"Seems to me that we have so much time it doesn"t matter," said Trot. "What"s time for, anyhow?"
"Time is given us to be happy, and for no other reason," replied the boy soberly. "When we waste time, we waste happiness. But there is no time for preaching, so I"ll go."
"Please wait a moment, Sacho," said the Queen.
"Can I do anything to make you happy?" he asked, smiling again.
"Yes," answered Aquareine. "We are curious to know who does all this beautiful gold work and ornamentation."
"Some of the slaves here are goldsmiths, having been taught by Zog to forge and work metal under water," explained Sacho. "In parts of the ocean lie many rocks filled with veins of pure gold and golden nuggets, and we get large supplies from sunken ships as well. There is no lack of gold here, but it is not as precious as it is upon the earth because here we have no need of money."
"We would like to see the goldsmiths at work," announced the Queen.
The boy hesitated a moment. Then he said, "I will take you to their room, where you may watch them for a time. I will not ask Zog"s permission to do this, for he might refuse. But my orders were to allow you the liberty of the castle, and so I will let you see the goldsmiths" shop."
"Thank you," replied Aquareine quietly, and then the four followed Sacho along various corridors until they came to a large room where a dozen men were busily at work. Lying here and there were heaps of virgin gold, some in its natural state and some already fashioned into ornaments and furniture of various sorts. Each man worked at a bench where there was a curious iron furnace in which glowed a vivid, white light. Although this workshop was all under water and the workmen were all obliged to breathe as fishes do, the furnaces glowed so hot that the water touching them was turned into steam.
Gold or other metal held over a furnace quickly softened or melted, when it could be forged or molded into any shape desired.
"The furnaces are electric," explained Sacho, "and heat as well under water as they would in the open air. Let me introduce you to the foreman, who will tell you of his work better than I can."
The foreman was a slave named Agga-Groo, who was lean and lank and had an expression more surly and unhappy than any slave they had yet seen. Yet he seemed willing to leave his work and explain to the visitors how he made so many beautiful things out of gold, for he took much pride in this labor and knew its artistic worth. Moreover, since he had been in Zog"s castle these were the first strangers to enter his workshop, so he welcomed them in his own gruff way.
The queen asked him if he was happy, and he shook his head and replied, "It isn"t like Calcutta, where I used to work in gold before I was wrecked at sea and nearly drowned. Zog rescued me and brought me here a slave. It is a stupid life we lead, doing the same things over and over every day, but perhaps it is better than being dead. I"m not sure. The only pleasure I get in life is in creating pretty things out of gold."
"Could you forge me a golden sword?" asked the Queen, smiling sweetly upon the goldsmith.
"I could, madam, but I won"t unless Zog orders me to do it."
"Do you like Zog better than you do me?" inquired Aquareine.
"No," was the answer. "I hate Zog."
"Then won"t you make the sword to please me and to show your skill?"
pleaded the pretty mermaid.
"I"m afraid of my master. He might not like it," the man replied.
"But he will never know," said Princess Clia.
"You cannot say what Zog knows or what he doesn"t know," growled the man. "I can"t take chances of offending Zog, for I must live with him always as a slave." With this he turned away and resumed his work, hammering the leaf of a golden ship.
Cap"n Bill had listened carefully to this conversation, and being a wise old sailor in his way, he thought he understood the nature of old Agga-Groo better than the mermaids did. So he went close to the goldsmith, and feeling in the pockets of his coat drew out a silver compa.s.s shaped like a watch. "I"ll give you this if you"ll make the queen the golden sword," he said.
Agga-Groo looked at the compa.s.s with interest and tested its power of pointing north. Then he shook his head and handed it back to Cap"n Bill. The sailor dived into his pocket again and pulled out a pair of scissors, which he placed beside the compa.s.s on the palm of his big hand. "You may have them both," he said.
Agga-Groo hesitated, for he wanted the scissors badly, but finally he shook his head again. Cap"n Bill added a piece of cord, an iron thimble, some fishhooks, four b.u.t.tons and a safety pin, but still the goldsmith would not be tempted. So with a sigh the sailor brought out his fine, big jackknife, and at sight of this Agga-Groo"s eyes began to sparkle. Steel was not to be had at the bottom of the sea, although gold was so plentiful. "All right, friend," he said. "Give me that lot of trinkets and I"ll make you a pretty gold sword. But it won"t be any good except to look at, for our gold is so pure that it is very soft."
"Never mind that," replied Cap"n Bill. "All we want is the sword."
The goldsmith set to work at once, and so skillful was he that in a few minutes he had forged a fine sword of yellow gold with an ornamental handle. The shape was graceful and the blade keen and slender. It was evident to them all that the golden sword would not stand hard use, for the edge of the blade would nick and curl like lead, but the queen was delighted with the prize and took it eagerly in her hand.
Just then Sacho returned to say that they must go back to their rooms, and after thanking the goldsmith, who was so busy examining his newly acquired treasure that he made no response, they joyfully followed the boy back to the Rose Chamber. Sacho told them that he had just come from Zog, who was still wasting time in plotting vengeance. "You must be careful," he advised them, "for my cruel master intends to stop you from living, and he may succeed. Don"t be unhappy, but be careful. Zog is angry because you escaped his Yell-Maker and the falling stones and the hot water. While he is angry he is wasting time, but that will not help you. Take care not to waste any time yourselves."
"Do you know what Zog intends to do to us next?" asked Princess Clia.
"No," said Sacho, "but it is reasonable to guess that, being evil, he intends evil. He never intends to do good, I a.s.sure you." Then the boy went away.
"I am no longer afraid," declared the Mermaid Queen when they were alone. "When I have bestowed certain fairy powers upon this golden sword, it will fight its way against any who dare oppose us, and even Zog himself will not care to face so powerful a weapon. I am now able to promise you that we shall make our escape."
"Good!" cried Trot joyfully. "Shall we start now?"
"Not yet, my dear. It will take me a little while to charm this golden blade so that it will obey my commands and do my work. There is no need of undue haste, so I propose we all sleep for a time and obtain what rest we can. We must be fresh and ready for our great adventure."
As their former nap had been interrupted, they readily agreed to Aquareine"s proposal and at once went to their couches and composed themselves to slumber. When they were asleep, the fairy mermaid charmed her golden sword and then she also lay down to rest herself.
CHAPTER 18
A DASH FOR LIBERTY
Trot dreamed that she was at home in her own bed, but the night seemed chilly and she wanted to draw the coverlet up to her chin.
She was not wide awake, but realized that she was cold and unable to move her arms to cover herself up. She tried, but could not stir.
Then she roused herself a little more and tried again. Yes, it was cold, very cold! Really, she MUST do something to get warm, she thought. She opened her eyes and stared at a great wall of ice in front of her.
She was awake now, and frightened, too. But she could not move because the ice was all around her. She was frozen inside of it, and the air s.p.a.ce around her was not big enough to allow her to turn over.
At once the little girl realized what had happened. Their wicked enemy Zog had by his magic art frozen all the water in their room while they slept, and now they were all imprisoned and helpless.
Trot and Cap"n Bill were sure to freeze to death in a short time, for only a tiny air s.p.a.ce remained between their bodies and the ice, and this air was like that of a winter day when the thermometer is below zero.
Across the room Trot could see the mermaid queen lying on her couch, for the solid ice was clear as crystal. Aquareine was imprisoned just as Trot was, and although she held her fairy wand in one hand and the golden sword in the other, she seemed unable to move either of them, and the girl remembered that the queen always waved her magic wand to accomplish anything. Princess Clia"s couch was behind that of Trot, so the child could not see her, and Cap"n Bill was in his own room, probably frozen fast in the ice as the others were.
The terrible Zog has surely been very clever in this last attempt to destroy them. Trot thought it all over, and she decided that inasmuch as the queen was unable to wave her fairy wand, she could do nothing to release herself or her friends.
But in this the girl was mistaken. The fairy mermaid was even now at work trying to save them, and in a few minutes Trot was astonished and delighted to see the queen rise from her couch. She could not go far from it at first, but the ice was melting rapidly all around her so that gradually Aquareine approached the place where the child lay. Trot could hear the mermaid"s voice sounding through the ice as if from afar off, but it grew more distinct until she could make out that the queen was saying, "Courage, friends! Do not despair, for soon you will be free."
Before very long the ice between Trot and the queen had melted away entirely, and with a cry of joy the little girl flopped her pink tail and swam to the side of her deliverer.
"Are you very cold?" asked Aquareine.
"N-not v-v-very!" replied Trot, but her teeth chattered and she was still shivering.
"The water will be warm in a few minutes," said the Queen. "But now I must melt the rest of the ice and liberate Clia."
This she did in an astonishingly brief time, and the pretty princess, being herself a fairy, had not been at all affected by the cold surrounding her.
They now swam to the door of Cap"n Bill"s room and found the Peony Chamber a solid block of ice. The queen worked her magic power as hard as she could, and the ice flowed and melted quickly before her fairy wand. Yet when they reached the old sailor, he was almost frozen stiff, and Trot and Clia had to rub his hands and nose and ears very briskly to warm him up and bring him back to life.