Chapter Eight
Rinkitink Makes a Great Mistake
The fat King rode his goat through the streets of the conquered cityand the boy Prince walked proudly beside him, while all the people benttheir heads humbly to their new masters, whom they were prepared toserve in the same manner they had King Gos.
Not a warrior remained in all Regos to oppose the triumphant three; thebridge of boats had been destroyed; Inga and his companions were freefrom danger--for a time, at least.
The jolly little King appreciated this fact and rejoiced that he hadescaped all injury during the battle. How it had all happened he couldnot tell, nor even guess, but he was content in being safe and free totake possession of the enemy's city. So, as they passed through thelines of respectful civilians on their way to the palace, the Kingtipped his crown back on his bald head and folded his arms and sang inhis best voice the following lines:
"Oh, here comes the army of King Rinkitink! It isn't a big one, perhaps you may think, But it scattered the warriors quicker than wink-- Rink-i-tink, tink-i-tink, tink!
Our Bilbil's a hero and so is his King; Our foemen have vanished like birds on the wing; I guess that as fighters we're quite the real thing-- Rink-i-tink, tink-i-tink, tink!"
"Why don't you give a little credit to Inga?" inquired the goat. "If Iremember aright, he did a little of the conquering himself."
"So he did," responded the King, "and that's the reason I'm soundingour own praise, Bilbil. Those who do the least, often shout the loudestand so get the most glory. Inga did so much that there is danger of hisbecoming more important than we are, and so we'd best say nothing abouthim."
When they reached the palace, which was an immense building, furnishedthroughout in regal splendor, Inga took formal possession and orderedthe majordomo to show them the finest rooms the building contained.There were many pleasant apartments, but Rinkitink proposed to Ingathat they share one of the largest bedrooms together.
"For," said he, "we are not sure that old Gos will not return and tryto recapture his city, and you must remember that I have no magic toprotect me. In any danger, were I alone, I might be easily killed orcaptured, while if you are by my side you can save me from injury."
The boy realized the wisdom of this plan, and selected a fine bigbedroom on the second floor of the palace, in which he ordered twogolden beds placed and prepared for King Rinkitink and himself. Bilbilwas given a suite of rooms on the other side of the palace, whereservants brought the goat fresh-cut grass to eat and made him a softbed to lie upon.
That evening the boy Prince and the fat King dined in great state inthe lofty-domed dining hall of the palace, where forty servants waitedupon them. The royal chef, anxious to win the favor of the conquerorsof Regos, prepared his finest and most savory dishes for them, whichRinkitink ate with much appetite and found so delicious that he orderedthe royal chef brought into the banquet hall and presented him with agilt button which the King cut from his own jacket.
"You are welcome to it," said he to the chef, "because I have eaten somuch that I cannot use that lower button at all."
Rinkitink was mightily pleased to live in a comfortable palace againand to dine at a well spread table. His joy grew every moment, so thathe came in time to be as merry and cheery as before Pingaree wasdespoiled. And, although he had been much frightened during Inga'sdefiance of the army of King Gos, he now began to turn the matter intoa joke.
"Why, my boy," said he, "you whipped the big black-bearded King exactlyas if he were a schoolboy, even though you used no warlike weapon atall upon him. He was cowed through fear of your magic, and that remindsme to demand from you an explanation. How did you do it, Inga? Andwhere did the wonderful magic come from?"
Perhaps it would have been wise for the Prince to have explained aboutthe magic pearls, but at that moment he was not inclined to do so.Instead, he replied:
"Be patient, Your Majesty. The secret is not my own, so please do notask me to divulge it. Is it not enough, for the present, that the magicsaved you from death to-day?"
"Do not think me ungrateful," answered the King earnestly. "A millionspears fell on me from the wall, and several stones as big asmountains, yet none of them hurt me!"
"The stones were not as big as mountains, sire," said the Prince with asmile. "They were, indeed, no larger than your head."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Rinkitink.
"Quite sure, Your Majesty."
"How deceptive those things are!" sighed the King. "This argumentreminds me of the story of Tom Tick, which my father used to tell."
"I have never heard that story," Inga answered.
"Well, as he told it, it ran like this:
"When Tom walked out, the sky to spy, A naughty gnat flew in his eye; But Tom knew not it was a gnat-- He thought, at first, it was a cat.
"And then, it felt so very big, He thought it surely was a pig Till, standing still to hear it grunt, He cried: 'Why, it's an elephunt!'
"But--when the gnat flew out again And Tom was free from all his pain, He said: 'There flew into my eye A leetle, teenty-tiny fly.'"
"Indeed," said Inga, laughing, "the gnat was much like your stones thatseemed as big as mountains."
After their dinner they inspected the palace, which was filled withvaluable goods stolen by King Gos from many nations. But the day'sevents had tired them and they retired early to their big sleepingapartment.
"In the morning," said the boy to Rinkitink, as he was undressing forbed, "I shall begin the search for my father and mother and the peopleof Pingaree. And, when they are found and rescued, we will all go homeagain, and be as happy as we were before."
They carefully bolted the door of their room, that no one might enter,and then got into their beds, where Rinkitink fell asleep in aninstant. The boy lay awake for a while thinking over the day'sadventures, but presently he fell sound asleep also, and so weary washe that nothing disturbed his slumber until he awakened next morningwith a ray of sunshine in his eyes, which had crept into the roomthrough the open window by King Rinkitink's bed.
Resolving to begin the search for his parents without any unnecessarydelay, Inga at once got out of bed and began to dress himself, whileRinkitink, in the other bed, was still sleeping peacefully. But whenthe boy had put on both his stockings and began looking for his shoes,he could find but one of them. The left shoe, that containing the PinkPearl, was missing.
Filled with anxiety at this discovery, Inga searched through the entireroom, looking underneath the beds and divans and chairs and behind thedraperies and in the corners and every other possible place a shoemight be. He tried the door, and found it still bolted; so, withgrowing uneasiness, the boy was forced to admit that the precious shoewas not in the room.
With a throbbing heart he aroused his companion.
"King Rinkitink," said he, "do you know what has become of my leftshoe?"
"Your shoe!" exclaimed the King, giving a wide yawn and rubbing hiseyes to get the sleep out of them. "Have you lost a shoe?"
"Yes," said Inga. "I have searched everywhere in the room, and cannotfind it."
"But why bother me about such a small thing?" inquired Rinkitink. "Ashoe is only a shoe, and you can easily get another one. But, stay!Perhaps it was your shoe which I threw at the cat last night."
"The cat!" cried Inga. "What do you mean?"
"Why, in the night," explained Rinkitink, sitting up and beginning todress himself, "I was wakened by the mewing of a cat that sat upon awall of the palace, just outside my window. As the noise disturbed me,I reached out in the dark and caught up something and threw it at thecat, to frighten the creature away. I did not know what it was that Ithrew, and I was too sleepy to care; but probably it was your shoe,since it is now missing."
"Then," said the boy, in a despairing tone of voice, "your carelessnesshas ruined me, as well as yourself, King Rinkitink, for in that shoewas concealed the magic power which protected us from danger."
The King'
s face became very serious when he heard this and he uttered alow whistle of surprise and regret.
"Why on earth did you not warn me of this?" he demanded. "And why didyou keep such a precious power in an old shoe? And why didn't you putthe shoe under a pillow? You were very wrong, my lad, in not confidingto me, your faithful friend, the secret, for in that case the shoewould not now be lost."
To all this Inga had no answer. He sat on the side of his bed, withhanging head, utterly disconsolate, and seeing this, Rinkitink had pityfor his sorrow.
"Come!" cried the King; "let us go out at once and look for the shoewhich I threw at the cat. It must even now be lying in the yard of thepalace."
This suggestion roused the boy to action. He at once threw open thedoor and in his stocking feet rushed down the staircase, closelyfollowed by Rinkitink. But although they looked on both sides of thepalace wall and in every possible crack and corner where a shoe mightlodge, they failed to find it.
After a half hour's careful search the boy said sorrowfully:
"Someone must have passed by, as we slept, and taken the precious shoe,not knowing its value. To us, King Rinkitink, this will be a dreadfulmisfortune, for we are surrounded by dangers from which we have now noprotection. Luckily I have the other shoe left, within which is themagic power that gives me strength; so all is not lost."
Then he told Rinkitink, in a few words, the secret of the wonderfulpearls, and how he had recovered them from the ruins and hidden them inhis shoes, and how they had enabled him to drive King Gos and his menfrom Regos and to capture the city. The King was much astonished, andwhen the story was concluded he said to Inga:
"What did you do with the other shoe?"
"Why, I left it in our bedroom," replied the boy.
"Then I advise you to get it at once," continued Rinkitink, "for we canill afford to lose the second shoe, as well as the one I threw at thecat."
"You are right!" cried Inga, and they hastened back to their bedchamber.
On entering the room they found an old woman sweeping and raising agreat deal of dust.
"Where is my shoe?" asked the Prince, anxiously.
The old woman stopped sweeping and looked at him in a stupid way, forshe was not very intelligent.
"Do you mean the one odd shoe that was lying on the floor when I camein?" she finally asked.
"Yes--yes!" answered the boy. "Where is it? Tell me where it is!"
"Why, I threw it on the dust-heap, outside the back gate," said she,"for, it being but a single shoe, with no mate, it can be of no use toanyone."
"Show us the way to the dust-heap--at once!" commanded the boy,sternly, for he was greatly frightened by this new misfortune whichthreatened him.
The old woman hobbled away and they followed her, constantly urging herto hasten; but when they reached the dust-heap no shoe was to be seen.
"This is terrible!" wailed the young Prince, ready to weep at his loss."We are now absolutely ruined, and at the mercy of our enemies. Norshall I be able to liberate my dear father and mother."
"Well," replied Rinkitink, leaning against an old barrel and lookingquite solemn, "the thing is certainly unlucky, any way we look at it. Isuppose someone has passed along here and, seeing the shoe upon thedust-heap, has carried it away. But no one could know the magic powerthe shoe contains and so will not use it against us. I believe, Inga,we must now depend upon our wits to get us out of the scrape we are in."
With saddened hearts they returned to the palace, and entering a smallroom where no one could observe them or overhear them, the boy took theWhite Pearl from its silken bag and held it to his ear, asking:
"What shall I do now?"
"Tell no one of your loss," answered the Voice of the Pearl. "If yourenemies do not know that you are powerless, they will fear you as muchas ever. Keep your secret, be patient, and fear not!"
Inga heeded this advice and also warned Rinkitink to say nothing toanyone of the loss of the shoes and the powers they contained. He sentfor the shoemaker of King Gos, who soon brought him a new pair of redleather shoes that fitted him quite well. When these had been put uponhis feet, the Prince, accompanied by the King, started to walk throughthe city.
Wherever they went the people bowed low to the conqueror, although afew, remembering Inga's terrible strength, ran away in fear andtrembling. They had been used to severe masters and did not yet knowhow they would be treated by King Gos's successor. There being nooccasion for the boy to exercise the powers he had displayed theprevious day, his present helplessness was not suspected by any of thecitizens of Regos, who still considered him a wonderful magician.
Inga did not dare to fight his way to the mines, at present, nor couldhe try to conquer the Island of Coregos, where his mother was enslaved;so he set about the regulation of the City of Regos, and havingestablished himself with great state in the royal palace he began togovern the people by kindness, having consideration for the most humble.
The King of Regos and his followers sent spies across to the islandthey had abandoned in their flight, and these spies returned with thenews that the terrible boy conqueror was still occupying the city.Therefore none of them ventured to go back to Regos but continued tolive upon the neighboring island of Coregos, where they passed the daysin fear and trembling and sought to plot and plan ways how they mightovercome the Prince of Pingaree and the fat King of Gilgad.
Rinkitink in Oz Page 8
