he never has time to make it.  You're mighty
lucky, Bill, to have a merman's tail instead o' legs."

"I guess I am, Joe," replied Cap'n Bill, "for in such a wet country
the fishes have the best of it.  But I ain't sure I'd like this sort
o' hing always."

"Think o' the money you'd make in a side show," said Cap'n Joe with
his funny chuckling laugh.  Then he pounded his wooden leg against the
hard floor and managed to hobble from the room without more accidents.

When he had gone, Trot said, "Aren't you glad to find your brother
again, Cap'n Bill?"

"Why, so-so," replied the sailor.  "I don't know much about Joe,
seein' as we haven't met before for many a long year, an' all I
remember about our boyhood days is that we fit an' pulled hair most o'
the time.  But what worries me most is Joe's lookin' so much like me
myself, wooden leg an' all.  Don't you think it's rather cheeky an'
unbrotherly, Trot?"

"Perhaps he can't help it," suggested the child.  "And anyhow, he'll
never be able to live on land again."

"No," said Cap'n Bill with a sigh.  "Joe's a fish, now, an' so he
ain't likely to be took for me by one of our friends on the earth."



CHAPTER 15

THE MAGIC OF THE MERMAIDS

When Trot and Cap'n Bill entered the Rose Chamber they found the two
mermaids reclining before an air fountain that was sending thousands
of tiny bubbles up through the water.  "These fountains of air are
excellent things," remarked Queen Aquareine, "for they keep the water
fresh and sweet, and that is the more necessary when it is confined by
walls, as it is in this castle.  But now, let us counsel together and
decide what to do in the emergency that confronts us."

"How can we tell what to do without knowing what's going to happen?"
asked Trot.

"Somethin's sure to happen," said Cap'n Bill.  As if to prove his
words, a gong suddenly sounded at their door and in walked a fat
little man clothed all in white, including a white apron and white
cap.  His face was round and jolly, and he had a big mustache that
curled up at the ends.

"Well, well!" said the little man, spreading out his legs and putting
his hands on his hips as he stood looking at them.  "Of all the queer
things in the sea, you're the queerest!  Mermaids, eh?"

"Don't bunch us that way!" protested Cap'n Bill.

"ou are quite wrong," said Trot.  "I'm a--a girl."

"With a fish's tail?" he asked, laughing at her.

"That's only just for a while," she said, "while I'm in the water, you
know.  When I'm at home on the land I walk just as you do, an' so does
Cap'n Bill."

"But we haven't any gills," remarked the Cap'n, looking closely at the
little man's throat, "so I take it we're not as fishy as some others."

"If you mean me, I must admit you are right," said the little man,
twisting his mustache.  "I'm as near a fish as a man can be.  But you
see, Cap'n, without the gills that make me a fish, I could not live
under water."

"When it comes to that, you've no business to live under water,"
asserted the sailor.  "But I s'pose you're a slave and can't help it."

"I'm chief cook for that old horror Zog.  And that reminds me, good
mermaids, or good people, or good girls and sailors, or whatever you
are, that I'm sent here to ask what you'd like to eat."

"Good to see you, sir," said Cap'n Bill.  "I'm nearly starved,
myself."

"I had it in mind," said the little man, "to prepare a regular mermaid
dinner, but since you're not mermaids20--"

"Why not, Cap'n?" asked the child.  "We're safe enough so far.  Can't
you trust 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 nighttime?" 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 or 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 isa 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 in to the Peony Room, where he lay
down upon his spongy couch and 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.



CHAPTER 17

THE QUEEN'S GOLDEN SWORD

"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
fish tail 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 sailor man 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' parboiled, 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, and20--"

"Never live to tell the tale," said the child.  "But never mind, Cap'n
Bill, we've done the best we could, and we've had a fine time."

"Forgive me!  Oh, forgive me!" cried Aquareine despairingly.  "I tried
to save you, my poor friends, but20--"

"Give him his full name," said Anko.  "Captain Kid Glove was20--"

"What was it?" asked Trot.

"It was a stomach ache," replied the King with a sigh.

"What made it?" she inquired.

"Just my carelessness," said Anko.  "I'd been away to foreign parts,
seeing how the earth people were getting along.  I found the Germans
dancing the german and the Dutch making dutch cheese and the Belgians
combing their belgian hares and the Turks eating turkey and the
Sardinians sardonically pickling sardines.  Then I called on the
Prince of Whales, and20--"

"Of course you mean20--"

"On the way home," continued Anko calmly, "I was a little
absent-minded and ate an anchor.  There was a long chain attached to
it, and as I continued to swallow the anchor I continued to eat the
chain.  I never realized what I had done until I found a ship on the
other end of the chain.  Then I bit it off."

"The ship?" asked Trot.

"No, the chain.  I didn't care for the ship, as I saw it contained
some skippers.  On the way home the chain and anchor began to lie
heavily on my stomach.  I didn't seem to digest them properly, and by
the time I got to my palace, where you will notice there is no throne,
I was thrown into throes of severe pain.  So I at once sent for Dr.
Shark20--"

"I'm not talking of lawyers," said Anko reprovingly.  "I'm talking
about my pain.  I don't imagine anyone could suffer more than I did
with that stomach ache."

"Did you suffer long?" inquired Trot.

"Why, about seven thousand four hundred and eighty-two feet
and20--"

"And big," added Cap'n Bill, realizing his little friend could not
find another word that was complimentary.



CHAPTER 21

KING JOE

As they swam out of Anko's palace and the doll-faced fishes left them,
Aquareine asked, "Would you rather go back to our mermaid home for a
time and rest yourselves or would you prefer to start for Giant's Cave
at once?"

"I guess we'd better go back home," decided Trot.  "To our own home, I
mean.  We've been away quite a while, and King Anko seemed to think it
was best."

"Very well," replied the Queen.  "Let us turn in this direction,
then."

"You can say goodbye to Merla for us," continued Trot.  "She was very
nice to us, an' 'specially to Cap'n Bill."

"So she was, mate," agreed the sailor, "an' a prettier lady I never
knew, even if she is a mermaid, beggin' your pardon, ma'am."

"Are we going anywhere near Zog's castle?" asked the girl.

"Our way leads directly past the opening in the dome," said Aquareine.

"Then let's stop and see what Sacho and the others are doing,"
suggested Trot.  "They can't be slaves any longer, you know, 'cause
they haven't any master.  I wonder if they're any happier than they
were before?"

"They seemed to be pretty happy as it was," remarked Cap'n Bill.

"It will do no harm to pay them a brief visit," said Princess Clia.
"All danger disappeared from the cavern with the destruction of Zog."

"I really ought to say goodbye to Brother Joe," observed the sailor
man.  "I won't see him again, you know, and I don't want to seem
unbrotherly."

"Very well," said the Queen, "we will reenter the cavern, for I, too,
am anxious to know what will be the fate of the poor slaves of the
magician."

When they came to the hole in the top of the dome, they dropped
through it and swam leisurely down toward the castle.  The water was
clear and undisturbed and the silver castle looked very quiet and
peaceful under the radiant light that still filled the cavern.  They
met no one at all, and passing around to the front of the building,
they reached the broad entrane and passed into the golden hall.

Here a strange scene met their eyes.  All the slaves of Zog, hundreds
in number, were assembled in the room, while standing before the
throne formerly occupied by the wicked magician was the boy Sacho, who
was just beginning to make a speech to his fellow slaves.  "At one
time or another," he said, "all of us were born upon the earth and
lived in the thin air, but now we are all living as the fishes live,
and our home is in the water of the ocean.  One by one we have come to
this place, having been saved from drowning by Zog, the Magician, and
by him given power to exist in comfort under water.  The powerful
master who made us his slaves has now passed away forever, but we
continue to live, and are unable to return to our native land, where
we would quickly perish.  There is no one but us to inherit Zog's
possessions, and so it will be best for us to remain in this fine
castle and occupy ourselves as we have done before, in providing for
the comforts of the community.  Only in labor is happiness to be
found, and we may as well labor for ourselves as for others.

"But we must have a king.  Not an evil, cruel master like Zog, but one
who will maintain order and issue laws for the benefit of all.  We
will govern ourselves most happily by having a ruler, or head,
selected from among ourselves by popular vote.  Therefore I ask you to
decide who shall be our king, for only one who is accepted by all can
sit in Zog's throne."

The slaves applauded this speech, but they seemed puzzled to make the
choice of a ruler.  Finally the chief cook came forward and said, "We
all have our duties to perform and so cannot spend the time to be
king.  But you, Sacho, who were Zog's own attendant, have now no
duties at all.  So it will be best for you to rule us.  What say you,
comrades?  Shall we make Sacho king?"

"Yes, yes!" they all cried.

"But I do not wish to be king," replied Sacho.  "A king is a useless
sort of person who merely issues orders for others to carry out.  I
want to be busy and ueful.  Whoever is king will need a good
attendant as well as an officer who will see that his commands are
obeyed.  I am used to such duties, having served Zog in this same
way."

"Who, then, has the time to rule over us?" asked Agga-Groo, the
goldsmith.

"It seems to me that Cap'n Joe is the proper person for king," replied
Sacho.  "His former duty was to sew buttons on Zog's garments, so now
he is out of a job and has plenty of time to be king, for he can sew
on his own buttons.  What do you say, Cap'n Joe?"

"Oh, I don't mind," agreed Cap'n Joe.  "That is, if you all want me to
rule you."

"We do!" shouted the slaves, glad to find someone willing to take the
job.

"But I'll want a few pointers," continued Cap'n Bill's brother.  "I
ain't used to this sort o' work, you know, an' if I ain't properly
posted I'm liable to make mistakes."

"Sacho will tell you," said Tom Atto encouragingly. "and now I must go
back to the kitchen and look after my dumplings, or you people won't
have any dinner today."

"Very well," announced Sacho.  "I hereby proclaim Cap'n Joe elected
King of the Castle, which is the Enchanted Castle no longer.  You may
all return to your work."

The slaves went away well contented, and the boy and Cap'n Joe now
came forward to greet their visitors.  "We're on our way home,"
explained Cap'n Bill, "an' we don't expec' to travel this way again.
But it pleases me to know, Joe, that you're the king o' such a fine
castle, an' I'll rest easier now that you're well pervided for."

"Oh, I'm all right, Bill," returned Cap'n Joe.  "It's an easy life
here, an' a peaceful one.  I wish you were as well fixed."

"If ever you need friends, Sacho, or any assistance or counsel, come
to me," said the Mermaid Queen to the boy.

"Thank you, madam," he replied.  "Now that Zog has gone, I am sure we
shall be very safe and contented.  But I shall not forget to come to
you if we need you.  We are not going to waste any time in anger or
revenge or evil deeds, so I believe we shall prosper from now on."

"I'm sure you will, declared Trot.

They now decided that they must continue their journey, and as neither
Sacho nor King Joe could ascend to the top of the dome without
swimming in the human way, which was slow and tedious work for them,
the goodbyes were said at the castle entrance, and the four visitors
started on their return.  Trot took one last view of the beautiful
silver castle from the hole high up in the dome, which was now open
and unguarded, and the next moment she was in the broad ocean again,
swimming toward home beside her mermaid friends.



CHAPTER 22

TROT LIVES TO TELL THE TALE

Aquareine was thoughtful for a time.  Then she drew from her finger a
ring, a plain gold band set with a pearl of great value, and gave it
to the little girl.  "If at any period of your life the mermaids can
be of service to you, my dear," she said, "you have but to come to the
edge of the ocean and call 'Aquareine.'  If you are wearing the ring
at the time, I shall instantly hear you and come to your assistance."

"Thank you!" cried the child, slipping the ring over her own chubby
finger, which it fitted perfectly.  "I shall never forget that I have
good and loyal friends in the ocean, you may be sure."

Away and away they swam, swiftly and in a straight line, keeping in
the middle water where they were not liable to meet many sea people.
They passed a few schools of fishes, where the teachers were
explaining to the young ones how to swim properly, and to conduct
themselves in a dignified manner, but Trot did not care to stop and
watch the exercises.

Although the queen had lost her fairy wand in Zog's domed chamber, she
had still enough magic power to carry them all across the ocean in
wonderfully quick time, and before Trot and Cap'n Bill were aware of
the distance they had come, the mermaids paused while Princess Clia
said, "Now we must go a little deeper, for here is the Giant's Cave
and the entrance to it is near the bottom of the sea."

"What, already?" cried the girl joyfully, and then through the dark
water they swam, passing though the rocky entrance, and began to
ascend slowly into the azure-blue water of the cave.  "You've been
awfully good to us, and I don't know jus' how to thank you," said Trot
earnestly.

"We have enjoyed your visit to us," said beautiful Queen Aquareine,
smiling upon her little friend, "and you may easily repay any pleasure
we have given you by speaking well of the mermaids when you hear
ignorant earth people condemning us."

"I'll do that, of course," exclaimed the child.

"How about changin' us back to our reg'lar shapes?" inquired Cap'n
Bill anxiously.

"That will be very easy," replied Princess Clia with her merry laugh.
"See!  Here we are at the surface of the water."

They pushed their heads above the blue water and looked around the
cave.  It was silent and deserted.  Floating gently near the spot
where they had left it was their own little boat.  Cap'n Bill swam to
it, took hold of the side, and then turned an inquiring face toward
the mermaids.  "Climb in," said the Queen.  So he pulled himself up
and awkwardly tumbled forward into the boat.  As he did so, he heard
his wooden leg clatter against the seat, and turned around to look at
it wonderingly.

"It's me, all right!" he muttered.  "One meat one, an' one hick'ry
one.  That's the same as belongs to me!"

"Will you lift Mayre aboard?" asked Princess Clia.

The old sailor aroused himself, and as Trot lifted up her arms, he
seized them and drew her safely into the boat.  She was dressed just
as usual, and her chubby legs wore shoes and stockings.  Strangely
enough, neither of them were at all wet or even damp in any part of
their clothing.  "I wonder where our legs have been while we've been
gone?" mused Cap'n Bill, gazing at his little friend in great delight.

"And I wonder what's become of our pretty pink and green scaled
tails!" returned the girl, laughing with glee, for it seemed good to
be herself again.

Queen Aquareine and Princess Clia were a little way off, lying with
their pretty faces just out of the water while their hair floated in
soft couds around them.  "Goodbye, friends!" they called.

"Goodbye!" shouted both Trot and Cap'n Bill, and the little girl blew
two kisses from her fingers toward the mermaids.  Then the faces
disappeared, leaving little ripples on the surface of the water.
Cap'n Bill picked up the oars and slowly headed the boat toward the
mouth of the cave.

"I wonder, Trot, if your ma has missed us," he remarked uneasily.

"Of course not," replied the girl.  "She's been sound asleep, you
know."

As the boat crept out into the bright sunlight, they were both silent,
but each sighed with pleasure at beholding their own everyday world
again.  Finally Trot said softly, "The land's the best, Cap'n."

"It is, mate, for livin' on," he answered.

"But I'm glad to have seen the mermaids," she added..

"Well, so'm I, Trot," he agreed.  "But I wouldn't 'a' believed any
mortal could ever 'a' seen 'em an'--an'--"

Trot laughed merrily.  "An' lived to tell the tale!" she cried, her
eyes dancing with mischief.  "Oh, Cap'n Bill, how little we mortals
know!"

"True enough, mate," he replied, "but we're a-learnin' something ev'ry
day."



THE END