Chapter Nineteen
Rinkitink Chuckles
We will now relate what happened to Rinkitink and Bilbil that morning,while Inga was undergoing his trying experience in escaping the fearfuldangers of the three caverns.
The King of Gilgad wakened to find the door of Inga's room fast shutand locked, but he had no trouble in opening his own door into thecorridor, for it seems that the boy's room, which was the middle one,whirled around on a pivot, while the adjoining rooms occupied by Bilbiland Rinkitink remained stationary. The little King also found abreakfast magically served in his room, and while he was eating it,Klik came to him and stated that His Majesty, King Kaliko, desired hispresence in the royal cavern.
So Rinkitink, having first made sure that the Pink Pearl was still inhis vest pocket, willingly followed Klik, who ran on some distanceahead. But no sooner had Rinkitink set foot in the passage than a greatrock, weighing at least a ton, became dislodged and dropped from theroof directly over his head. Of course, it could not harm him,protected as he was by the Pink Pearl, and it bounded aside and crashedupon the floor, where it was shattered by its own weight.
"How careless!" exclaimed the little King, and waddled after Klik, whoseemed amazed at his escape.
Presently another rock above Rinkitink plunged downward, and thenanother, but none touched his body. Klik seemed much perplexed at thesecontinued escapes and certainly Kaliko was surprised when Rinkitink,safe and sound, entered the royal cavern.
"Good morning," said the King of Gilgad. "Your rocks are getting loose,Kaliko, and you'd better have them glued in place before they hurtsomeone." Then he began to chuckle: "Hoo, hoo, hoo-hee, hee-heek, keek,eek!" and Kaliko sat and frowned because he realized that the littlefat King was poking fun at him.
"I asked Your Majesty to come here," said the Nome King, "to show you acurious skein of golden thread which my workmen have made. If itpleases you, I will make you a present of it."
With this he held out a small skein of glittering gold twine, which wasreally pretty and curious. Rinkitink took it in his hand and at oncethe golden thread began to unwind--so swiftly that the eye could notfollow its motion. And, as it unwound, it coiled itself aroundRinkitink's body, at the same time weaving itself into a net, until ithad enveloped the little King from head to foot and placed him in aprison of gold.
"Aha!" cried Kaliko; "this magic worked all right, it seems.
"Oh, did it?" replied Rinkitink, and stepping forward he walked rightthrough the golden net, which fell to the floor in a tangled mass.
Kaliko rubbed his chin thoughtfully and stared hard at Rinkitink.
"I understand a good bit of magic," said he, "but Your Majesty has asort of magic that greatly puzzles me, because it is unlike anything ofthe sort that I ever met with before."
"Now, see here, Kaliko," said Rinkitink; "if you are trying to harm meor my companions, give it up, for you will never succeed. We'reharm-proof, so to speak, and you are merely wasting your time trying toinjure us.
"You may be right, and I hope I am not so impolite as to argue with aguest," returned the Nome King. "But you will pardon me if I am not yetsatisfied that you are stronger than my famous magic. However, I begyou to believe that I bear you no ill will, King Rinkitink; but it ismy duty to destroy you, if possible, because you and that insignificantboy Prince have openly threatened to take away my captives and havepositively refused to go back to the earth's surface and let me alone.I'm very tender-hearted, as a matter of fact, and I like you immensely,and would enjoy having you as a friend, but--" Here he pressed a buttonon the arm of his throne chair and the section of the floor whereRinkitink stood suddenly opened and disclosed a black pit beneath,which was a part of 'the terrible Bottomless Gulf.
But Rinkitink did not fall into the pit; his body remained suspended inthe air until he put out his foot and stepped to the solid floor, whenthe opening suddenly closed again.
"I appreciate Your Majesty's friendship," remarked Rinkitink, as calmlyas if nothing had happened, "but I am getting tired with standing. Willyou kindly send for my goat, Bilbil, that I may sit upon his back torest?"
"Indeed I will!" promised Kaliko. "I have not yet completed my test ofyour magic, and as I owe that goat a slight grudge for bumping my headand smashing my second-best crown, I will be glad to discover if thebeast can also escape my delightful little sorceries."
So Klik was sent to fetch Bilbil and presently returned with the goat,which was very cross this morning because it had not slept well in theunderground caverns.
Rinkitink lost no time in getting upon the red velvet saddle which thegoat constantly wore, for he feared the Nome King would try to destroyBilbil and knew that as long as his body touched that of the goat thePink Pearl would protect them both; whereas, if Bilbil stood alone,there was no magic to save him.
Bilbil glared wickedly at King Kaliko, who moved uneasily in his ivorythrone. Then the Nome King whispered a moment in the ear of Klik, whonodded and left the room.
"Please make yourselves at home here for a few minutes, while I attendto an errand," said the Nome King, getting up from the throne. "I shallreturn pretty soon, when I hope to find you pieceful--ha, ha,ha!--that's a joke you can't appreciate now but will later. Bepieceful--that's the idea. Ho, ho, ho! How funny." Then he waddled fromthe cavern, closing the door behind him.
"Well, why didn't you laugh when Kaliko laughed?" demanded the goat,when they were left alone in the cavern.
"Because he means mischief of some sort," replied Rinkitink, "and we'lllaugh after the danger is over, Bilbil. There's an old adage that says:'He laughs best who laughs last,' and the only way to laugh last is togive the other fellow a chance. Where did that knife come from, Iwonder."
For a long, sharp knife suddenly appeared in the air near them,twisting and turning from side to side and darting here and there in adangerous manner, without any support whatever. Then another knifebecame visible--and another and another--until all the space in theroyal cavern seemed filled with them. Their sharp points and edgesdarted toward Rinkitink and Bilbil perpetually and nothing could havesaved them from being cut to pieces except the protecting power of thePink Pearl. As it was, not a knife touched them and even Bilbil gave agruff laugh at the failure of Kaliko's clever magic.
The goat wandered here and there in the cavern, carrying Rinkitink uponhis back, and neither of them paid the slightest heed to the knives,although the glitter of the hundreds of polished blades was rathertrying to their eyes. Perhaps for ten minutes the knives darted aboutthem in bewildering fury; then they disappeared as suddenly as they hadappeared.
Kaliko cautiously stuck his head through the doorway and found the goatchewing the embroidery of his royal cloak, which he had left lying overthe throne, while Rinkitink was reading his manuscript on "How to beGood" and chuckling over its advice. The Nome King seemed greatlydisappointed as he came in and resumed his seat on the throne. SaidRinkitink with a chuckle:
"We've really had a peaceful time, Kaliko, although not the piecefultime you expected. Forgive me if I indulge in a laugh--hoo, hoo,hoo-hee, heek-keek-eek! And now, tell me; aren't you getting tired oftrying to injure us?"
"Eh--heh," said the Nome King. "I see now that your magic can protectyou from all my arts. But is the boy Inga as, well protected as YourMajesty and the goat?'
"Why do you ask?" inquired Rinkitink, uneasy at the question because heremembered he had not seen the little Prince of Pingaree that morning.
"Because," said Kaliko, "the boy has been undergoing trials far greaterand more dangerous than any you have encountered, and it has beenhundreds of years since anyone has been able to escape alive from theperils of my Three Trick Caverns."
King Rinkitink was much alarmed at hearing this, for although he knewthat Inga possessed the Blue Pearl, that would only give to himmarvelous strength, and perhaps strength alone would not enable him toescape from danger. But he would not let Kaliko see the fear he feltfor Inga's safety, so he said in a careless way:
"You're a mighty poor magician, Kaliko, and I'll give you my crown ifInga hasn't escaped any danger you have threatened him with."
"Your whole crown is not worth one of the valuable diamonds in mycrown," answered the Nome King, "but I'll take it. Let us go at once,therefore, and see what has become of the boy Prince, for if he is notdestroyed by this time I will admit he cannot be injured by any of themagic arts which I have at my command."
He left the room, accompanied by Klik, who had now rejoined his master,and by Rinkitink riding upon Bilbil. After traversing several of thehuge caverns they entered one that was somewhat more bright andcheerful than the others, where the Nome King paused before a wall ofrock. Then Klik pressed a secret spring and a section of the wallopened and disclosed the corridor where Prince Inga stood facing them.
"Tarts and tadpoles!" cried Kaliko in surprise. "The boy is stillalive!"
Rinkitink in Oz Page 19
