TheStepstoNowhere 10189182 PDF

°
1 H E ST E P S TO
' ‘
N OW H E R E
BY
G RAC E D UFFI E B OYL A N

“ ” “
A u thor o
f Ya m a Ya m a L a nd, Kid: of
M a ny C olor s, m .
N EW Y O R K
B A K ER 8: TA YL O R C O M PA NY
1 910
“A W A RD C OL L EGE U B IIA "
Gin OF
RA L P H E Q Q TON P ERa V
SEP 1 5 1 9 2 5
C on n or 19 10 . at
TH E B AKE R 8: TA YL O R C O MPA NY
P néltd ud, 1 9 1 0
A ll R z
g / m R am m ed
L O U I S N A PO L E ON G E LD A R T
C ON T E N T S
P A GE
CHAPTER ON E
M A R CH I N G O R D E R S
CHAPTER TW O
T H E ST E P S
CHAPT E R TH REE
T H E B AC K W A R D , T I C KL I S H C L O C K
CHAPTER F O U R
T H E L I TT L E L O S T D O O R
CHAPTER F I V E
A D V E N TU R E S A M O N G TH E H O L L Y H O C KS
CHAPTER S I X
TH E S U N -GO D
C HAPTER S E V EN
TH E FL YI NG D UTC H M A N
CHAPTER E I G HT
RO BI N
CHAPTER N I NE
THE PI R ATE S
CHAPTER TEN
TH E C HA RT IN TH E L O C K E T
CHAPTER E L E V EN
P ATTY A ND TH E PRI N CE
—
CON T E N T S C ontin u ed
P A GE
CHAPTER TWE L V E
A ST R A N G E ST O R Y
CHA PTER TH I RTEE N

TH E H I D D E N C I TY
CHAPTER F O U RTEE N
A SEA F I G H T
CHAPTER F I FTEEN
O N TH E R O C K S
CHAPTER S I X TEEN
TH E W H I TE R OS E
CHAPTER S EV ENTEEN
TH E T O P A Z T U N N E L
CHAPTER E I G HTEEN
TU N K T U R N S TH E T RI C K
EL
CHAPTER N I NETEE N
PE O TH E R U N N E
D , R
CHAPTER TWENTY
T H C A P TU R E
E
CHAPTER TWE N TY O N E -
A F O U TA I N I N TH E F O R E ST
N
CHAPTER TWENTY TW O -
TH E D I A M O N D L A N CE
CHAPTER TWENTY TH REE -
T H E R EA L THI NG
CH A PTER TWENTY - F 0 UR
TH E TE N T AT TH E Z ON E
L I ST O F I LLU ST R A T I O N S
t iflg pdg c
li k e a r ed bi r d in the s no w
Tra ddles , c h i rr u p in g , ra n up the
step s t h a t led to N o wh e e F r an tirpie e
r . c .
I h pe
o I Ca n h w som e ligh t up o n
t ro th e s i tu ati n o , sa id
th e S - o d b eam in l
u n
g gy
The pine s prang back and th r w e P eter high in a ir .
A nd h er e I ve been s tan ding up for y ou all

’
th i s ti m e said ,
R o bin a n gr i ly .
F r om the
g ld e n ba lc o n
o
y o f o ld Ko l lo s h o u se P a tr i cia o
’
watch ed the gam es in the p l eas fi ld b el ow u re- e .
Fr o m h l
t he s e ter o f the Br idge th e r o bber s w ai ted fo r t he
co m ing of the p rince .
The p ince was s tan di n g w h h stand

r er e e s —
to da y ,wi th th e
g ld
o n pe up li
cu ft d in hi s h a
e nd and his y o un g e
y s
e
t r n d t wa d M xic
u e o r e o.
The sh ut o fr o m S h or e wa s answer d e by a wild ch eer fr om

t he s tr an g e ca n oe o n th r i v er
e .
S C E N ES O F TH E S T ORY
Gra m erc y Park Irving Place
, .
The S te ps o f th e S i lver Cu p ids .
Th e Li ttle Lo st Door to Yesterda y .
Old N ew York a t th e Tim e o f th e Bri t i sh

O ccu pa t ion .
The Hudson River bank w here Kidd buried

Treasure .
Th e In v i si ble S tairw ay .
A Tropical Fore st .
The Lost Riv er bey ond th e Forgo tt en Moun

ta in s
.
No m bre de Dio s and the Path o f t he Couriers .
Th e To p az Tunnel a n d the Hidden Ci ty o f

t he S un.
The ho m e o f the Vanished Peo ple .
The P lace o f th e Foun tain .
The S panish Main .
The Chagre s R iver .
A Ten t a t th e Z one .
Pana m a and t he Riv er o f Canoes .

TH E P EO PL E O F TH E S T ORY
C A PTAIN L EE, o f th e E n gi n eer s C o r p s, U S A On d u ty a t
’
. . .
th e C a n a l Z on e .
P ATRIC IA L EE, th e C a p ta i n s d a u gh ter, a ged ten

’
.
TRA DDL ES L EE, son o f the Sol d i er, fou r y ea rs old .
R OB IN R EED , co a ch fo r th e G r a m ercy P a rk a th l eti c tea m A .
b oy of 1 4 .
O FFI C ER C RI M ES , a p a rk p ol i cem a n .
TH E B AC KW ARD C L OC K, a ti ckl i sh ti m epi ece th a t h a s m u ch

to do w i th th e sto ry .
V ROUW W IN KEL , th e l a dy o f th e ch u r n , a n d h er l over ,

PETER V ON P U N K, th e F l y i n g D u tch m a n .
TH E ZA N D KOKER, a M a ker of D r ea m s, w h o m e ets w i th

a cu r i ou s a cci den t b eca u se o f a l on g , low , r a k i sh dog,
ca ll ed
TUN KEL , a b row n , frol i csom e da ch sh u n d .
TU K, a sly , sh a g gy p on y .
M ONTEZ U M A th e ,
ever p r i n ce of the V a n i shed P eop l e
y o u n g .
KOL OL O, wh o is fi rst sw eeth ea r t a n d th en g r a n d m oth er to th e

P r i n ce .
C APTAIN KI DD , M a ster o f th e ga ll ey d ven tu r e .
P EDO, a n A z tec r u n n er .
CAPTAIN PI ERSON , U S . a com r a d e of C a p ta i n L ee, in

.
Panam a .
TUN A TI UH , a n fA z tec S u n god w itli m a n n ers a cqu i red in

-
B roa dw a y .
B ESI DEs
B r i ti sh sol di ers, D u tch b u r gh ers, pi r a tes, S p a n i sh a dven tu r
ers, A z tec g i r l s a n d a th l etes, M a r a th on ru n n ers, b u ll
fi gh ter s, foot p a g es, M exi ca n troop s, ju d ges, cou n sell o rs,

m u si ci a n s, d a n cers, sl a ves, a crob a ts a n d sa i l o rs .
C HAPT ER ON E
”
"
M A RC H I N G O R D ERS
H E Y ti ptoed through th e h a ll and down

t he stairs in st a s t heir fa ther cam e
,
s winging o u t o f th e library door in a
tr e m endou s hurry and nearly fell over
t he m on t h e lowe st ste p .
Hello kiddies dear li ttle kiddies ! he cried

, , ,
catch ing t he m bo th in h is arm s wit h a big hug .
“
I m so glad y o u ha pp en ed to co m e ju st a t t his
’
m inu t e fo r I ve g o t t o leav e y o u again

’
.
,
N urse told u s fa ltered Patricia try ing n o t

, ,
to cry .
“ “
Yes, con tinued it s to o bad
C a p m in L ee ,
’
isn t it ? A n d I hav e on ly tim e to p ack and g et

’
righ t o u t B u t I ll be ho m e again in a m on th o r
.
’
so and t hen we ll ha v e larks E h Pa tty ? E h lod

’
.
, , ,
”
Trad ?
H is dee p v oice ha d a catch in it tha t w a s
alm o st like a so b B u t th e tw o children p u t th ei r
.
dam p faces o n h is shou lde rs a n d said n ever a word .
I 7
TH E S T E P S TO NOWH ERE
fo r they were o f soldier blood a n d kne w h o w to be
bra ve .
“
I wish tha t I had had longer no tic e o f thi s
tr i p , he c on tinued bending to kiss first one li ttle
,
“
head and t hen the o ther so that I m i g h t have ,
m a de so m e arra nge m en ts fo r y o u B u t I ll tell

’
.
N urse to let y o u go to y our Au n t Mary s You

’
.
c a n go t o ni g h t if y o u w a n t t o
- It is never n eces
.
sary t o le t her know J u st t ake

.
y our ni g h t ie s and
t ro t over a n d sh e w ill g ive y o u t h e sa m e io lly w el
,
c o m e sh e u sed t o give m e w hen I w a s a ta d S he .
h a s a fine ki tc hen fo r cookie s and Patty can m ake ,

”
fu dge t o her he a rt s c on ten t
’
.
He tried to spea k c heerfu lly b u t failed and so , ,
fo r a m o m en t he ld t h em c lose b e fore he a dded

Now dears g ood by Tim e s u p ! You are
,
-
, .
’
”
n o t cry ing are y o u P
,
”
N no the y b o t h p roteste d ; c course n o t
-
,
- .
He ki ssed the m and st oo ped to p ic k up Tra d

“ ”
dy s cap I see he said p u tting th e ca p on the
’
.
, ,
brigh t curls w i t h loving h a nd and glancing a t Pa

“
t ri c ia s b lue ia c ket a n d h a t t h a t y o u are a ll read y
’
fo r a wa lk and now I g u e ss y ou d b e tt er run aw a y

’
to th e pa rk I t wou ld brea k m e a ll u p t o hav e to

.
‘ ”
sa y g ood - b y t o y o u
’
a t t h e l as t m inu t e .
18
going to be free to wande r for m an y long da y s
w i t h no one m i ssing t he m or dream ing t hat t he y
w ere fa r fro m their accu stom ed p la y ground in
Gram ercy P ark .
Ca p ta in Lee threw so m e t hings in to a steam er

tr unk la id o u t h is c ha rts a n d d elicat e in stru m en ts
,
wi th m ore care and con signed t he m to a sp ec ia l

tr ave ling case a n d co m p le t ed h is hurried p re p ara
,
t ion s fo r de p a rt ure Then th e taxica b honked a t

.
th e door and t he soldier engineer w a s soon b eing

,
-
whirled through th e stree ts to t h e wh a rf; a n d in

a no ther hour in th e st ea m er C n lrtoba l he w a s ar
, ,
ranging h is m a ps on h is sta teroo m w all: thu s get

t ing re a d y for so m e p re para tory work w hi c h he
in tended to do in th e lei sure t i m e he shou ld have

during th e five day s v oy age to the Can a l Z one
’
.
S oldiers p articu larly tho se connec ted wi th the

,
de pa rt m en t o f c on structive engineering a re alwa y s

,
“ ”
under m a rc hing orders a n d Cap tain Lee h a d a
,
t heory in regard to th e troub le so m e R iver Chagre s ,
in P anam a t hat th e Pre siden t dee m ed w ort h y o f

,
atten tion The o fficer had been m u c h in t h e low er

.
portion o f Cen tral Am erica a n d b e lieved wi th th e

, ,
n a tives th a t there are subterran ean tri b u tar ies to

,
the river t hat ri se in flood s t o t he de stru c t ion o f

20
MARCHI N G OR D ERS
th e c a nal m asonry And it w a s to discover th e
.
sou rc e o f t he se str eam s t ha t he w a s speeding aw ay
fr o m h is t w o m o t herle ss li ttle one s now li tt le ,
dre a m ing a s he pinned h is ch a rts u pon th e w a ll

,
and looked over h is m aps o f Mexico a n d Cen tra l

Am eri c a t ha t h is children were going to hav e
,
stra nge a n d m y steriou s adven t ures along those

sam e rivers be fore he w a s to see t heir ro sy face s o r
hear their loving w ords again .
Mean w hile Pa tri c ia and Tra ddles w ere w i thin

th e tall ga te s o f Gram erc y : a p ark w hic h no o n e
m a y en ter exce p t th e birds a n d t h e p ro p erty own
er s w i t h ke y s .
Patri c ia w a s o n her knee s m odelin g a snow

m an , a w ork t hat she had co m m en c ed several
m ornings be fore w hen an unu sua l storm had heaped
th e corners o f t h e square w i t h d r i fts o f gli stenin g

be a u ty .
“
I t s doin to sno w a den
’
re m arked Tra ddles
, ,
sta nding wi t h h is fee t w ide a part and c a st in g a
w eat her w i se gla nce a t t h e s ky

- .
”
N o it i sn t ei ther ret urned Patri c ia w i t h
’
, , , ,
“ ”
o u t looking u p The su n is shining
. .
”
A ll w i te assen ted Tra ddy c heerfu lly rep la c
, ,
in g h is red cap t h a t had fa llen o ff a s he looked

,
21
TH E S T E P S T O NOWH ERE
up . A ll w ite , den I didn t fee l a ittle told
.
’
”
fevver on m y cheek : I des fough t I did da t s a ll
’
.
,
He loy ally disregarded th e big laz y flakes t hat ,
w ere ev en t hen b eginning to circle t hrou g h th e

a ir . I f Pa tty did n o t w an t it to snow he wou ld ,
be the last m a n to suggest such a possi b ility to

an y b ody B u t h e w as ge t ting tired o f standing
.
around w i th no thing to do fo r idlene ss a n d dis

,
con ten t alw ay s go t oge ther and he w a s j u st a bou t

,
ready to cry for his fa ther w hen wi t h a sw i ft pa t

,
ter o f fee t a nu m ber o f b o y s in j erse y s cam e dash

,
ing past in their Ma rathon prac tice .
Pa tty scra m bled to her fee t and b ru shed the

sno w from her b lue serge skirt fo r a girl likes
,
nothing better t h a n a n ath le tic con t est a n d she ,
eagerly wa tch ed th e runners .
Their coach w a s a tall handso m e bo y wi th

,
y e llo w hair S
. he gave h im a di m p li n g sm i le and ,
t h e red ran in t o h is ta n cheeks a s fro m t h e corner

,
o f h is ey e he sa w her standing t here

, B u t he gave.
no urt her heed to her a s he he ld h is gun m e tal

f -
watch in h is hand a n d tim ed th e fly ing fee t o f the

runners wi t h th e hu r ry ing hand on th e dial .
S he heard th e q u ic kened rh y th m ic b eating o f

,
t heir he a rts a s th e bo y s p assed b y ; th e pa t p a t of ,
22
MARCHI N G ORD ERS
the ligh t, wi f falling fee t They t urned th e first
s t - .
corn er m ade th e se c ond lea ped fo r th e t hird and

, , ,
t hen tw o t h e o t hers fa lling o u t sp e eded fo r t h e

, ,
goa l ne c k and neck

, .
“ ”
G o o dl shou ted the y o u ng coach ; and u n ,
seen by the m fro m th e p lac e sh e h a d ta ken in t he

,
s he lt er o f a fir Pa trici a
, cla pped her hands S he .
w an ted t o see th e ra ce a n d stay ed where sh e w a s

, .
B u t Tra ddy la ughed and stro lled ov er to talk w i t h

,
O ffi c er Gri m e s at th e ga te .
The nex t ti m e around one runner cam e in ,
ah e a d by half a len g th The t hird and final la p

.
t h e sa m e b o y w o n b y h a lf a doz en y ard s Then .
aft er a n ani m a ted disc u ssion w i t h t heir y oung ca p

tai n t he y w en t le a ping a w a y like y o u ng faun s to
w a rd t heir C lu b roo m s o r th e co ld p lu nge a n d r u b

f
dow n after t heir exercise .
Mean w hile Tr a ddy and Mister Gri m e s w ere

ha ving an ani m ated discu ssion on th e su bjec t o f
whi skers .
“
W here did y o u det dose w h isser s ? asked th e
bo y w i th a n ad m i r ing glan c e a t t h e police m an s
’
big b r i stling red m u stac he

, .
”
I ra ised the m an sw ered Grim es Didn t
’
.
,
”
y o u e v e r hear o f w hi sker seed ?
23
TH E S T E P S T O NOW H ERE
Tra ddy shook h is head .
Tou ld I det so m e ? he inquired li fting h is ,
sw ee tly seriou s e y e s t o th e police m an s be a rde d

’
face .
Of co u rse y o u cou ld A n y kind y o u w an t

. .
“
Th e o fficer s sides shook w i th laugh ter Here
’
.
,
take t hi s penn y and go down to th e grocery o n
th e c orner y onder and a sk Mi ster Hodge fo r a

C op per s w ort h o f whi sker seed
’
He ll giv e it to .
’
”
y o u . Te ll h im I said s o He crowded
. a p enn y
in to the li ttle p ink palm and added : N ow w hat
, ,
”
co lor are y o u going to g et ?
Tra ddles he si ta ted w i th h is hand on th e g ate
, ,
w hi le t h e police m an re p ea t ed h is que st ion Are .
y o u going t o g et red like

, m ine or b lu e or brown ,
”
or w hi te ?
“
I m doin to det w hi te replied Tra ddles de
’
,
“ ”
c ided ly ; w hi te w h isser seed .
“ ”
Good fo r y o u sa id Po lice m an Grim e s heart
,
ily a s fo lding t he p enn y tigh tly in h is hand the

, ,
“
li ttle b o y pre p ared to go Then y o u co m e bac k
.
a n d I ll te ll y o u h o w t o p lan t em You ll have a

’ ’ ’
.
fine cro p so m e da y .
“
A ll w i te agreed Tra ddy and t he jo lly o ffi
, ,
cer w h o knew C a ptain Lee a n d w a s th e special

,
24
M ARCHI N G OR D ERS
friend of Tra ddles, sw ung th e b ig ga te wide a n d
t h e li ttle figu re start ed t oward Third Av enue .
“
He m u stn t kno w t h a t I m going a long to
’ ’
tak e care o f h im sa id t h e b luecoa t sm iling t o

, ,
“
him se lf and kee p ing a few pac e s behind He s .
’
t h e m an liest li tt le du ffer on t he w ho le squ a re b u t ,
I ll n o t let him o u t o f m y sigh t fo r a ll o f t ha t I ll

’ ’
.
give Hodge the w ink to se ll h im so m e thing tha t

w ill p ass fo r w hisker seed B le ss th e ba by l It ll
.
’
”
be a good st ory to te ll h is dad .
So he strolled do w n th e stree t w i th th e red

ca pped tra desm an trudging ahead while agai n ,
Pa tty ha pp ened to look o u t o f th e park j u st a t the

m o m en t w hen t h e ta ll y ellow haired boy w ho se
,
-
,
n am e w a s R obin R eed looked in , .
Fo r Patri c ia being a patrician had a k ey to

, ,
Gra m erc y Pa rk and R obin had none Long y ears

, .
ago th e m a n w ho fenced th e green sq u are m ade

th e p rov i s ion tha t on ly th e p eople w h o o w ned
p ro p ert y on one o f th e four side s fa c ing th e p ark
shou ld enj o y its p ri v i lege s Thi s w a s done fo r
.
p ure ly b u sine ss reason s since th e donor w a s a

,
real e sta te dealer w i th the property to sell; bu t

it h a s ha d th e e ffec t o f keeping th e b losso m ing
acre in a ll its beau ty while t he rest o f th e o ld
25
part o f tow n is being changed and its tra di tions
sw e p t a w ay .
Pa tri cia sm iled a t the bo y who politely ra ised ,
h is cap .
“
Ho w s y our fa ther ? he inquired
’
.
”
He is w e ll thank y o u re plied th e little
, ,
m ai d . H e sailed fo r th e C a n a l Z one t o da y The

- .
”
P residen t sen t h im .
She li fted her he a d p roud ly and th e bo y ex ,
clai m ed
“
Gee tha t s g r ea t l I s hou ld t hink y o u w o u ld
’
be p roud o f a fa t her like th a t l I read las t nigh t s

’
new spap er a ccoun ts o f him a n d gu ess h e s the ,

’
fine st engineer in t h e arm y I cu t h is p ict ure o u t

.
o f th e paper a n d p u t it in m y watch
H er e y e s w ere w et b u t she sm iled a t h im

,
“
ha pp ily t hrough her tea rs H e s g ood to o . sh e
’
, ,
added and th en s udden ly no ti c ing the frost fea th

,
e r s in t h e a ir cried :
“
Wh y it s snow ing a n d I
, ,
’
,
”
to ld Tra ddy t ha t it w a s n o t l And sh e fe lt a tri fle
t roub led b ec a u se sh e had di sp u ted t h e w e a t her
p rophe t o f a few m o m en ts be fore .
Y es said th e b o y
, w i t h a gla n c e a t her
,
“
work .Your sno w m a n w i ll h a ve a t hic ker coa t
80 0 11 .
26
TH E S T E P S TO NO WH ERE
observed aw kw a rdly a t last B u t sh e curled h er
, , .
li ttle p ink no se .
“
The y are Ea st siders sh e said a s though t h e , ,
cau se o f her loneliness w a s fu lly explained But .
h is cheek reddened A n d w hile she loo ked o u t o f

.
t h e p a ling s w it h pride
,
w i t h m ore p r ide he
,
looked in .
“ ”
I m an Ea st sider he said and sta rted to
’
, ,
w a lk aw a y .
Oh l
”
sh e cried P lea se don t go I I
.
— ’
.
didn t m ea n to be ho rrid like t ha t

’
B u t w it h head he ld high he kep t on t o w ard

Third Avenue bey ond w hi c h w a s h is ho m e
, .
“ ”
Don t go cried Patricia a gain A n d a t th e
’
, .
s ound o f a so b in her v oice h e t urned bac k .
“
I can t go in to th e p ark he began frankly
’
, , ,
“
a s he ca m e u p to her again becau se I a m n o t e n ,
t i tled t o a k ey
”
B u t I sh e co m m enced t o sa y e a gerly
, ,
”
I know ; y o u wou ld let m e in he in terru pt ,
ed and I th a nk y o u B u t y o u see w hen a fe llow

, .
,
is p oor he is a p t to be prouder than th e deuce H e .
”
j u st ca n t a ccep t fa vors B u t
’
-w i th a sudde n
.
,
”
happ y though t w h y ca n t y o u co m e ou tside ?
’
S ure enough Patrici a understood t ha t part a t

, ,
28
MA R CHI N G ORD ERS
least, o f his arg u m en t S ti ll sh e he si ta ted , look
.
in g a t her snow m a n .
“
The flow ers w ill get him an y way , said
“
R obin , fo llowing her gla nce I ll bet t he y a re
’
.
n ibb ling h is toe s now S ee the w a y he g rin s l

.
W on t y o u co m e o u t and play w i t h m e ?
’
He had a glin t in h is blue e y e s and a m e rry

s m i le on h is bo y i sh li p s . Pat ricia pu shed o pen th e
t all iron ga te and wen t o u t And a s it creaked on
.
its hinge s in o pening a flu rry o f snow sudden ly

, ,
t hickened in th e air co vering th e be a u ti fu l Me tr o

,
p o li t an to wer like a v e i l w hi l
,e fro m t heir p la ce
in th e high be lfry th e silv e r bells ra ng m elodiou sly :

“ ”
O ne tw o three
, , .
29
C HA PT ER TWO
“
TH E ST E PS
RADDL ES cam e up chirrupin g like a ,
r e d bird in th e sn ow j u st a s Patricia
,
j oined Robin ou ts ide th e park A n d .
b ehind a t a sa fe di stance w a lked th e

, ,
chuckling o fficer The y had been to th e grocery

.
,
w here Mr H odg e th e grocer ca tching th e wink

.
, ,
o f O fficer Gri m e s h a d gra ve ly

, m easured o u t a
p e n n y s w orth o f m ille t which he p u t in a striped

’
p a p er ba g and tied wi t h a sca rle t string .
P a t ty no t iced th i s ba g in Tra ddy s ha nd w he n

’
he ca m e up .
“
Wha t y o u g o t in th a t ba g Tra ddy ? she ,
a sked. For sh e w a s n o t above sa m p ling sw ee ts a t

a n y ti m e .
“
I ve do t w h isser seed here
’
- .
Whi sker seed

-
A w arning n od fr o m th e p o lice m a n ke pt h er
fro m la ughing o u t righ t .
3 0
TH E S T E PS
ph
Um p h l
-u m a n sw ered T r a dd y W h i te .
”
w h isser se ed
- .
Hello W o bin , .
”
H ello l R obin shook h a nds wi th t he litt le
chap and gree ted th e o fficer w ith a friend ly bo w .
“ ”
I m gla d y ou ve co m e Tra d he sa id Patty
’ ’
, , .
w a s j u st going do w n Irving Place w i th m e t o see

th e o ld hou se s tha t a re being t u m b led do w n .
”
Won t y o u co m e along ?
’
Ess I ll t u m to o replied Tra ddy Good

’
, , , .
”
b y Mi sser Di m es
, .
“
Good by G ood by si th e brass bu ttone d
- -
, r -
, ,
gi a n t replied hearti ly and t hen added to R obin :

, , ,
“
Take good ca re o f the m m y la d The li t tle , .
ch a p te lls m e his fa th er started fo r Pa nam a to -da y ;

h e s o ff on service for th e g overn m en t So w e ll
' ’
a ll hav e t o kee p an ey e on th e chi ldre n Be tter .
g e t t he m ho m e b e fore dark Thi s s no w w ill co m e .
”
on harder w i th th e du sk .
”
A ll righ t re sponded Robin acknow ledgin g
, ,
th e big polic e m an s nice sen ti m en t w i th a s m i le

’
.
“
I ll be gla d to he lp look a fter t he m We are j u st
’
.
going dow n to S even teen th stree t O p posi te t h e ,
Washington Irving hou se a s it is called w here , ,
t he y a r e taking do w n t ha t o ld brick r o w to bu i ld ,
3 1
t he n ew chool The m en hav e pu lled
high s .
dow n a ll bu t th e lo w est storie s o f the o ld hou se s .
O n the one neare st th e corner t here is n o t m uch

o f an y t hin g le ft b u t the high step s tha t u sed to
lead to t h e fron t door The y end n o w in air

. .
You ou g h t to see how queer the y look in t his ligh t

”
s no w .
“
I go o ff du ty in a few m inu tes n o w said ,
Gri m es bu t to m o rrow I m a y stroll dow n a n d

,
-
have a gli m pse a t y our fligh t o f stairs They look .
queer do th ey ? Well m ind y o u don t go u p the m !

, ,
’
N o te llin w here y ou d land They d laugh a t m e

’ ’ ’
.
'
a t he a dqu a r ters if I shou ld h a ve t o re p ort t h a t t hree
kid s had been lo st w h o were last seen goin u p th e ’
S te ps to N ow here w ou ldn t t he y n o w
’
He sw ung alo n g on h is bea t sm i ling a t h is ,
w hi m sical nam e fo r th e step s a s R obin called o ve r ,
h is shou lder
N o danger o f that Wh ich proves j u st h o w
.
li ttle a fe llow ca n te ll w hat is going to h a p p en t o

h im a t a n y t im e Fo r no sooner had he t urned
.
aw ay th a n Pa tricia said
,
“
I da re y o u to g o up !
Pooh ! he a n swered Th a t s nothi n g j u st
.
’
ru nning u p a few stairs ! B u t w here s Tra ddy ’
3 2
TH E S T E PS
Pa tricia loo ked around in a larm .
“ ”
He w a s here a m inu te ago sh e said And , .
R obin la u ghed :
“
There he is scudding a block a head like a
, ,
good fello w I ll be t he hea rd w h a t Gri m es said

.
’
and is going to be th e first one up ! S ee h is li ttle

red coa t th rough th e storm ? There I told y o u so , .
H e s c li m bing th e step s !
’
S ure enough They looked a t eac h o ther in

.
am u se m en t .
“
The li ttle scam p i sa id Pa tricia a n d ran ,
ahea d .
“
Wai t fo r u s Tra ddy sh e ca lled a n d do n t
, , ,
’
lo se y our ca p !
Don t fa ll o ff th e steps in to th e ce lla r
’
“ ”
s hou ted Robin y o,u m igh t g e t h u rt And h e .
ran on sm i lingly after th e li ttle girl

, , .
So c alling they sc a m pered along th e b lock

t ha t se parated the m from t h e sm all a dven t urer ,
who m the y cou ld see through th e b lurr ing snow

, ,
st i ll m oun t ing t he sta irw a y .
B u t w hen the y reached th e foo t o f t he step s

t h e y glanced up t he m t hen stared a t each o t h er
,
wi th paling faces .
33
TH E S T E PS T O NOW H ER E
For Tr a ddles w a s gon eI Tber e w a s n o sigbt or
sign f
o lt im a n y w ber e I
“
Tr a ddy , Pa tri c ia called , w here a re are y o u ,
dear ? Don t hide ! ’
B u t t here w a s no rep ly .
Perh a p s he h a s fallen o ff the top tho u gh t ,
R obin a n d he dash ed a round t he ste p s and down

,
under the m sick w i th th e dread t hat he m igh t

,
find th a t li ttle scarle t c oated form ly ing a m ong th e

-
broken bricks .
B u t Tra ddles w a s n o t t here !

R o b in he a rd Pa tty run u p t he ste p s a s he w en t
a round in fron t o f t he m a ga in B u t w h en h e w a s
.
a bou t to call o u t tha t Trad w a s ! ridin g som ew here ,
he stopped in su rp rise .
For lt/ton g]: tbe pr in t of ber da in ty little s /toe

a
wa s in tbe sn ow on tbe steps poin tin g u pw a r d, beside

t bc stu dy tr a ck m a de by tbe little boy , P a m eia ba d
'
disa ppea r ed a s com pletely a s tboa gb sbe ba d been a
m eltin g sn owfla ke; —ju st as Tr a ddles ba d va n isbed

f
bu t a m om en t or so bef or e !
Robin lea ned again st th e b roken b alu strade a
m o m en t dizzi ly
, .
“
G ee w h a t a joke ! he said
, , at last . They
”
certain ly h a ve m e p uzzled !
34
He w ou ld m ake one m ore e ffort to find the m He .
had pr om ised to keep an ey e on the m and he ,
m u st be fai th fu l to t he tru st !
Th e storm had by t hi s tim e in c reased to a

, ,
b liz z ard o f whirling fea thery snow n o t c old

, , ,
b u t b linding May be t he y w ere a t th e to p o f th e

.
ste p s a fter a ll hiding behind th e st ill standing

, ,
po sts and la ughing a t h is an xie ty He gave one .
m ore long look abou t and b e lo w He h a lloed a n d

.
h a lloed again and set th e w i ld echo es fly ing Then .
he re t urned and w i thou t a m o m en t s hesi ta tion’
ra n sw i ftly u p th e step s .
A second he m ig h t h a ve be en vi si ble to a n y
one going by B u t after tba t be cou ld n ot ba se been
.
seen or j h u n d,f or be ba d follow edbis f r ien ds on tbeir

w on derf u l a n d m y ster iou s jou r n ey s tba t begu n on tba
Nowber e /
CHAPT ER TH REE
TH E B A CKW A RD , T I CK L I SH C L OCK
H EN Tra ddles reach ed th e to p o f th e

ste p s tha t had once led to t he fron t
door o f t he o ld b ri c k hou se in I rv ing

Pla ce he h ea rd Pa tricia ca lling B u t
, .
j u st a s he w a s a b ou t t o a n s wer he sa w t hrough ,
t h e b lurring sno w st or m ano ther fligh t beginning

,
w here t h e first le ft o ff .
The se step s w hi c h w ere w ider and finer t han

,
t h e one s he had j u st a scended w ound u pw ard in ,
s hining cu r ve s o f de li ca te fro st w ork a n d t h e ban ,
ister s w ere s up ported b y si lver cupid s t h a t appeared

t o b e t rud g ing up a lso So t hi s sm all ro sy b o y p u t
.
h is h a nd on th e rail and joined th e procession .
Steadily h e c lim bed on and on forge tt ing in

, ,
h is n ew di scov ery a ll abou t h is si ster w hi le be side

, ,
h im m a t ch ed th e c upid s a n d tba t w a s bow it ba p

,
p d tba t be
en e m et tbe Gla cé r u n n in g dow n I
Thi s wa s a fa t clock , se t on a pa ir of re m ark
37
ably nim ble bo w legs B u t a s he w a s running
.
dow n ba ckw ards he w ou ld h a ve bu m p ed in to th e

li ttle b o y and p erh a ps knocked h im over if th e
, , ,
la tter had n o t ca lled sharp ly .
”
Hello da r j u st in t im e to av oid a colli s ion
, , .
A s it w a s th e clock w hee led around in th e

,
greatest surp rise and dro pp ed his hands fro m h is

face to stare a t th e w ee red cap ped la ddie w h o ,
ga z ed ba ck a t h im in equal w onder .
”
H el lo
- re t urned th e clock a t last se pa
, , ,
“
r a ting each word in t sy lla bles : I m tic tic tic
o - -
’
”
kled to see y o u !
Tra ddy la ughed B u t he w a s n o t a s m uch
.
su rpri sed to hear a ti m e p iece ta lk a s an o lder p e r
so n m igh t hav e been Fo r it is sad ly t rue t ha t

.
grown u p s forge t fairy secre ts and so m iss m an y a

- -
fairy ad ven t u re .
“
Wh ere y o u doin ? he asked qui te a s t hough
’
he h a d been a ccu sto m ed to m ee ting o ld clocks o n

t h e stairs .
“
I m bound fo r y es ter da y th e clock rep lied
’
-
, .
Wan t to go to y es ter da y
- -
“
I s da t to m o rrow ?
- inquired Tra ddy doub t ,
fu lly. He w a s a bit con fu sed B u t wi th a whirring .
chu c kle th e clock said he wou ld ex plain how h e

3 8
“
TH E B AC KW A RD TIC K LI S H CL O C K
,
h app ene d to be running b a ckw a rd . B u t first

he
a dv i sed Tra ddy to sit down on t h e step s b eca u s e
,
it w a s ra ther a long story .
“
Cud dle u p to Cu pid he snickered a n d
- -
, ,
o ld Ti m e w i ll sta nd still .
Tra ddy sa t down and leaned aga in st one o f

t h e silver figure s tha t S u p port ed th e rai ling whi le ,
t h e c lock told a ll abou t th e cu r iou s things tha t h a d
h appened to h im .
He had been a bu sy ti m ekee per he said fo r , ,
a bou t a hundred y e a rs m easuring o ff the da y s and

,
n igh ts wi t h h is Du tch w eigh ts in t o ex a c tly tw e lve

,
“ ”
h ours a piece a s he flung t ick to one side and
”
to ok to th e o t her side o f th e nea t Co loni a l
ki tchen Then cam e the Am erican R e v olu tion

. .
A n d there w a s an i m m en se am oun t o f shoo ting

g oing on O ne
. m orning a c a nnon exp loded near
h is ho m e a n d jarred h im fro m h is p la ce on th e
w all . Down he ca m e wi th a crash And he to ld
, .
Tra ddles in h is funn y ticking w a y j u st h o w th e

, ,
bri sk b u stling m aid s scream ed and chattered a bou t

,
it a s t he y sw e p t h is broken piece s u p o n t h e d u st
p an They w ere g oing to t oss h im away w ith th e
.
a she s w hen a b o y cam e in t o th e ki tchen and t e a sed
fo r t h e fra gm en ts t o p lay w i t h .
39
TH E S T E PS T O NOW H ERE
‘
He said : I an t -w c ogs
- t o - see - th e
g o
w hined t he clock wi th a grin You .
know there is alw ay s a b oy a round to m ed dle w i t h

t hings . W h y if it w eren t fo r boy s ’
“ ”
Wh a t did he do den ? Tra ddles in terrup ted .
And the clock an swered

“
—
Took o u t m y w eigh ts p u lled o u t m y strings
—jerked o u t m y w heels and t he rest o f m y t hings
—then w en t aw a y a n d le ft m e ”
.
“ ”
To o bad said
, Tra ddy sy m p a the tically , ,
“ ”
t hen a dded , Tu m on so m ew h eres l, He g o t
u p a s he spoke ; b u t t h e clock w av ed h is hand fo r
h im n o t to be in a h u rry .
“ “
We w i ll go pre sen t ly he said b u t y o u
- -
, ,
m u st ne v er in t er rup t a sto ry
- - - - I w a s j u st sa y ing
-
.
,
‘
if it were n o t for boy s — S it down won t y o u ?
”
,
’
“ ”
A ll wite ! Th e clock see m ed anno y ed a n d ,
Tra ddy cheerfully sa t dow n a gain be side th e si lver

”
cu p id Den w h a t did y o u do ?
,
“
I la y t here for half a cen t u ry ; fo r g o t ten
- - - -
,
si len t and a lone

- - .
“ ”
To o bad repea ted th e li ttle c h a p so kindly
,
t ha t t he c lock bega n to cry b u t t hough t be tter o f

,
it a n d sto p ped sudden ly .
“
I m u stn t cry ! Tea r s r u st m y w or bs / he sa id
’
4 0
TH E B A C KWA RD, TIC K LI S H CLO C K
“
briskly . Al -wa y s tber that
e-m e m - Tea r s m a y .
”
y ou r w or bs / B u t c o m e I ca n ta l k,a s w e ru n H e .
ho p ped along down th e ste ps ba ckward w i t h

Tra ddy facing h im .
Con tinuin g h is story he said that he m igh t ,
have been le ft in the att ic un ti l this ti m e if so m e

o n e had n o t w an ted t he o ld oak high b o y tha t h e
w a s re sting u pon B u t when t e dim

. h du st co v
-
,
ered chest o f drawers w a s carried down he w a s

l
ta ken wi t h it a d sen t to t he c ock m a ker s to b e
’
n -
repaired .
A t this p oin t t he y cam e to a platform w he re

t h e stairs curv ed a b ru p tly Tra ddles n o t no ticin g
.
,
w here he wen t fe ll down a ste p or tw o and lo st

,
h is ca p . B u t th e c lock caugh t it jaun ti ly in h is , ,
la rge hand and gave it back a s th e bo y scra m bled

,
t o h is fee t .
“
Tha nk y o u w hi m pered Tra ddy who h a d
, ,
a lw a y s b een accu st om ed to cry when h e fe ll down .
”
Tea r s r u st y ou r w a r bs war ned t he ti m epiece, ,
so th e w ee cha p laughed in st ead , .
“ ”
Go on he sa id jam m ing th e red ca p dow n
, ,
“
firm ly on h is curls w hat nex t ? ,
Fo r a m om en t t h e c lock did n o t rep ly a n d ,
Tra ddy p oked his finger in h is side i m pa tien tly .
'
4 1
But he har dly ex p ec ted h im to j u m p a n d squeal
a n d do u b le u p a s he did .
’
- —
Don t d d do t ha t ! he stu tt ered “
I m
.
’
”
tic ti tic t icklis h l
- c - -
And it w a s som e tim e before he cou ld collec t

his t hough ts a n d go on w i t h the ta le .
W he n he did he C x plained t ha t t his clock

,
m aker w h o re pa ired h im w ou ld have been a v ery

,
g ood work m an indeed

, if, he had n o t ch a nced t o
be a bsen t m inded left h a nded a n dcross ey ed B u t

- -
,
- .
,
a s it w a s w hen b e re placed t h e wooden co g w hee ls

,
and weigh ts th a t u sed to be in t he O ld D u tch case

, ,
w i t h m odern m achinery be pu t it in w r on g side

,
f b r em os.t T hi s m ade t h e c lock r u n back w a rd in ,
stead o f ahead a s a ll we ll regu la ted c locks do

- .
Tra ddy t ho u gh t t hi s w a s un fort u na te and said ,
s o b u t th e c lock hastened t o re a ss ure h im

, .
“ ”
N o t a t all n o t a t a ll
, h e t icked
, A ny
.
c lock can find to m o r r ow I go back to y es-ter

- - .
da y
He began whirring a n d whizz ing a s t hough
he in tended to strike t h e hour B u t he w a s only .
p re p aring t o sing a n d it w a s
, be w i ldering t o see
h im kee p ti m e by ru b bing h is hands o ver h is face

42
Wh a t s dis ? asked th e little boy again p u t
’ ”
,
t ing h is hand on t h e la tch And th e clock m a de

.
an sw er
Tbis is tbe little lost door to y -
es ter d
- ay . C om e
tb r ou gb /
And Tra ddles Lee o f Gra m ercy Pa rk still

, ,
grasping in h is h a nd th e sm all striped paper ba g

-
o f w hi t e w hi sk er seed t h a t he had so la te ly b ough t

-
o f Mi st er Hodge in Third avenue wi t hou t a w ord ,
m ore follow ed bis gu ide ov er tbe tbr es boldof tbe Pa st .
Then t h e li ttle door sw u ng noiselessly shu t ;

and there w a s n o t so m u c h a s a foo tp rin t on t h e
fro sty stair to show w here he h a d w alked .
B u t a m o m en t a fter th e door clo sed Pa tricia in ,
her blu e dre ss a n d w i th her brow n curls fly ing to

,
th e breeze r a n b y th e ve r y p la ce cry ing and calling

,
“
Tr a ddy Tra ddy
, w here are y o u
, dear ? .
Tr a d -ee Tr a d -ee
Then a s there w a s no re ply sh e S ped on a n d

, ,
on to m ee t wi t h a dventu res o f her O w n a s str ange

,
a s t ho se w hi c h were be fore Tra ddles and R obi n
R eed in a di fferen t la n d o f y e sterda y !

,
CH APT ER F OUR
TH E LITT LE LO ST D OO R
T ROO P
redcoats cam e m arc hing
of
up th e stree t so m e wi th swords clang

,
ing a t t heir side s a n d so m e w i t h m u s

,
ke ts carried again st t heir shou lders .
Tr a ddy wi shed for a m o m en t th a t the cloc k s

’
, ,
hands were n o t bo t h engaged He w an ted to feel

.
a reassuring touch on his own li ttle fingers .
h
B u t is guide said wi t h a side way s wag o f h is
,
-
hea d :
Don t be raid Bri t is so l diers w ou ld n t
’
a -f - h.
- -
’
hurt y o u Look a t th e jo l ly o ld chaps in bag g y

.
- -
b reech es They re Du tc h m en
’
- .
-
He ticked o ff a ll this in form ation in a m atter,
o f fac t w a y a s the y w alked a long th e broad tree

-
, ,
”
s haded av enue w hich he ca lled th e B o u erie and ,
T ra ddy looked around to see th e pre tty red roo fed -

,
hou ses set ba ck in orchards and garden s fa cin g the

s tree t
. The nam e sounded fam iliar to him Bu t .
45
TH E S T E PS T O NOWH ERE
he co u ld n o t know t h a t th e Ba c k w ard cloc k h a d
re a lly ta ken h im back t w o hundred y ears to t h e
Bo w ery o f o ld N ew York .
“
- —
Tho se a re B u rg h ers the round ro l lic k in g
- -
,
rogu e s ! said th e clock w hirrin g th e w ords a s

,
”
t hough he liked to sa y the m S ee em sm oke ! ’
.
S u re enough every m a n ha d a pipe nearly a s

long a s hi m se lf; and he w hi ffed it ste a dily a s he
w a lked a lo n g ta lkin g o u t o f th e side o f h is m o u t h
,
to w hoe v er m igh t be w i t h h im .
O ne or t w o stopped a n d spoke and p u lled ,
Trad s h a ir a s he w en t by in a friendly w a y B u t
’
, .
w hen t he y had pa ssed t h e ra m bling m an y ga bled -

,
ta vern w i t h its pic t u re sign o f a king in a w hi te w ig

, ,
han g in g over th e door they cam e u p to a hou se

,
w here so m e one wa s singing .
The son g w a s a cco m pa nied by a tb u a i ty - -

,
tb u d spla s b /
, and th e li ttle bo y asked his c o m pa n
ion w h a t th e fu nn y so u nd m igh t be .
“
Vro u w W in kel sing ing her churn-in g
- -
” “ ‘
son g, replied th e clock . The tbu d i ty tbu d is
- -
t h e noi se o f th e d a s h er
- S he ca lls th e fair-ies to
.
m a ke th e b u t t er co m e
- . Go up to th e stoop a n d
see her . I m u st be j og ging !
-
4 6
TH E LI TTL E LOS T D OO R
”
Don t leav e m e ! cried Tra ddles w ildly
’
, ,
clu tc hing a t h im .
“ ”
O u c h ! D d don t tic tic kle m e ! he g ig
’
- - - -
“
gled backing a w a y
, I m u st go don t s po se I ll
.
,
’ ’ ’
see y o u again ! You know Ti m e is flee t in g !

-
He w a s cheerfu l a b ou t it b u t Tra ddy pu c k

,
ered up h is m ou t h to cry He fe lt very lone so m e

. .
“ ”
Don t ru st y o u r w orks ca lled the ti m epiece
’
, ,
w av ing h is h a nd s Then he bo b b ed and ca pered

.
to t h e t urn o f th e road and o u t o f sigh t .
B u t little did be bn ow w ba t w a s goin g to ba ppen

to eba n ge b is p la n s befb r e be ba d gon e m u cb fu r tber
on bis jou r n ey I
Tra ddy ru b bed h is li ttle fi st in h is e y es a s he ,
stood sto c k st i ll a t t h e ga t e o f th e singing w o m an ;
and a gain the song wi t h its tbu d i ty tbu d spla s b/

- -
,
ca m e to h is ears .
He co c ked h is curly hea d to one side un ti l h is

ca p fe ll o ff . B u t w hen he had re pla ced it he crep t ,
ti m idly in t h ro u gh th e ga te and wen t u p th e w hi t e
g ra v e lled
, po sy -b ordered p a t h .
The good vro u w stood on her stoop bending ,
over a fa t stone churn and hu m m in g like a bee

ov er a flow er .
Green vine s swu ng sca rle t tru m pe ts around her

47
TH E S T E PS TO NOWH ERE
fro m porch co lu m ns A gray ca t and th r ee
th e .
plu m p ki tten s p urred and blinked a t her fee t in ,
t h e sun shine .
B u itter cbee bu itter ebee eoom —s h e sang

,
A li ea n
- la id le ebee bu itter cbee, coom
Then opped in great su rprise to see

sh e st , ,
Tra ddles s ta nding be fore her .
“ ”
Mein g o o tn ess l sh e exc la i m ed .
For no li ttle bo y in early Du tc h N ew York ,
j u st after the Bri tis h occu pation ever looked in the ,
least like h im And so qui te natura lly she took

.
, ,
h im fo r a fairy .
“
W e lco m e w elco m e Mein Herr Nixy N ox !
, ,
sh e c r ied dro pp ing her c hurn das her and ho ldin g

,
o u t her large w hi te di m p led hand s

, Then she
, .
m a de h im a lo w c u rtsey and her st i ffly sta rched ,
w hi t e a p ron ru stled o n th e whi te sa nded floor a s

sh e b en t .
“
W e lco m e N ixy N o x And t h e sm ile on her
, .
r o u nd ro sy face w a s good to see

, .
”
“
My nam e is T a ddles said th e sm all b o y
’
, ,
ta k ing o ff h is red ca p a n d grav ely re t urning her
bo w , and I w an t m y si ster .
“
Goo t Mein H err N ixy N ox A h a I know
, .
,
4 8
“
TH E LITTL E LOS T D OOR
y o u You va s a g oo t fairy ! H a f y o u brough t m e
.
”
so m e b u tt er ? Aha w e sha ll see !
,
S he p ried up th e round to p o f t he squa t churn ,
sm i lin g a n d nodding her head B u t b e fore sh e.
peered in she looked a t h im and sang this ti m e very ,
knowingly
B u itter cbee bu itter cbee, eoom
,
A liea n , la idle cbee, tu b i cbee oa

f
l] .
Then she beckoned and he w en t up a n d stood

,
beside her while toge ther the y looked in to the

,
churn S ure enough There w ere m an y li ttle y el

. .
lo w island s floa ting o u th e sea o f b u tt erm i lk And .
“
t h e ro sy vrou w la ughed Aha a ha ! aga in a s sh e
,
deftly co llected the m on th e dasher brough t the m ,
t o th e t o p o f th e churn a n d dra ined t he m in to a
s ha llow w o oden bo w l th a t w a s n ear a t h a nd on a
bench nea r t h e wide half door - .
“ ”
Goo t Mein Herr N ixy N o x l sh e cr ied again
, ,
m uch p leased th inking o f course

, , th a t he had ,
“
brough t th e bu tter by so m e fairy ch a rm Da nk .
”
y o u. S he b o w ed u n t i l t h e edge o f her a pron
aga in ru stled crisp ly a ga in st th e floor a n d th e silv er
o rnam en ts on her w hi t e ca p j in g led .
My n a m e s T a ddles
“ ’ ’
he re peated n o t
, ,
”
qui te liking to be ca lled N ixy N o x B u t sh e .
49
“
on ly n o dded a n d said : Yah h a ! a n d di pp ed a
,
shining p ewt er cu p in to th e churn a n d gav e it to
him bri m m ing !

,
Tha t m ilk and th e su gar y spicy n u t filled

,
-
,
ca kes t hat w en t w i th it p ro bably ke p t h im fro m

,
cry ing and t hu s inj uring h is re pu tation a s a fairy

, ,
when he again asked fo r Patricia .
B u t as it w a s he t ucked th e li t tle bag o f w hi te

w hi s k e r seed in t o h is red reefer p ocke t and n ib ,
bled aw a y on h is cookie wondering w he ther it w a s

,
h is break fast or h is su p per .
He re m em bered that it w a s win ter and g row

ing dark w hen he had run aw ay from Patricia a n d
Robin up th e ste ps in Irv ing Place .
B u t n ow it looked like m orning Birds w ere

.
singin g in th e sun shine , and t he sm e ll o f ap ples

w a s in th e a ir .
He though t th e clock m u st have had so m e

t hing t o do w i th th e change in ti m e Perhaps .
Vrouw Winkel m igh t know B u t sh e w a s b u sy

.
patting th e b u tter in th e bow l and a s he w atched

,
her fro m th e li ttle whi te stoo l she had giv en h im

,
under th e shadow o f th e tr u m p e t v ine he forgot ,
a ll a bou t h is que st ion

.
I t w a s such fu n to see her t urn th e y ellow b u t

so
U p , sh e tro tted o ff wi th it to th e sp ring hou se t hat
w a s a t th e foo t o f th e garden under th e hi ll .
“ ”
Coo m sh e called sm iling over h er plu m p
, ,
shou lder a t h im . And he ra n after her .
B u t th e ca t p urred coaxingly a t h is fee t and ,
he sto pp ed to feed her a m orse l of cookie S o it .
h a ppened that he did n o t after a ll see Vrouw

, ,
Winke l p u t the bu tt er crock in th e coo l C e m en ted

,
place t ha t w a s alw ay s dri pping w it h t he w aters o f

a bubb ling spring .
Becau se when he started to follow where she

had gone he lost h is w a y along th e very ta llest
,
ho lly -hocks that he had ev er seen .
32
CH A PT ER FI V E
AD V E N M
T U RE S A ON G TH E H O LLY H O OKS
-
RA DDL ES found hi m self w andering

t hrough a fore st o f sat in y p ink and
w hi te and cri m son a n d y e llow b lo s
so m s t ha t w ere high a bo v e h is he a d .
He h a d m issed V rou w W inkel bu t w a s sti ll try ing

,
to find her w hen a y o u ng m a n cam e alon g w i th a

,
brow n shor t legged dog ru nnin g a t h is heels

,
- .
The y oung m a n w a s dre ssed in extre m ely wide

bloom er b reec hes t hat w ere ga thered a t th e knees
and fa sten éd w i t h la rg e silver buckle s There w ere
.
sim i la r b u c kle s on h is shoe s a n d h is fe lt h a t w a s

,
fastened w i th a fea ther . A s he ca m e near he

sw u ng h is st ick righ t and le ft am ong t h e flowers ,
kn ockin g o ff a doz en blosso m s a t a b lo w .
S top da t! cried Tra ddy w ho h a dbeen taugh t

,
to r e sp ec t flo w ers. And th e y oung m a n sto pped .
More t han that he O pened h is e y e s a n d h is m ou th

,
in astonish m en t to see th e w ee red ca p ped figu re

,
-
53
st andin g in h is p at h a n d com m a nding h im He .
sa id t hings a bo u t it t ha t Trad cou ld n o t under
stand — beca u se be did n ot bn ow D u teb Then .

,
a ll o f a su dden he sw e p t o ff h is fe a t hered h a t a n d
bow ed m o st poli te ly .
“ ”
Goo t m orgen he said You va s a fairy ?
, .
Ya h ? You m u st o xcu se m e ; I va s n o t expec ting

y o u .
A n d th e long, lo w , ra kish dog w a gged a ro u nd

h is fee t .
“
I
’
m a bo y , aid Tra ddles
s , dat s ’
w ha t I a m !
And I w ant m y sisser .
He w a s very near cry ing again b u t he r e ,
m e m bered w ha t th e c lock h a d said He m u st n o t .
—
let t ears ru st h is works here a m on g stra n g ers ,
a n y wa y H is cap fe ll o ff and th e long dog C a u g h t

.
it on his nose Tra ddy lau ghed a s he took it and

.
re p ea ted
“
I w a nt m y sisser And I w an t her n ow / .
Ya h inquired th e y oung m a n sy m pa thet ,

“ ”
ica lly . Where iss sh e ?
—
I I don t kno w He shook h is head upo n
’
.
w hich th e red c a p w a s sa fe ly p erched a ga in and ,
so m e t hing s p lashed on h is cheeks “

—
I I don t .
’
know
54
“
AM O N G TH E H O LLY H O OKS -
”
cried his n ew a cqu a intance
Aha , t hen ,
m u st w e find her Fo r he w a s q u i te sure t hat

.
Tra ddles w a s a fairy in di sgui se wandering a bou t ,
in th e ho p e o f receiving kindne sses fro m m ortal

m en .
B u t th e li t tle b o y sm iled t hrough th e s om e
ebin g tba t sba ll be n a m eless t hat w a s s hining

- - - - in h is
ey es , an d exclai m
ed
“
A ll wi te den ! W here is sh e ?
,
“ ”
S o m ew here s a lrea dty y et
, re sponded the ,
“
D u tch m an w ith cheerfu l con fidence Coom on . ,
N ixy N ox coom on Tu n kel We ll find her Den

’
. .
, ,
”
ou ll d o e hing f ? Yah ?
’
y o s m t o r m e
”
Yes assen ted Tra ddy eagerly B u t little
, , .
did be gu ess w ba t cu r iou s fa v or tbe y ou n g m a n wa s

goin g t o a s b o f b im .
They t u rned to m ake t h eir w a y o u t o f the

garden o f ho lly hocks B u t j u st then th e dach shund
- .
caugh t sigh t o f a gray squirrel fri sking t hro u gh th e

grasse s and set o u t after him ; dashing be tw een h is
,
m ast er s legs wi t h su c h sudden and unexpec ted

’
force t ha t th e y oung m a n fell down dr opping h is ,
st ick and h a t and spra wling am ong the flower

,
beds .
A s he g o t U p wi p ing th e m u d fro m h is hands

, ,
55
TH E S T E P S T O NOW H ERE
he said things t hat Tra ddy c ou ld nderst and
n ot u
beca u se be did n ot bn ow D u teb Then t he y w en t

.
in to a lane t hat bordered m an y sn u g fa rm s sloping

dow n to the river B u t they did n o t pa ss Vrouw
.
W inkel s hou se
’
.
The li ttle b o y a sked h is friend if he knew the

lad y o f th e c h u rn There u pon th e y o ung m a n
.
blu shed a n d sta m m ered ; b u t j u st a s he w a s a b ou t

t o re p ly Tu n ke l ra n up w i t h su c h sp eed th a t he
,
had to step a side quickly to a v oid ano ther t u m ble ,
and t hen Tr a ddy w a s a sking fo r P a tric ia again .
“ ”
I s m y sisser here ? he inquired g az ing up ,
and dow n and hopin g t hat he shou ld see th e li ttle

girl in her cherry tri m m ed h a t and blue dress co m
-
ing t ow ard h im .
B u t th e D u t ch m an shook h is head in a p u z
z led w a y .
“
V hall see he a n sw ered ve sh a ll see
e s , , ,
a n d Tr a ddy had to be con ten t .
“ ”
What s y o u r n a m e ? he asked a t last look
’
ing u p a t the du ll good n a tured face o f th e Du tch

-
,
m an . And w hen he hea rd t h a t it w a s Pe ter von

Punk he la u ghed fo r it rem inded h im o f a jolly
, ,
nursery jingle .
B u t Pe ter w a s seriou s enough a s he led the

56
AM O N G TH E H O LL Y H O C KS -
way cross th e frag ran t field s o f new m ow n h a y to

a
h is o w n farm and in t o a jo lly squa t red gab led

-
, ,
h o u se w i t h a wide door t hat w a s open like a w in

,
do w a t t h e to p .
Th e li t tle bo y had no ticed a si m ilar door in

Vrouw Winke l s stoop and he liked its b ig brass
’
hinge s and b raz en la tch B u t he sa w t hat t he hou se

.
w a s n o t nice and orderly like t h a t o f t he bu tter

m aker Boo ts and saddles gun s and tra ps w ere sca t
.
,
tered a ll o v er th e un sw e p t floor and t h e ta b le w a s ,
li tt ered w i t h m an y strange t hings .
Hav en t y o u do t a n y m u vver ? asked Tra ddy

’
wi th fe llow sy m pa thy He cou ld on ly accoun t fo r

.
th e u n tidine ss and lone line ss o f t h e p lace in that

wa y .
Haven t y o u do t a n y m u vver a t a ll ?
’
,
”
N o an sw ered th e y oung m a n sadly Tu n kel
, , .
and m e w a s by ourselves a lone B u t m ay be y ou ll , .

,
’
—
he lp m e g et a w i fe Ya h ?
Trad did n o t kno w how he cou ld help h im
g e t a wi fe B u t he
. see m ed t o ex p ec t it o f h im S o .
he nodded and Pe ter w h o took it fo r a fa iry pro m

, ,
ise s p ran g o u t to th e m iddle o f th e floor and

,
danced ti ll th e du st aro se in a C loud a n d Tra ddy

s ne ez ed v io len tly .
57
Tu n kel see m ed to fee l t ha t it w a s a
celeb ra tion
o f so m e sort t hat he ough t to h a v e part in So .
h e barked and fr i sked around h is m aster s legs

’
u n t i l he tripp ed h im u p j u st a s he ha d don e in th e
holly hock garden .
G eb / shou ted Pe ter sp ringing up and run

,
n ing aft er the m i s chiev ou s li ttle ani m al; b u t Tun
k el alw ay s sough t a sa fe p lace after he had landed

h is m a n and w a s now o u t o f sigh t and bey o n d the
,
v engeance o f h is m aster w h o had to con ten t h im

,
“ ”
se lf w i t h ca lling G eb which is Du tch fo r D u n ee
, ,
a ft er h im again angr i ly
, .
“
W here s m y sisser ? whi m p ered Tra ddles
’
a ft er t h e exci te m en t had died away And h is c o m .
pan ion answered soo th ingly th at he wou ld bring

, ,
u p th e ponies fr om the pastu re a n d t hey wou ld ,
set o u t on t heir search fo r her .
B u t first t hey m u st have som e th ing to ea t be ,
cau se it w a s noon .
Then he took a hu ge pair o f be llow s and b lew

th e coa ls sm ou ldering in t he grea t b lack fire p lace
-
in t o a ruddy glow and soon th e ke ttle began to

,
sw ing and sw ay on its crane above t h e fire and in ,
a short ti m e t here w a s a b ubb ling sound and the

sm ell o f good t hings cooking Tra ddy sni ffed .
58
So he rose ga lla n tly and a s one o f th e rough
, ned -m a
p onies stood still he tried to cli m b unassi sted t o

, ,
its b ack O nce tw ice he t ried t hen Pe t er th inking

.
, , ,
it w a s a fairy trick to sho w how kind he cou ld be ,
li fted h im to th e saddle and p u t th e re in s in h is

quivering fingers .
”
Tu k va s a goo t o ld pon y he said a s h e p icked
, ,
th e li ttle red ca p fro m t he ground w here it had

,
fa llen and re placed it care fully on t h e b o y s brigh t

’
head .
Then he m oun ted his own horse and wi th ,
Tu n kel barking a t t heir heels t he y rode awa y to

,
fo llow t he course o f t he riv er nort hward Tra ddy

, ,
clinging w i th tense legs to h is pon y s side s and

’
sm ilin g v a li a n tly .
CH APT ER SI X
TH E S U N GO D -
E A N WH I L E Patricia had been having

v e ry di fferen t adv en t ure s on th e S tep s
t o N o w here.
I t wi ll b e rem em bered t hat sh e h a d

sp ed p a st th e li ttle lo st door in t h e w a ll o f th e stair
w a y j u st a s it closed u p on Tr a ddy and t h e Ba ck

,
w ard C lock a n d had run on u p t h e w inding fligh t

, ,
calling her brother B u t a s Tra ddy w a s j u st t hen

.
li stening to Vrou w W inke l s churn ing song in th e

’
La n d o f Yesterday sh e had gone o n ever on un ti l

, , ,
t he sno w ceased and the air beca m e so d a rk t ha t

sh e had t o grope forw ar d wi t h her h a nds .
S he w a s a b rav e girl the worth y daugh ter o f

,
a so ldier B u t n o w t he tea rs sm arted in her ey es and

.
ra n o v er on her pre tty cheeks What shou ld sh e

.
do in t hat strange place in th e nigh t and th e da rk

n e ss ? S he ca lled again
“ ”
Bu t hi s tim e it w a s R obin 0 b R obin t hat
t , , ,
fe ll fro m her red lips tre m b lingly , .
For a s every one know s it is fine to hav e a big

, , ,
st rong de p end a ble b o y around a n y t im e

, p artien ,
la r ly in hours o f anxiety and da nger .
B u t R o b in w a s fa r fro m th e s ound o f h er v oice;

and sh e wen t st u m bling on alone w hi le th e b lack
ne ss gathered a round her .
S udden ly a ligh t p a le and so ft like th e m oo n s

’
, ,
s hone direc tly u p on her S he t urned wi t h a start

.
o f s urp ri se and t here clo se be side w a s th e odde st

, , ,
looking li t tle creat ure sh e had e v er seen .
H is queer squat fi g u re w a s dressed in a y ellow

,
robe and a ll the glow cam e fro m h is shining face

,
w hich w a s shap ed like a di sk wi th spreading ray s ,
or a sun flow er wi t h pe tals of gold B u t h is look

, .
w a s friendly and aft er her first start sh e w a s n o t a

;
b it afraid .
“
I ho pe y o u will let m e throw som e ligh t u po n
”
t hi s si t ua tion he observed pleasan tly a s he walked
, ,
up beside her .
”
W h y y o u hav e a lread y sh e an sw ered w i th
, , ,
“
a sm i le . I can see around qui te pla in ly now Are , .
”
y o u t h e m a n fro m t h e m oon ?
“ ” “
N o thing like h im he replied , Thi s face .
62
ca n thro w so m e li gh t upo n the s i tuati on ,
Su n -
g od
bea m i n gl y
.
TH E SUN GO D -
”
h
t a t y o u n o w see is the ba c k of m y he a d ; bu t she ,
interrup ted sha king her little pink fing er O h I

, , ,
—
kno w n o w y o u are Irish !
”
Whatever m ade y o u think that ? he que s
tio n ed and she rep lied
,
“ ”
O h just cau se in con sidera ble confu sion
,
’
, ,
fo r S he did n o t like to te ll him that w h a t he ha d

sa id a bou t his face b eing the bac k of his head had
“ ”
m a d e her think so We ll a s I w a s sa y ing he
.
, ,
w ent on thi s that y o u n o w see is t he ba c k o f m y

,
head Yo u w i ll O bserve that it g ives a n i m i ta tion of

.
m oonlight I ll sho w y o u the su n side to m orrow

’
.
- -
”
m orning .
The su n ? she cla pped her hands .
”
s h a ll be so g la d to see t he su n a ga in .
”
I m n o t the re a l thing y o u know he
’
, ,
h a stened to exp lain I m on ly a su b ! B u t I see

’
.
I ha ve g o t to furni sh the day s a n d nights fo r thi s

”
journey And I ll m ake em a s short a s I can
.
’ ’
.
Pa tricia fe lt rather dazed .
”
Tha nk y o u she said gently to the fa t little
,
m a n with the shining countenance I t s m uch

’
.
p leasanter since y o u cam e ; sti ll it is a ll ve ry stra nge !

Will y o u te ll m e who y o u are p lea se and ju st , ,
what y ou m ean ?
63
TH E S T E PS TO NOW H ERE
”
Don t y ou really know m e ? he a sked a
’
,
s hadow pas sing over his beam ing face H e seem ed .
ve ry m uch s urpri sed .
W hy no she faltered have I e ver s een y ou

,
”
, ,
”
before ?
He nodded And shafts of light m oved u p a n d
.
down and around according to the w a y he m oved

,
his head like the beam s of a searchlight

, Think .
”
o f the t i m e , he said w hen y our father took you
,
to see Doc tor Dee

“ ”
Oh y es ; the Archeo l o gi st
,
- - cried Patricia , ,
having so m e trou ble wi th the long w o rd He .
lived in that very house in Irving P lace tha t

h a s ju st been tor n down We cam e up the.
s tep s
Her co m panion gave a chuckle and turned the ,
beam of light direc tly upon her a s he excla im ed ,
triu m phan tly
N o w look a t m e again
, .
”
Oh , s he said blinking in, th e brigh tness .
y o u — can t
’
b e
“ ”
Yes he said
, I am !,
The idol that w a s in the library ?

,
Yes .
The A n cien t A z tec S -

u n go dI?
64
What thing do y o u m ea n ?
Why don t y o u know he a nsw ered the
,
’
,
”
,
letting do w n o f the invi si ble sta irw a y ? H a ven t I

’
been a ble to throw a n y light on the su bje c t fo r

y o u ?
W hy the stai rway i sn t invi sible I can see
,
’
,
” “
it s he s aid I ve be en counting these cu nn ing
’
.
,
little si lver cupid s that ho ld it up o n their dar li n g

fa t back s a s we ve com e along B u t I don t w ant
’ ’
.
to c li m b a n y fu rther Plea se te ll m e the wa y that

.
”
leads hom e .
That s w ha t eve r y body wants to know every

’
”
where sa id Tu n a tiu h cros sly
,
E ven w hen I w a s .
in the Te m p le of the S u n in Mexico peop le o f a ll ,
—
kinds S paniards a n d Aztec s alike w ere forever — ,
bo thering m e w i th that sam e que stion : Wber e is tbe

‘
w a y tba t lea ds b om e I ? I cou ld n t tell em

’ ’
Be .
cau se I never w a s the real thing a n dy ou ca n t expect

’
m u cb of a su b!
H e s ighed and added : I cou ld n ot g et hom e ,
”
m y se lf if y o u ha d n o t c o m e alon g to g o w i th m e
, .
“ ”
I don t know w here y o u live Pa tty o bjected
’
, .
Beside s I m looking for m y little bro ther Have

,
’
.
y o u seen a n y t hing o f a li ttle lo st-looking bo y ?

He shook his head .
-
TH E SUN G O D
Perha ps we ll run across h im up here
’
,
he
sa id cheerfu lly
, Yo u see we hav e reached
. th e
”
top .
S ure
enough J u st t hen t he y stepped upon th e
.
p la teau and ,he ga v e an exhi b i t ion o f h is p ower t o
t hro w th e ligh t r a y s a long dista nce so tha t sh e

-
cou ld see w h ere the y stood O ne sha ft pierced t he

.
dim fore st and a no t h er m o m en t t he ido l sw i tched

,
his beam s u po n a m oun ta in-side and the ligh t ,
pla y ed upon its rugged heigh ts like a go lden fire fly .
Patricia had follo w ed t he gr ea t whi te ligh t ,
hop ing to see in its beam a red ca pped li ttle -
bo y b u t n o such sigh t gree ted her a n d finally sh e

, ,
t urned aw a y wi t h quivering lip s The Az tec idol .
sto pp ed sm i ling a s he looked .
“
I wi sh I cou ld help y o u he said A n d sh e , .
knew t hat he rea lly did w i sh so ear nestly , .
“
Ca n t y o u he lp m e find Tra ddy ? sh e in
’
qu ired wi stfu lly

, .
B u t h e said : O f cou rse I ll t ry to B u t a s ] said

’
.
,
b efo re y ou ca n t expect m u cb f r om a su b
’
.
,
“
I wish it w a s m o rn ing sh e sighed w eari ly, , ,
fee ling like a v ery lone ly li ttle girl in a strange

land .
We ll t hat s o n e t hing I can do fo r y o u ! he

,
’
67
cried cheerfu lly I can give y o u a n ew
. orrow -
to m
eve r y ti m e y o u want o n e Ju st w a tch li ttle Tuna

.
tiu h n o w ; I ll turn a round on m y he els and p r esto

’
, ,
ber e s y ou r n ew da y a n d n ew ligh t upon the si tu a

’
,
”
tion.
He drew his feet together a s he spoke a n d , ,
wheeled about like a We st Poi n ter w ithout m o v

, ,
in g his hee ls fro m their p lace .
”
Here s y our n ew da y he repeated B u t she
’
, .
ha d given a li ttle c ry and w a s covering her ey e s

fro m the g lare of y ellow light that poured fro m
his face . How do y ou like it ? L et m e know
when y o u want another A ll I have to do is to
.
turn around !
He la ughed and blazed de lighted ly and t hen ,
“
added A n d here com es b reakfa st !
,
Patricia ran forw a rd e x p e c t a n t ly S he .
could hear through the thick forest gla de s

o n the righ t the sound o f soft fa lling un shod
,
hoof s co m ing tow a rd her And presently a

.
, ,
pa ir of m i lk w hite oxen cam e in sight dra g

-
,
ging a c art on w hi c h w ere sea ted three li ttle

m er c hants dre ssed in fu n ny baggy bi llow y w hi te
, , ,
trou ser s and w earing whi te tu r ba ns o n their

hea d s .
68
TH E SUN -GO D
Tu n a tiu h bega n to s wing his head d a zzlingly ,
s ing
D riv e y ou r w bite bu llocbs to tow n , y a w bo I
S ell in tb e m a r bets y ou r w a r es .
C la tter a n dj ing le a n d m er r ily g o ,
Sbells for a n ecbla ce a n d bells in a r ow
And the little m arket m en cried shrilly in ,
a n s wer :
Tu n a w itb a sea -
gr a ss ba sbet
S ells a
f sb to a ll w bo a sb it
”
I want a fish I want a fish ! cried the little
,
g ir,l O pe n ing t he silver ba g tha t hung on her be lt
and extrac ting a coin hurriedly And then bega n .
t h e m o st de li g ht fu l m arke ting in the w or ld .
The little m en w ere bri sk a n d m erry an d the y

ra n around their ca rt and sw a rm ed over it and
u nder it fi n ding and b rin g ing o u t the m o st a sto n

,
ishin g things i m ag ina ble be sides the fine firm

, ,
fi sh
.
There were fruits and salad s o f tender green ,
a n d it did n ot ta ke the b ri s k b ro w n cooks long to
p repare a deliciou s breakfa st over a red c opper

braz ie r filled with fire an Opera tion w hich the little
,
69
girl watched with m uch intere st bu t which ,
see m ed to bore Tuna in a n unaccountab le w a y .
“
If I were only the real lu m inary instea d o f ,
”
an i m itation he said a t la st I cou ld light a fire
, ,
for y o u w ithout a ll this fu ss abou t keeping coals

alive l
I think y o u do a lot of w onderfu l things ,
said Patty co m forting ly bu t he shook his h ead

, .
“ ”
I m only a su b he said w i th a dejected sigh
’
, , .
Then the m arket m en received their pay m ent and

drove their w hite bullocks w i th the y oke s of roses
,
and tinkling bells aw ay and the little girl sa t

, ,
do wn on a green bank to ea t her breakfast .
S he a te fro m broad fresh leave s which ,
m ade exce llent p la te s b u t noticed that the su n

,
god stood so m e di stance off with his fa ce tu rned

‘
a way.
W hy don t y o u co m e ? she called B u t he

’ ”
.
waved his hand a t her sidew ay s and answered :

“
I m ight dry u p the dew and dew is partien ,
”
la r ly nice on y our sa lad and berrie s Which wa s .
very though tfu l of him indeed , .
“
I ve been try ing to rem em ber so m ething I
’
”
u sed to do he said a s he cam e toward her after
, ,
brea kfa st .
70
TH E SUN GO D
-
”
Yes ? she cried hopefully . What is it ?
M agic
“
So m ething of that sort B u t I . am afraid I
”
h a ve forgotten he said he si tatingly
, .
”
N ow , aid Pa tricia who fe lt ve ry m uch vexed
s ,
“
at him for his uncertainty that is a ll nonsense , .
If y ou bn ew a tbing on ce y ou bn ow it n ow No on e .
ev er r ea lly fi rg et s a ny tbing I
“
If I w ere the rea l thing I cou ld certainly do
” ”
it, he begun bu t I m only a su b,
’
.
“
We ll don t be a su b said Patty
,
’
Be the , .
real thing y ourself The trouble w ith y ou is y ou

.
a re a lw ay s m aking excu se s Go ahead now and .

,
”
tbin b .
He sta red a t her and blu shed a deep crim son .
Then he slo w ly rai sed one finger and pre ssed it to

the m idd le of his flam ing b ro w .
“
Think ! she said stam ping her foot im ,
p atiently think what y o u u sed to do !

,
”
If I w ere really the su n god he said
- I , ,
cou ld send y ou any where y o u w an ted to go in a

t w inkling Bu t .
”
Don t sa y tha t again she stor m ed
’
You , .
ca n do a ny tbing y ou w a n t to do if y ou a r e n ot afi a idI '
Fea r is tbc on ly tbing tba t beep s y ou bu t é I S end m e

7 1
so m e w here quick S end m e bom
, . shall I —
e w hat
”
do ?
“
I ll throw a ra y of light over on th a t ro se
’
”
bu sh by the w a ll he sa id , You fix y ou r ey e s
.
on that and w atch it until y o u fall a sleep If I ca n .
rem e m ber ho w to w ork the m agic S pe ll when y o u ,
”
wake u p y o u w i ll be so m ewhere e lse .
Hom e ? she que stioned looking a t the light , ,
and sitting do w n again on the bank .
”
Can t te ll he rep lied curtly for he had been
’
, ,
“
so m ewha t ne ttled by w h a t she had said Yo u wi ll .
have to tru st to luck for that I cou ld do better .
—
for y o u if I were b u t never m ind
He did n o t fin i sh the sentence for already ,
Patricia s gaze w hich ha d been ste a di ly fixed upon

’
,
a sm a ll v ivid s pot of light w a s fa ltering

, And a s
, .
he spoke her lids fe ll like the peta ls o f a whi te

flower over her ey e s .
When she a w oke she found herse lf a lone be

neath a blo sso m ing tree a t the edge of a g lorious
forest Bird s o f gorgeou s p lu m age a n d m e lodio u s
.
voice s were flitting fro m p lace to p lace a n d on every ,
side w ere bri lliant and fr a grant tropica l flo w er s .
B u t a s she sa t up wondering w here she could

,
—
b e a sound sta rtled her the sound of a light foot
,
7 2
CHAPT ER SEV EN
A FLY I N G DU T C H M A N
UK w a s a good little pony a s Peter had

,
s aid
. He see m ed to know that he had
o n his b ack a tiny ta d who m ight fee l
a fraid ; so once in a w hi le he tu rned his
shagg y head to see if eve r y thing w a s a ll right w i th
his rider .
I t did n o t take Tr a ddy long to re a lize the

friendline ss of the pony s glance s and he bent over
’
,
a n d patted the rough m ane affectionate ly .
Peter to ld the boy a s they rode along U p the

,
road be side the Hudson River that he w a s very

,
m uch in love wi th the lady o f the churn In fa ct

.
,
he had been going to see her w hen he m et him in the

arden of ho lly
-hocks B u t— and here w a s th e m at ter
g .
—
that he wanted fa iry he lp a bout Vrou w Wi n ke l liked
him . S he had to ld him so B u t she thought he

.
looked m uch to o y o u ng to be a hu sband And she

.
w ou ld n o t m a rry him becau se he ba d n o w bisbers .
74
TH E FLYI NG D U TC H MA N
Tr a ddy sa t Up
r igh t so suddenly a t thi s
st a , ,
t ha t Tu k though t so m e thing m u st be w rong and ,
s t opped .
“
Wou ld w hi te w hisser s do ? inquired the
li ttle ch a p b re a th le ssly
, .
“ ”
Jah a n y kind vo u ld do re sponded Pe ter
, , ,
g e tting do w n t o fix his stirru p .
Then it w a s th a t Tr a ddy qualified a s a real fai r y .
H e pu t his li ttle hand into his reefer pocke t and dre w

o u t a striped p a per b a g tied w i th a scar le t str ing .
“ ”
Here he sa id is so m e w bite w bisser seeds !
, ,
”
Take it Mi sser Hodge ha s do t so m e m ore
. .
Pe ter w a s o verjoy ed He took the ba g tre m .

,
b ling w i th de light and w a s p o u ring so m e of th e

,
s eed s o u t into his h a nd w hen Tu n kel w ho had ,
c h a nced to see a ra b bi t r a n be tween his legs a n d ,
u p se t him When he rega ined his fee t he said so m e

.
t hings a bou t the dog tha t Tr a ddles n ot bn ow ing ,
D u tcb co u ld n o t under sta nd

, .
B u t the li ttle bo y ju m ped do w n fro m the pony s

’
b a ck and he lped him pick U p the seeds ; and then

t he tw o friend s fe ll into a di scu ssion a s to the be st
w a y to p lan t the m .
Tr a ddy advi sed Pe ter to ea t so m e a n d pu t the ,
r e st o n his chin like a pou ltice to in sure a good

, ,
75
TH E S T E PS T O NOW H E RE
crop S o they tied the ponie s and went to look for
.
w a ter w hich they fo u nd bu b b ling U p clear and

, ,
p u re in a near by S pring There Pe ter so a ked the

,
- .
seed s and p la stered the m on his face And every .
body w a s p leased bu t Tu n kel who gro w led and ,
b arked a t his m aster s cha nged appe a rance

’
.
“ — ”
The whiskers w i ll soon gro w ja b ? a sked
Pe ter hopefu lly And Tr a ddy thought they w ou ld ;
.
bu t he also had a qu e stion to a sk .
“ ”
Where s m y sisser ? said he And Tuk hear
’
.
,
ing the no te of sadne ss in the boy s voice turned ’

,
around a n d neighed lovingly .
N i ce Tuk ni ce o ld horsie Tra ddy sighed

, , ,
com forted while P e ter sa id confidently :

, ,
“
We ll find her ja h ! B u t n o t to night y et
’ ' -
, , .
”
S ee I w i ll show y o u ho w to m ake a tent
,
.
”
A ll w i te assented Tr a ddy cheerfu l again
, , .
Then the strong y ou ng Dutch m an began to do

a surpri sing thing .
A great m any ta ll sapling p ine s stood on the

brink of the slow flowing Hud son and after they
-
, ,
had c arefu lly se le cted a p lace for their cam p on a

high kno ll overlooking the stream Peter taught ,
—
Tr a ddles a woodsm an s trick a trick which re su lted
’
in a curiou s accident .
76
TH E FLYI NG D U TC H MA N
Thi s bit of woodc raft w a s no thing m ore or le ss
t h a n a si m p le w a y to bui ld a lodge in the w i lderne ss .
Pe ter stood on his tip toe s and reaching high,
in th e br a nche s of a y oung pine bent the t ree ,
d o w n and fastened the to p to a clu m p of lo w

b u she s . O ne tree after ano ther he bent over in
thi s fashion m aking each fa st w i th a bit of sai l
,
cord w hich he took fro m his capaciou s pocke ts

, ,
unti l he ha d a tent shap ed like an arbor and fit for

a fore st king .
“
I gue ss the Za ndbober vi ll coo m here ja b ?—
“
he said Tr a ddy did n o t kno w that the Z a n dkoker
.
w a s the sand m an . B u t he knew it w a s so m e thing

nice by the w a y Pe ter sm i led S o he nodded his
.
head .
Von m ore tree n o w a big von called the

, , ,
Dutchm an cheeri ly rejoi cing in his strong a rm s

, , ,
a n d den v e l sleep so m e — ”
l jah
’
?
”
After supper rep lied Tra ddy who did n o t
, ,
in tend to be sent to bed unti l he had had so m e thing

to e a t . B u t Pe ter laughed :
“
l a ha l ve sha ll haf so m etin gs o u t of the sadd le
Then he reached u p and took a firm gra sp on a

t a ll y o ung pine and bore it steadi ly downward .
77
Tr a d w a tched him w ith w onde r a n d pride .
S lo w ly slo w ly the sap ling bent unti l its to p

, ,
m o st b ranche s sw ep t the e a rth .
I t w a s a vigorou s t ree ho w e ver and re si sted , ,
stu b born ly m ore than once a lm ost s pringing to its

,
height a gain o u t of the m u scu la r hands B u t Pe ter

, .
sw u ng u p on it and ba ttled w itb it a n d fina lly bm u g bt
its g r een bea d low .
In a m o m ent m ore he w ou ld h a ve ha d it firm ly

fa stened like the o thers and the tent wo u ld h a ve
,
been c o m p le te B u t j u st a s he w a s exer ting a ll his

.
strength to keep it do w n T u n bel a rr iv ed on tbc scen e .
He had been a way chasing a chip m u nk to its

ho le bu t n o w re turned wi th a joy ou s bark And
, .
Pe ter fearing that he m ight get in the w a y tried to

, ,
kick him to one side B u t a las ! it w a s a fa tefu l

.
m ove For a s P eter lifted on e stou t fb ot from tbc

.
g r ou n d tbc tr ee sp ra n g u p w a r d a n d fl
u ng bim , fa r an d
btgb, b
ev en a cr oss t c r iv er I
Tr a ddles , w ho
ream ed in fright he a rd him
sc ,
sa y so m e thing a s he de scri bed an a r e in air Bu t .

,
a s be did n ot bn ow D u tcb he cou ld n o t understand

,
him . Then the wide scared ey e s of the little boy

,
behe ld Pe ter von Punk fly ing over the bro a d strea m
like a pe bble fro m a sling A few m o m ents only .
78
T he pi n p ang bac k a n d th
e s r r ew P eter hi gh i n a ir .
Through the interlaced branche s of the tree s
the sun se t sky glea m ed ro si ly Then it w a s du sk
. .
And a lthough the w ee la d did n o t know it tbc

, ,
Za n dbober w a s com ing up tbc bill .
N o w the Z a n dko ker is ju st the Sa ndm a n ca rr y

ing the du st of sleep in his gray ba g And a s .
Tr a ddy snuggled do w n on the balsam bough s that

Pe ter ha d cu t for a bed and thought sadly of ho m e ,
the Z a n dko ke r ca m e in very softly and w i th a sm i le

,
on his kind o ld fa ce shook so m e of the du st into

, ,
the dro w sy blue e y e s .
B u t ju st a s he w a s leaving the p lace takin g ,
care to m a ke n o noi se the da ch shund ca m e te a ring

,
through the tree s and da shed pe ll m e ll be tw ee n
the legs of the Z a n dko ker hi m se lf and tu m b led ,
him do w n the hi ll .
Head over hee ls and hee ls over he a d fe ll the

o ld gray dre a m m aker scattering his s leep du st and
-
,
-
p opp y seed s to the winds

- .
And eve ry body in the village of N ew York

S lep t we ll that night Beca u se a s w a s a fterward
.
,
sa id there w a s so m e thing p ar ticu lar ly soo thing in

,
the a ir . And a ll that season throu gh the river ban k

-
w a s c overed wi th the m o st re m arkab le gro w th o f

p oppie s tha t had ever been seen .
80
A FLYI N G D U TCHM A N
B u t Tu n k el, who wa s no re spe cte r of persons
,
did n o t w a i t to see w h a t he ha d done bu t d a shed

,
s t r a igh t in to the ten t a n d over to Tr a ddy s side

’
.
Then w i th a gla nce a t the w ee sleep flu shed fa ce

,
-
,
he dropped the large w ooden hand o f an O ld Du tch

clo ck upon the breast of the li ttle boy !
Then Tu n kel to o la y dow n to re st and p le a s
, ,
a n t dre a m s fee ling tha t his la bor s o f the da y h a d

,
been we ll done !
81
CHAPT ER E IG HT
RO B I N
UT whi le Tr a ddy with Tu n kel a t his

,
fee t w a s s leeping in the tent of pine s

, ,
Ro bin w a s w a ndering w eari ly over this

hi lls calling and cry ing his nam e
, .
For Ro bin s qu ic k o bservin g gla nce ha dcaugh t

’
,
s igh t of the li ttle lo st door in the w a ll a s he had
hu rried u p the step s a fter his tw o co m panions w hen

they so m y sterio u s ly di s appeared .
He had p u shed it open and gone through and ,
w a s a m azed to find hi m se lf in wh a t had evidently

been the ci ty of N ew York in the ear ly d a y s of the
,
Bri tish occupation sa y abou t 1 69 8 w hen a lam p

, ,
sw ung a t every seven th door and the r a ttle w a tch

,
-
”
patro lled the stree t pro c la i m ing : All s w e ll ’
.
H e ba d in som e wa y been tr a n sp or ted to tb e p a st .
He knew enough a bou t hi story to re a lize that su ch

w a s the case , and w i shed th a t he m ight linger
a m ong the stou t Du tch burgers and Bri tish so ldiers
82
BI N
long enough to under stand the life and condi tions
of that tim e a hu n dred y e a r s before the Revo lu tion
, .
B u t he fe lt th at his first du ty w a s to the chi ld

ren who had been in his care .
After he had found the m he wou ld gladly re

tu rn if he m igh t to the co u n tr y of Ye sterday
, , .
H e had been searching a ll da y altho u gh he

,
lo st cou nt of ti m e when he stopped to rep a ir a

curiou s ta lkative old clocb that he h a d found ly i n g
, ,
bro ken by the r oad side .
The Clock w a s ly ing o n his fa t back n o t ab le ,
a t fir st to tick his t h a nks to R o bi n ,who stopped

a t his fain t ca ll for he lp The boy sa w that so m e
.
thi n g w a s wrong and af ter inve stigating went to

, , ,
w ork to gather u p the scattered m achinery He .
found so m e difficu lty in rep lacin g it howev er be

, ,
cau se every ti m e he lifted his h a nd to w ard him the

clock wou ld cringe and wriggle in the m o st un ac
co un tab le m an ner .B u t R obin fin a lly g o t the part s
together and the whee ls running correctly and then
p oked h is finger in t o give th e p endu lu m a sw ing .
D d don t ! stu ttered the c lock dodgin g

’
- -
, .
”
D d don t y ou see ? I m tic tic ticklish
’ ’
- - - - .
The boy flun g back his head and laughed u p

r o a r io u sly
, bu t the clock gave only a ruefu l grin .
83
”
S o m ething s the m atter w i th m he said
’
e, .
”
I fee l so queer inside .
”
I ve g ot y o u r w orks in a ll right said Ro bin
’
, ,
who fe lt rather p roud o f his m echanical a bi lity .
”
Here perhap s I d better he lp y o u u p and he
, ,
’
,
assisted the clock to ri se .
”
What s beco m e o f y our other hand ? he in
’
quired suddenly aware that one w a s m i ssing a s

, ,
the ti m epiece le a ned feeb ly again st a tree .
”
I do nt kno w
- - he ticked faintly
, , .
”
O h brace up y ou re a ll righ t said Ro bin
, ,
’
, .
B u t the clock rubbed his rem a ining hand over his

face a n d m ur m ured :
I m n o t m y se lf
’ - I feel strange .
”
Tr y m oving a li ttle said R obin kin dly He , , .
w a n t ed to hurry away hi m se lf bu t did n o t like to ,
lea ve the clock unti l he w a s fee ling in a m ore

C he er fu l m ood A n d then ca m e the great su rprise
. .
The clock started then stop p ed a n d star ted a gain

, .
What s the m atter ? asked the boy no ticing

’
,
the strange actions of his co m p an ion .
”
Ma t ter ? don t y o u see ?
- de m anded the
’
“
clock I m r u n ning face fore m o st a n d righ t a
’
-
.
head .
”
That s the w a y to run i sn t it ?
’
Robi n ,
’
84
th ought that w a s the m ost a bsurd co m p laint he
ha d ever he a rd And then the clock to ld him ho w
.
he ha d b een run n ing ba ckward since the cro ss

ey ed left handed m a n ha d fixed h im
,
- tw o hundred ,
y e a r s b e for e .
Well y ou ll be m or e u sefu l now a n y w a y

,
’
, ,
R obin declared a s he said good by B u t the clock

,
-
.
tick ed tar tly
More u se fu l B u t n o t so in ter est ing

- - .
- - .
”
Good by again said Ro bin leavi n g him
-
, , , .
B u t he had only gone a li ttle w a y when the c lock

ca lled to him
Sa y if y ou co m e a cro ss a dog a long lo w
,
-
, , ,
—
t a ki sh dog cbobe bim
,
— —
for m e c hoke him cbobe
bim I
Heicked the se w ords furiou sly
t .
“ “
Goodne ss ! la Ug hed Robin I hope I haven t .
’
changed y our di spo sitio n wi th y our works !

“ ”
I have m y r ea sons w hirred the c lock
-
, ,
angrily —
Tba t br u te bu st cd m e br obe m e up r u n
- -
m e dow n —up set —sm a sb ed m eI

-
He r a n on in gre a t rage And R obin .
wondered w hy whe n the accident had been the

,
m ean s of se tting him righ t he m ad e such a fu ss ,
about it .
35
Bu t he ju st wave d his hand and called to him
”
to : Cheer u p a n d forget it and strode off ve r y ,
hurriedly through the woods .
H is hear t w a s light for he fe lt that so m ewhere

near by he shou ld co m e across Patricia and
Tr a ddy . He w hi stled and called and sa n g a s he
w a lked on steadi ly .
B u t now that the m oon w a s m aking a path o f

glory over the water s and the hi lls were a s light a s
da y R obin w ho had kep t up through th e long
, , ,
a n xiou s hour s of his search w i th n o thought o f

,
rest su ddenly began to fe el drowsy

, .
“
There s so m e thing in thi s a ir that m ake s a
’
” “
fe llow w ant to sle ep he y awned , I wonder .
w hat it is ?
The Z a n dko ker m ight have to ld him had he ,
been there how he had fa llen and spi lled the stuff
‘
of dream s B u t Robin sniffed the air un a nswered

. .
“ ”
I be lieve I ll doze a little whi le a ny way he
’
, ,
said, to hi m self B u t ju st a s he w a s abou t to

.
stre tch o u t on the dew y b ank an objec t on the
gr a ss c a ught his atten tion .
A little round O bject revea led quite c lear ly by

,
the ligh t of the m oon .
I t w a s Tr a ddy d cap I
’
s re
86
”
Where did y o u g e t th t a f u nny say ing ? he
Fro m the Backw a rd C lock da t brough t m e

”
to the la nd of Ye sterday answ ered Tr a ddy
, .
A n d then they h a d a grea t deal to sa y to each

other a bout th a t curiou s ti m ekeeper and their
jo u rne y.
”
B u t w hat s thi s ? a sked Ro bin lifting so m e
’
,
“
thing fro m Tr a ddles brea st We ll I dec lare if
’
.
, ,
it i sn t the m i ssing hand of y our tickli sh friend

’
.
”
You m u st keep thi s unti l y o u m eet him ag ain .
And Tr a ddles prom i sed that he would whi le ,
they b oth wondered how it had g o t ther e .
B u t a s the y were talking abou t it Tr a ddy fe ll

, ,
asle ep again and R obin puttin g the c lock s h and

, ,
’
in his poc ket lifted the little bo y gently in his a rm s

,
and carried him o u t of the tent of pines to the bank

of the river .
“
I t w i ll be be st to be in p lain view in c a se
”
Patty co m e s along he re a soned , .
S o he sa t down and g a zed o u t over the strea m

n o w di m ly g li m m ering in the fir st daw n and drew ,
th e cur ly head o f the dre a m ing c hi ld into a m ore
com for table p osition on h is shou lder .
“ ”
I a m glad he sleep s he m urm u red to him
,
88
se lf
. It give s m e a better chance to t hink thing s
o ver .
But carce ly ha d he settled dow n to w ait for

s
da y w h en he w a s startled by the sound of m a rch

,
ing feet com ing righ t tow a rd th em .
Tu n k el also h eard the s o u nd H e sa t u p and

.
s howed h is tee th bu t did n o t gro w l

, .
“
There s so m e kind of danger near w a s
’
,
R obin s though t a s he ob serv ed the dog s stealthy

’
,
’
w a tchfu lne ss and he ro se to his fee t ho lding Trad

, ,
against his shoulder .
89
CHAPT ER N I NE
TH E P I R AT E S
T w a s n o w da y and the half dozen m en

, ,
who rapidly approac hed the p lace where

R obin stood w ere p la inly vi si ble
, .
They w ere a strange looking c om

p a ny The leader a ta ll b lack brow ed m a n w o re
.
,
-
,
the red coat of a Bri ti sh officer B u t he did n ot.
have the bearing of a soldier The o th ers w ere in .
m o tley garb th a t m igh t have been gathered a t

.
random from the o u t poured sea che sts For som e

- .
w ere in sai lors j a cke ts their knee breeche s joined

’
-
,
by la ced leggins and som e were in loo se o p en

th roa ted blou se s wi th g a i ly —
, ,
bra ided bo lero s a n d

w ide ga ther ed trou sers ; b u t a ll w ore bri llian t-c o l
-
ored sa she s a bout their w a i sts and handkerchiefs ,
kno d a b out their he a ds und er th eir bro a d bri m s

tt e
,
- .
R o bin sa w a t a gla nce that the se sa she s were

, ,
n o t for ornam en t a lone E ach bri stled wi th the

.
hi lts o f blade s
. B u t w h a t surpri sed him m o st w a s
9 0
TH E PI RA T ES
t o see t hat pick e and spade s w ere a p a rt of the
-a x s
a r m am ent of the party .
”
I ll bet tbey a r e p ir a tes he whi sp ered to h im
’
,
“
s e lf. A n d tba t tbey ba v e been on sbor e to bu ry
t r ea su r e I
How far right he w a s in his suppo si tion he

c o u ld n o t know B u t the though t m ade him wi sh
.
t ha t he had slipped o u t of sigh t int o the tent of
p ine s w ith Tra ddy .
They had n ot a s y et di scovered him O f th a t .
he w a s sure M a y be he cou ld y et dodge be hind

.
th e tree s and re m ain unob serv ed .
B u t no A sharp exc lam a tion to ld him that he

.
a n d his li ttle charge ha d been seen and a t a h u r , ,
ried word fro m the m a n in co m m and tw o ugly ,
loo k ing fe llow s cam e thre a tening ly tow ard him up

the knoll .
What they wo u ld have done w hen they reac hed

h im R o bin never kn ew For ju st then Tu n kel
.
dashed under the fe et of the o n co m ers and sen t

tbem bu r tling dow n tbc in clin e to the edge of the
w ater . Then he p u rsu ed his innocent chase after

the m u sk r a t that had att rac ted his attention .
This sim p le accident w a s the cau se of so m e

de lay for the re st of the com pan y ran after the
,
9 1
dog angri ly until the leader p ressed for tim e , ,
sharp ly recalled the m .
”
The da y is here he m uttered ,We shall .
have no m om ent to sp a re Take tho se children to .
”
the ship . I shall deal w ith the m la ter .
R obin fe lt inclined to r u b his ey e s I t seem ed .
like an ab surd dream B u t there the y were wit h

.
tho se fierce looki n g m en surro u nding the m

- .
He sa w that a sm all boa t w a s grinding a t the

river s brim and that a great hu ll w ith high poo p
’
, ,
and w a i ting sai ls w a s anc hored am idstream

, .
“ ”
Com e the cap tain sa id to R obin with a
, ,
quick significant jerk of his thu m b toward the

,
water And R o bin realizing the fooli shne ss of r e

.
,
sis ta n c e walked quie tly dow n the bank wi th his

,
dear burden in his ar m s and stepped w ith him i n to,
the sm all b oat that w a s a lready m an ned by the li ttle
com p a ny .
R o bin took his p lace in the ho w certain that ,
t hi s w a s really b u t the beginning o f th e adventure .
S w iftly and w ith m uff led oar s the row ers sent
, ,
the boat along O nly the soft bre a th of th e sleep

.
ing bo y and the touch of his warm pink check

ag a inst his breast m a de him aw are that he wa s n ot
dre a m ing .
9 2
TH E PI RA T ES
”
I awake
right he decided a s hea ll
’
m , , ,
drag ged Tr a ddles to a m ore com fortab le p o si tio n

“
o n his la p And I ve g o t to keep m y ey e s ope n ’
.
t o wat ch tho se f ellow s N o te lling w hat they in .
t end to do They re pirate s That s a cinch ! B y

’ ’
. .
G eorge ! there s that dog ! A n d be s g ot Tr a d s ca p

’ ’ ’
”
in bis m ou t b .
S u re enough here w a s Tu n kel tre a ding the

, t
w ater wi th his shor t fore leg s and tr y ing to reach

t h e boat The li ttle scarlet cap w a s in his teeth
. .
R o bin star ted to whi stle b u t stopped j u st in ,
t im e
. The m en m u st n o t hear him or if he cou ld , ,
h e lp it see the dog

, B u t he m ade a m otion wi th
.
h is hand and winked and sm i led

, And thu s en .
,
c o u ra g ed the li ttle brown chap sw a m

, up unti l
R o bin cou ld reach him .
I t required som e strength and skill to li ft him

in by the s cruff o f his neck wi thou t attrac ting a t ,
t e ntion b u t it w a s done
, .
”
Good boy whi spered R obin a s he took the
, ,
c a p fro m the dog s dripping jaw s and gave him a

’
”
fr iend ly p a t N ow la y lo w
.
, .
The sm all boat reached and no sed the side of

t h e large sailing ve sse l .
He ro se unsteadi ly to his fee t in obedience to

93
a com m and to go Up the ladder sw ingi n g a t the
side. Then wi th Tr a ddy hun g like a sack over his
,
shou lder he m anaged t o afe l h loop ’

, g et s y to t e s s
deck .
I wonder what m ake s Trad sleep so ? he

s aid to hi m se lf n o t kn ow ing
, of course the p art
, ,
the Z a n dk o k er s r em a rka b le accident ha d to do

'
wi th it ; bu t I m thankfu l that it is so becau se he

’
,
m igh t be frigh tened a t a ll this the p o o r li ttle

,
chap !
R obin thought ruefu lly of the dog He co u ld .
n o t he lp the fai thfu l f ellow when he left the r o w
boat a n d he feared that the grim vi saged m en

,
-
wou ld m a ke short w ork of him when he wa s dis

covered .
B u t once the y w ere s afe o n board Tu n kel ,
cam e wrigg ling joy fully over the deck a t the pro per
m o m ent to send a sai lor head long down the c o m
—
panion w a y !
R obin took refuge behind a fa t water c a s k ,
while the entire crew w hich he now sa w n u m bered

,
a bou t fif ty m en gave chase to t he li ttle D u tch dog

, .
B u t Tu n kel did n o t m ind it O n account o f

.
his peculiar shape he w a s ab le to crawl under ex

trem ely lo w thing s and ju st now qui te o u t o f the
, ,
94
up the Z a n dko ker him se lf and scattered his dream
, ,
du st to the air .
B u t n o w Ro bin w a s thankfu l that Tra ddles

w a s n ot aware o f w hat w a s going on around him ,
and he fo lded his coat for a pillow fo r the bright

head and drew him further back in the she lter o f
,
the cask .
I t w a s indeed a strange adve n tu re

, , B u t he .
had n o doubt that it w a s a part o f the histo ry which

he had in som e w a y gone back to And he fe lt
, , .
certain that the b lack browed m a n now talking

-
,
earne stly and in low tones to a group o f sea

ruffians w a s s om e one who had c laim ed the atte n
,
tion and perhap s the fear of the wor ld fro m a bou t

, ,
1690 to the end of the ce n tu r y .
“
Wbc wa s be ? ”
He asked the que stion o f him se lf again and

again a s he gaz ed a t the group am idship s .
V ba wa s be ?
He w a s to receive an an swer to his questioning
soon and in a startling w a y
, .
S o far the cap tain and his m en had paid n o

further attention to their little pri soners They .
had evidently m atters of m ore i m portance o n

, ,
hand S o R obin w a s a t li berty to watch them

.
9 6
TH E PI RAT ES
from his distance a n d to dra w su ch conclu sions a s
he cho se H e tho u g ht the le a der m igh t be a n
.
E ng li shm an N ow and then he caught a word or

.
sentence in t hat fam i li a r tongue and twice he ,
h e a rd a m enti on o f the n a m e B ello m o n t a fa ct ,
w hich streng thened his opinion t hat he w a s in the

N ew York o f that early period a t the c lo se of the,
17th centu r y when Lord B ello m o n t w a s gov erno r

, .
The re st were rascals of another com p lexion ,
s o m e we a ring woo len sm a ll c lot he s and b rig ht
s a s he s and o ther s st ripped t o t he wai st bu t w ear

, ,
ing hoops o f gold in their e a rs and di sp lay ing ta t

to o e d sku lls cro ss b o n e s and d a ggers o n th eir lean
,
-
,
bare arm s and shou ld ers .
The ca ptain re m a ined calm a n d spoke in a

low tense voice
, The others shri lled and j a b bered
.
ince ssa ntly with m any ge stu re s shrugging their ,
shou lders and snapping th e fingers of their crue l
looking hand s w hi le their tee th flashed thro u g h

,
their sn a rling lip s and under their overhanging

, ,
brow s their e y e s burned and sm ou ldered

, .
“
I s hou ld like to see little old Gra m ercy Park
”
and the bo y s ju st n o w m used R o bin R eed w ho
, ,
w a s an orphan and had no b od y m ore near or

dear to w i sh fo r .
97
—
S Sb I
”
Go bac k ! he w hispe red warn ingly
, ,
a s Tu n k el stu c k his head o u t fro m under th e s ea
chest w here he ha d been hiding a ll this tim e look

, ,
ing for a ll the world like a giant turtle p eering

from his she ll . Don t y o u co m e o u t now You ll
’
.
’
g e t in to t rou b le !
S o Tu n kel drew back o u t of sight B u t he
.
see m ed to reg a rd the who le m atter a s a jo k e for ,
R o bin knew by the tbu d tbu dding he heard t h at the

-
li ttle dog wa s finding room under the c he st in

which to m errily wa g his tail .
9 8
if y o u cou ld send u s as hore We don t belong .
’
here
I rem em ber interrupted the m a n who had n ot
, ,
p a id a n y a tten tion to t he last p ar t of the bo y s s peech ’

.
“
I did n ot w ant a n y to ngue s left to w a g a bout
o u r stay ashore . B u t n o w y o u are in the w a y We .
sha ll have b loody work w hen we ca tch the Sp aniard

”
n a pp ing in the Carribe a n S ea .
He stop ped although he had been speaking to

,
him self rather t ha n to the boy and now he nodded ,
to a n other a n d a n unspoken thought and a gain

, ,
glan ced a t Tra ddy rosy w ith his dre a m ing

, .
Robin did n o t like his look bu t he answ ered ,
b rave ly
“
If y ou ca n spare m e a sm all boat I ca n r o w to
the n eare st land m y se lf
B u t the m a n turned u p on him fiercely .
Send y o u free to bear the new s eh ? he ,
sneered . Give y o u a boat to ro w to la nd and te ll

the Du tchm en that Ca ptain K idd ha s been asho re
to b u ry t reasure
”
Captain K idd whispered Robin re peating
, ,
the n am e hoarse ly .
B u t the pir a te unheeding the gasping whisper

, ,
wen t on angrily
10 0
TH E C HA R T I N TH E LO C KE T
And m a y ha p y o u w i ll w a nt to ta ke a m essage
t o m y good friend B ello m o n t th a t the A dv en tu r e is
o n the t r a i l of a prize be low N om b re de Dio s — a
s hip load of Aztec go ld tha t he and his king o u r ,
pa r tner m igh t like a share in H o! H o ! there

, .
w ou ld be r a re tidings for the p iou s governor ! the

loy a l co m r a de w ho fea ring fo r h is neck is try ing to
, ,
send m e to t he ga llo w s !
He p a u sed C hoki n g w ith ra ge the n added

, ,
“
I h a ve a safer wa y than tha t for silence m a k-
in g. I w ill thro w y o u over boa rd !

H e m a de a m o tion a s though to p u t h is threat
into im m edi a te execu tion bu t R o bin sp ra ng b e
,
tw een h im and the sleeping chi ld his y oung ey e s

,
bla zing w ith fu ry .
”
Cow a rd and pira te he c ried
, S o y o u are
.
w h a t the hi storie s call y o u ! And a ll this tim e I ve

’
—
been sticking u p for y o u a n d sa y ing that y ou were
a b ra ve m a n ! N ice kind of a hero y o u are talk ,
”
in g abou t dro w ning a little ba by like Trad .
Ca ptain K idd stepped ba c k in sheer a stoni sh

m en t .
Wha t s tha t y o u sa y ? he dem anded

’
Who
.
a re y o u ? What is y our na m e ?
B u t before Ro bin cou ld answer a sai lor ran up
, ,
I O]
and whispered so m ething in the ca ptain s ca r w hich ’
,
c au sed him to turn a brup tly and give so m e lo w b u t
em pha tic orders to the crew tha t n o w crow ded the

deck .
A faint si lver fog w a s beginning to c ree p over

,
the wa ters and the sloop w a s a bou t to sai l

, .
Then cam e the creak and flu tter of canva s and ,
the soft pa tter of bare foo ted sai lor s running to and
fro a t the sharp com m ands of the ca ptain w ho stood

on the poop by the helm sm an s S ide ’
.
B u t there w a s no jo lly chanty a s the anchor

ro se to the rattle of the cha in through the c a pstan .
For the sa i lors of the galley A dv en tu r e w ere ,
n o t a ttrac ting a ttention in hone st sai lor f a shion a s ,
they sa i led aw a y fr om tbc H u dson sbor e in w bose

,
,
gr een s ba de bu t an bou r befb r e tbc da wn , tbey ba d

bu r ied tbr ee gr ea t cbests of tr ea su r e .
B u t there wa s di p a n d flurry a shudder a n d

a ,
buoy ant thri ll a n d R obin knew tha t they were u nder

,
weigh And a s the ship f lew over the boi sterou s

.
sea like a p etrel before a storm he wa s left to his

,
reflec tion s .
He li fted his head a fter a w hi le to see a sai lor

a pproaching him from the fore ca stle .
H is E ng li sh wa s broken a s he spoke g ruffly to

10 2
TH E C HAR T I N TH E LO C KE T
R obin , an d R obin w a nted to b r ea k his hea d B u t .
he left a plate of sea biscuit a n d a w a ter ca n w i th

- -
the bo y s and w en t a w ay .
”
Thi s is better m urm ured Ro bin in g r u dg
, ,
ing thanks And he so ftly w et Tra ddy s lips fo r c

.
’
,
ing him to drink a little w ater in his drow sy sm i lin g, ,
u nc ons c io u sne ss before he s e ttled do w n to ea t a b it

,
of brea d hi m se lf
, .
Then the rem em brance of a fa ce w i th a di m p led

sm i le flo a ted acro ss his m ind .
“ ”
Patty he m urm ured
, cheer up li ttle g i r l
, , ,
”
it s co m ing ou t a ll right so m e w a y
’
.
Along in the late a fternoon a thi c k fog vei led

the w ater s and the w ind ro se to a ga le R o bin .
c ou ld on ly di m ly see the for m s o f the sa i lor s a s they
da rted here and there a n d every w here a bo u t the

—
de c ks c li m bing the m a sts in o bedience to the ba w led
orders of the S kipper w ho se voi ce cou ld on ly be
,
fa intly he a rd a bove the shrieking bla sts to a dju st ,
s o m e refr a c tory bit o f c a nv a s th a t w ou ld n o t y i eld to
the rope s .
Then the ship bega n to cli m b one w a v e on ly to

dip sh a rp ly do w n into a no the r A n d Ro bin su d
.
den ly la i d do w n on the dec k be sid e Tr a ddles a n d

a ve up a ll des ire to see h is ho m e o r fr ien ds a g a in
g ,
IO
3
or to re scue Pa tricia Lee He w a s seasick And
. .
wi th the p r a y er that Tr a ddy m ight sleep unti l the

stor m w a s o v er he thre w one pro tec ting a r m acro s s
the li ttle fe llow and persona lly a bandoned ho p e

, , , .
How long he staid there he co u ld n o t te ll He .
m u st have fa llen asleep w i th the wave s d a shing over
him fro m ti m e to ti m e For w hen the rude hand of

.
the c a p tain fe ll on his shou lder it w a s pi tch d a rk
and he w a s dripping w et .
”
Get U p a n d go be low wi th the chi ld s a id the ,
pirate curtly turning his lantern so that the light

,
fe ll o n the chi ldren s fa ce s

’
This is a w i ld night
.
a n d there m a y be a figh t in it B u t no one shall s a y

.
th a t I m a de w a r on babe s G et u p !
.
He touched Tr a ddles wi th his boo t bu t a s ,
Robin sp r a ng U p to interpo se in ca se the p ir a te

shou ld a fter a ll try to h a r m the li ttle cha p Tr a ddy
, , ,
o p ened his e y e s a n d there in the la n tern light sm i led

fu ll into the be a rded fa ce th a t scow led a bove him .
H e ha d enco u n tered to o m a ny stra nge a dven

ture s since the Backw a rd c lock had led him to the
la nd o f Ye sterd a y to be su rpri sed a t the dark a n d ,
the sound of the wind and r a in a n d the fierc e r ed ,
b a nd a ged head o f C a p ta in K idd .
”
H ello da r he c a lled in his che ery friendly
, ,
10 4
He took the m to his o wn c a bin in the m idd le
o f the S hip . Robin sa w a s he laid the boy do w n o n
the bed a great nu m ber of firearm s d a gger s cu t , ,
lasse s and sword s c lam ped Up on the w all oppo si te

the ber th . Hasti ly se lecting so m e pisto ls fro m the
lot and thru sting a curved b lade into his sa sh Cap ,
tain K idd turned to leave .
B u t he p au sed and looked back long a t Tr a ddy

a s he reached the door .
Tu n kel gro w led u n heard in the rio t of w inds

, ,
a s the ta ll form of the cap tain p a ssed w here he la y .
B u t the m a n with the S pu m e of the sea in his fa ce

leaned on the taffrai l a n d gaz ed with u nseeing ey e s
o u t over the raging waters and u p to the b lack and
s tor m y sky .
My bo y wou ld have been like him if he had

”
lived he whi sp ered to hi m se lf And a sai lor ju st
, .
,
then p assing scarce ly knew the face under the la n

,
te m
’
s g lea m For
. so m e t hing had w a shed the anger
fro m the p irate s ey e s

’
.
10 6
CHAPTER E L E V EN
PATT Y A N D TH E P RI NC E
ATTY w a s P a tty , even in that wonder

fu l ga rden like fore st
- .
S o she looked a t the y oung prince

“
wi th her di m p ling sm i le and sa id I m ,
’
”
p lea s ed to m ee t y o u
, s h l
y y adding a s sh e s a w
To n a tiu h w a s nowhere in sight
—
I I don t know ju st ho w I h a p pened to co m e
’
h e re . I asked the su n go d to send m e ho m e Wi ll .
y o u p lea se te ll m e how to g e t back to N ew York

q uick ly ? I a m in a ve r y grea t hur r y .
’
“
New York qui c kly ? he repeated shaking his ,
“ ‘ ”
head . I don t know w hat New York quickly is
’ ’
.
New York Ju st N ew York The ci ty The

. . .
rea te s t— I m e a n — a lm o s t th e grea te s t ci t in t he
g y
wor ld
B u t sti ll he looked troub led .
S ure ly y o u know S he tre m b led between

lau gh ter and tears a s he aga in shook his head .
I o7
”
Th a t is a strange thing he said ! though t , .
”
the Hidden Ci ty w a s the greate st in the w orld .
Wh a t is the Hidden City ? asked P atricia ’

,
lookin g a t the m ounta ins w hich ro se range U pon ,
range unti l they b lended w ith the purp le co lor o f

,
the sky and then allow ing her glance to dri ft bac k
,
to the h a nd so m e bronzed face o f the bo y be side her .
S he ha d certain ly never heard o f the Hidden

City a n y m ore than he ha d heard of N ew York .
B u t he an swered r a ther so le m n ly that it w a s

, ,
the Ci ty of the S un situa ted deep in the heart of the
For go tten Mountain s And that in it lived secure

.
a t la st fro m the S paniard s a ll that were left of the,
vani shed Aztec peop le .
Sit do w n here and te ll m e a bou t it said the ,
li ttle gir l throwing off her ha t and sitting dow n

,
upon the green and flowering grass And w ith a .
laugh the bo y sa t a t he r fee t s a y ing : ,
YOU co m m and a n d I obey That is new to .
”
Montezu m a .
—
Don t y o u don t y o u like it ? she que stioned
’ ’
,
her ey e s fi lling .
”
Yes o h y es I do
, he answ ered a n d that is
, , ,
the stran ge part of it !
A ll right then said Pa tricia sm iling through

, , ,
I OS
a nd c a m e do w n from Mexico to Central Am erica .
I t w a s n o t kno w n that we e scaped I t wa s suppo sed

.
th a t a ll w ere ki lled bu t I wi th a hundred fo llo w ers

, , ,
w a s led by a prie st through a secre t passage w a y

tha t reached fro m the a ltar of the Tem p le of the
S un under the m ounta ins to the sea I bu t w hy .
do y o u look a t m e so strangely ?
Pa tricia w i th c heck like a white rose wa s
, ,
sta ring a t him wi th w ide a n d frigh tened ey e s .
‘
I t w a s bu n dr eds an d b u n dr eds of y ea rs a go ,
she g a sped tba t C or tez
, con qu er ed Mex ico . Daddy
”
to ld m e a bou t it ju st the other da y .
”
Yes he re sponded coo lly
, I wa s fou rteen
, ,
”
y e a r s o ld .I re m e m ber t he terrib le ti m e very we ll .
”
How o ld are y o u now ? she whi spered ,
tre m b ling and edging a way fr om him .
W hy he an swered picking a little flo w er

”
, ,
“
from the gra ss and to ssing it into her la p I a m ,
”
sti ll fou rt een I h a ve never grown a n y o lder
. .
Then seeing her frightened and un be lieving face

, ,
he c ontinued
“
Fa ther S ahagun w ho loved the E m peror m y
, ,
father saved m e from the S pani a rd s and a s I have

, ,
to ld y o u brough t m e in to the Forgo tten Moun tains

,
with a few o f m y peop le w ho ha d e scaped the

1 10
PATTY AN D TH E P RI N C E
sw o r d He w a s an o ld m a n and ve r y w ise H e
. .
knew the sec rets of the tem p le a n d read the stars .
B u t he had been w o u nded in the la st grea t battle

th a t t he Aztec s fo u gh t and w hen w e had m ade the
,
voy age in canoe s to N o m bre de Dio s
No m b re de Dio s Pa tty w hispered after him ,
try n to think w here she ha dheard tha t na m e be fore .
”
Tha t s w here w e landed he rep lied and then
’
, ,
went on
Fa ther Sa hagu n w a s very nea r his death b u t , ,
a s he la y w i th h is gray head on m y knee nearing the ,
port he w hi spered for m e to carr y him a shore to a

,
p lace where he shou ld direct .
We bore him on a litter ba c k into the hi lls ,
m any arro w s length s fro m shore And there he sen t

’
.
th e servants a w a y a n d beckoned to m e to lift him in
m y a rm s a n d carry h im a short w a y further on .
Wondering I o bey ed fo r I a m strong A n d

, , .
in a few p a ces I w a s beside a S pring tha t lea ped in

cry stal light fro m the p u rp le rock .
O n ce beside this spring he m ade a cu p fro m

his hand a n d m a de m e drink The w a ter w a s b itter
.
,
and I turned aw ay b u t a gain he held it to m y

,
lip s and m arked m y brow w ith the em blem of

”
the Su n .
I l l
TH E S T E P S TO NOW H ERE
He opped bu t Patricia looked a t him inquir
st ,
in g ly . What w a s it ? S he a sked .
”
I t w a s the Fountain o f Youth he rep lied , ,
and I sha ll alw a y s be y oung .
I ve hea rd a bout that Fountain said the little

’
,
girl. B u t I didn t be lieve it w a s true

’
Did the .
priest g et w ell?
”
He w ould n o t drink Montezum a a nsw ered , ,
‘
even w hen I pressed the w a ter to his lip s The .
g od s ca ll m e he sa id
, and
’
died ,Alone I m ade h.is
gra ve beside the spring of eterna l life Alone I m ade .
m y w a y back through th e w i ld pa th to w here m y
com pany w a ited fo r m e .
Pa tricia drew a long brea th .
”
That s the funniest story I ever heard she
’
,
said a lthough
, funny w a s n o t th e w ord she wanted
to u se a t a ll But.
— she ga ve a glan c e a t his fa ce ,
w i th its velvet da rk ey e s a n d c heck s like the red of

the s u n se y o u look ju st like a co m m on bo y I .
”
kno w a boy of fo u rteen H is na m e is Ro bin . .
”
Are y o u his sw eetheart ? a sked the prin ce ,
jea lou sly .
Patty b lushed and hung her head .
”
No S he pouted o f course n o t I m only a
, , .
’
”
little gir l .
For goodness sa ke she cried look a t that
’
, ,
m onkey ! H e s g o t it on !
’
S ure eno u gh on a lo w lim b direc tly over the

,
bank w a s perc hed a saucy looking a pe w it h P a t

,
-
r ic ia s cherr y trim m ed ha t ti lted jaunti ly over his

’
-
ey e brow s .
“
I ll send an arro w a fter it for y o u cried the
’
,
boy reaching for the quiver that hu n g over his

,
shou lder and m aking ready to fit a dart to his s hin

,
in g ho w ; bu t the little girl laughi n g a t the a ntics ,
of the ape shook her head

, .
Don t shoot that poor little fello w S he c ried

’
, .
L et him have the o ld ha t a n y way I don t w an t ’

, .
And it wa s j u st a s w ell she did n o t for the ,
m o n key ran up a tree and hurled cocoanu ts a t them ,
chattering wi th anger .
This w ill be prettier a n y way said the bo y , , ,
and he ga thered a fr agrant w hite blo ssom and

p la ced it in her hair Then they turned back a g ai n
.
to the water where a s he had to ld her a canoe

, , ,
waited .
1 14
CHAPTER TWE LV E
A ST R A N G E ST O RY
H E go lden boat S hot o u t from the ru shes

and stopped beside a large flat stone .
I t wa s m anned by two Indians dre ssed

in short garm ents of skins and a s the, ,
c anoe touched they spra ng a shore and pro strated

,
t hem se lve s a t the feet of the prince . He spoke to

t hem in a tongue Pa tricia cou ld n o t under stand ,
a n d they ro se and w i th m any dra m atic ge stu re s ,
m ade their rep lie s .
S om etim es they pointed over the w aters som e ,
t i m e s they he ld their hand s over their ey e s w i th the
g e st ure u sed by w at cher s on a hi lltop .B u t w ha t

,
ever they said o r did the princ e li stened eagerly

, .
A t la st the li ttle gir l s curiosi ty g o t the be tte r

’
o f her po li tene ss .
What are they talki n g about ? s he dem a nded ,
a b ruptly .
”
I told y o u y o u know he answered slow ly
, , ,
1 1 5
c hoo sing his word s to m ake the m atter quite p la i n
to her , that m y ci ty is hidde n in the se bills en
t i t ely aw ay fr o m the re st of the world N o p a le .
face bu t y ourself knows of our existence B u t w e .
are a lwa y s on the lookou t for the Span iards D a y .
and nigh t m y sentine ls are on the hills and m y ,
hera lds run forever between the ci ty and the sea .
These scou ts tell m e that pirates are on the wa ters ,
northward They m a y land on our shores M u rko

. .
,
the r u n ner w ill be a t m y fee t by the ti m e the su n

,
again reaches high heaven We shall know from

.
afar off by the co lor of his m antle w he ther his

, ,
”
new s be good or evi l .
I t wa s p lain to be seen that the prince and his

peop le w ere sti ll terrib ly afraid of S pain I t seem ed .
ve r y a bs urd to Patricia .
Why she exclaim ed

”
, S pain wou ldn t hurt
,
’
y o. u I
’
t s differen t n o w. The S pani s h peop le hav e
the ni c est boy in the world for a king and he s g o t

’
,
an E nglish w ife and the sw eetest ba bies !

B u t he shook his head .
”
We re m em ber the conquest he said sim p ly
, , .
”
And we still have trea sure S tep into the canoe !
.
The Indians S prang into the water and held the

little boat steadily in their hands a s she stepp ed in
I I6
teach m y grandchildren to sa y the Lord s Pray er and ’
”
the Tw enty third Psalm
- .
S he folded her little hands in her la p and

looked a t him sweetly .
”
That is nice he said politely
, B u t I do .
n o t know w ha t y o u m ean Will y o u tell m e a bou t

.
y our s e lf and y our ci ty tha t y o u ca ll N ew York

q uick ly ?
”
S he laughed . New York S he said n ot , ,
New York qu icbly I t s w here I live w hen I m a t

’ ’
- .
” ”
hom e . S he q u ivered over the w ord hom e bu t ,
recovered and added b rightly :
What y o u have told m e is alm o st too stran ge

to be lieve .B u t I have been through so m any a d
venture s since I started u p the Steps to Now here
that n o thing seem s so terri bly queer
’
.
S he dipped her hand in the foam ing ripp ling ,
w aters a n d told him b rief ly abou t her own experi

,
en ces .
”
So y o u see , aid in concluding her a c
she s ,
count a s the li ttle boat sw iftly cu t the wave s I have

, ,
u ed hing and do n t m ind em so m uch

’ ’
g o t s to t s n o w .
B u t I w i sh I could find Tr a ddles ! D a ddy expects

m e to ta ke care of h im Dear Daddy w hat if he
.
,
k n e w that we were so far away fro m Gram ercy Park !

I I 8
A S TRA NG E S TORY
O h look, ou t !
Those Indians have grabbed
the b oat and they are running u s straig h t into the
,
”
bank !
S he started forward in m uch alar m a s the ,
sw i m m ers who ha d been following the boat a s

,
brow n oak leaves drift Upon a current suddenly ,
seized ho ld a t ho w and ste m and headed for a cliff,
that ro se a bruptly fr om the w aters .
“ ”
Look o u t she cried again B u t the boy
, .
sm i led reass u r ingly .
”
Thi s is where we dip under the hills he said , .
The passage through the rocks is hidden B u t the .
”
guides kno w how to find it .
S he sa w the water gleam upon their bronz e

shou lders fo r a m o m ent a s they sped on to what
looked like de struction .
Then an ope n i n g in the g rim ro c k becam e

vi s ib le and in a m om ent the li ttle bark w a s carried
,
through the c left into what appeared to be a w hirl

poo l The y e llow w a ve s surged and foam ed into
.
ra pid s bu t the I ndians guided the canoe safe ly

,
through them Then the two sp rang lightly into

.
the boat and taking the p add le fr o m the p rince

, , ,
poled s ilently their b ronz e figures straight a s spears

,
and dripping wi th the w aters .
1 1 9
”
They are nice Indians o bserved the little ,
”
girl gratefu lly
, Can they speak E nglish ?
.
”
No he rep lied none of m y peop le speak in
, ,
o ther languages excep t the so ldiers and couriers

, ,
”
who speak S panish .
”
H o w did y o u learn ? she inquired You .
”
s peak ju st a s w e ll a s any body .
That wa s a part o f the m agic of the sprin g ,
he answered When I drank of its waters I fo u nd

.
”
m y self ab le to speak a ll tongue s .
W ithou t study ing ? she dem a nded .
”
O h y es , .
Patricia gave considerable thought to his a n

swer and then re m em bering the lesson s before her
,
in schoo l said
“
I don t know bu t wha t if we cou ld find it I
’
, ,
shou ld like to take ju st a teen tsie drink fro m tha t
s pring af ter a ll
, Ju st enough to g et Germ a n a n d
.
”
French .
He la ughed and then added seriou sly

We shall sear c h for the spr in g y o u and I , .
A n d w hen w e have found it

“ ” “
O h she cried w hat are w e going to do n ow ?
, ,
Her a ttention had been attra cted by the m o ve

m en t on the par t of the guide s w ho had each taken a ,
1 2°
CHAPT ER THI R T EEN
TH E H I DD E N C I T Y
opened her ey es a n d found

A TRI C I A
herself ashore on a heap o f si lke n
cu shions surrounded by a group o f
girls no o lder than herself who wer e ,
gently rubbi n g her han ds and coo ling the a ir abou t

her w ith fa n s of fragran t fea thers .
A s she s a t up they dar ted sm i lingly a w ay a n d ,
the prince cam e forward .
What w a s the m atter ? he asked anxiously .
”
Were y o u frigh tened by the da rkness ?
”
No she a n sw ered springing to her feet I
, ,
wa s ju st glad!
“ ”
Glad ? He cou ld n o t understand why o n e
S hou ld faint fro m gladne ss W hy ? he q u e s
.
tio n ed .
“ ”
Becau se , she said , hi s
t is P a n a m a . And
so m e w here n ea r ber e is m y own dear , blessed soldier '
fat b er I
122
TH E HI DD EN CITY
I am n ot afra id o f a ny t bing a ny m or e I S he
l
c as ped her ha nds and lifted her head ; her ey e s
s parkled happi ly .
What nice c hildren 1 she exc lai m ed loo king ,
a fter the m . Plea se te ll the m to co m e back and

l
p ya wi th m e .
He beckoned to the girls They ran u p laugh .
in g ly and w ere soon on the be st of term s with the

,
s trang er ,who wa s ad m iring their costu m e s of

white coa rsely woven bu t lu stro u s co tton quite a s
, , ,
m uch a s the y were w ondering a t her ju m per of b lue
ser ge .
They ha d so ft shy m anners and care ssing

,
tone s . And soon Patricia went with them to the

p leasure fie ld s where beau ti fu l bronze y ouths and
m aiden s w ere p lay ing variou s gra cefu l ga m e s a n d ,
c hildren w ere racing white long ha ired sheep that

-
,
jingled tunefu l be lls on their go lden headpiece s a s

they tro tted u p and down .
The o lder p lay ers m ade a pla ce for Patricia ,
a n d S he en tered into the spiri t of the gam e s wi th
s u c h z e st tha t she w a s soon ab le to juggle w ith the
m any co lored ba lls of she ll and keep a dozen in the

-
,
a ir a t the sa m e ti m e ju st a s the Indian girls w ere

,
doing a ll around her .
1 2
3
It was a pretty sight The li the glancing y oun g
.
,
figure s the girls a ll in white and the boy s in sho r t

, ,
tu nic s of the m o st vi vid co lor s flitting like bird s
under the gli sten ing sphere s that they kep t in the
air by their agility .
Pa tricia stopped panting wi th the unu sua l exer

,
tion of the charm ing gam e and the prince w a lked ,
u p be side h e r .
”
O h thi s ha s been such fu n she said
, Wha t , .
a lovely lovely country I

,
S he glanced a bout her in delight .
The p lateau or ta ble land w hich co m p ri sed the ,
hidden principa lity blo sso m ed with a ll m anner o f

,
fm its and grain s Green arm ie s of giant corn

.
m a rched up the m oun tain s ; orchard s were pink a n d
white a n d go lden o n the hi lls S he cou ld see the .
o live groves the viney ards green and purp le a n d

, , ,
the far wild fore st line

, .
N earer her sight the garden s flouri shed The .
fa rm er s ti lled the fie ld s o n every hand There were .
people m o ving a bout in bu sy worka day fashion here ,
and there B u t still she turned to the co m panion

.
a n d said
This is a ve ry nice city indeed B u t I don t , .

’
”
see a n y h o u se s l
1 24
m o st strange They see m ed ve ry gentle however
.
, .
And they veiled their curio sity about her far m ore
po litely than she concea led her astoni shm ent a t the m .
The y showed the greatest re spec t a n d deference

to her co m panion a lthough a s it see m ed to her
, ,
“
then they ga ve the im pre ssion that the y w ere
, u sed
”
to h im .
That s beca use he ha s lived so lo n g I su ppo se

’
, ,
“
she m ur m ured to her se lf I don t be lieve tha t is ’
.
—
a good p lan to live forever !
He w a s la ughing boy ishly a t a lo t of fu nny little
w hi te donkey s tha t w ent fri sking by and she cried : ,
O h w hat da rlings
, I w i sh Tra ddy could see
.
”
them H e s alway s wanted a don key B u t he had
’
. .
turned to look a t a figure tha t w a s appro a ching and
only sm i led in answer .
”
Here co m e s o ld Ko lolo he said sighing , , .
S he used to be m y li ttle sw ee theart B u t n ow .
she s like a grand m o ther to m e Heigh ho it s a

’ ’
.
,
pity I lo st that spring ! S he w a s a s beau tifu l a s the

—
m orning and I loved her —
B u t n ow we ll she wi ll
.
,
t ake y o u to her hou se And so m e da y in the

.
m onth of ha r ve st w hen the su n reache s the ti m e

,
of shadow s y ou and she m a y start wi th m e on a

,
”
search fo r the fountain .
I 26
TH E HI DD E N CITY
He w a ved his h a nd to ward a figure that w a s
nearing them o n a gray donkey A figure th a t .
looked like a bunched gray c loud so bent and ,
stooped w a s it over the po m m e l of the s a ddle But .
th e prince ran over and gave his hand to the o ld
w om an w h o aligh ted an d after a w ord to him she

, ,
m oved softly and sw iftly over to the li ttle gir l .
What she said Pa tricia never kne w I t sounded .
li k e a m other song or lu lla by m e llow and tender ;

-
,
b u t the li ttle girl la id her tw o hand s in the palm s

that looked like brow n oak le a ve s and sa w that the
wea z ened face wa s fu ll of kindness .
So she pe rm itted herself to be lifted by a slave

to a donke y s back ; and after the prince had
’
,
s poken earne stly ag ain w i th the o ld lady sh e found ,
herse lf tro tting m erri ly upward to a hou se in the

c liff a t the door of w hich o ld K o lolo di sm ounted
,
a n d m o tioned for t he chi ld to do the sam e .
A curtain of m any co lored tissue w eighted with

-
m e ta l di sks hung a t the en trance and K o lo lo drew

,
t hi s a side a s she b ade Patricia enter .
I t w a s the fir st hou se tha t the little girl had seen

in the Az tec country And although she w a s later
.
to see m any fa r m ore g orgeou s and beau tifu l in ,
c luding the p alace of the p rince in the em erald

1 27
m ountain she wa s sure she shou ld never forge t thi s
,
one o r the kind brow n faced wo m an w ho w el

,
-
co m ed her .
K o lo lo cou ld n ot speak a word of E n g li sh B u t .
her tones were so kind and her look so care ssing

that the li ttle gir l felt qui te a t ca se a s she fo llow ed
her through one after another o f the roo m s which ,
were carved with m a ny a gracefu l arch a n d co lu m n

o u t o f the m o u n tain s side
’
.
The p lace w a s lighted by a violet radi an ce fr o m

above and she sa w that the roof w a s co m po sed o f
,
b locks of a m eth y st .
Mats o f scented gra ss w ere laid on the stone

floor w hich w a s further adorned with the su n and
star s in laid wi th si lver The i m age of the su n w i th
.
its feathe ry ray s of lu m inou s m e tal re m inded her of

her friend Tu n a tiu h and she wondered if she should
,
ever see him again to thank or scold him for thi s

strange adventu re .
S he w a s n o t sure y et which she sho u ld do B u t .
just n o w she w a s intere sted in the furn i ture Thi s .
consi sted of couche s covered with the m ost beauti

fu l ta pe stri es of feather work odd p a inted and em
, ,
broidered S kin s a n d a few lo w tab le s here and

,
there . B u t ther e were flow ers eve r y where and ,
1 2 8
tire om an pu t o n e garm ent after ano ther over her
-w
head and when a ll w a s done led her to look a t her

, , ,
se lf in the po li shed si lver di sk th at served a s a m irror .
O h ! Oh ! cried Patricia . What p re tty

”
clothe s .
For there she stood w ith soft fo lds of w hite

,
falling in beautiful line s from her shou lder s to her

ankle s There w a s an ov ergarm ent reaching in u n
.
even length s be low her wai st a n d the edge of this

,
w a s e m broidered w i th tiny p ear ls in a pattern a t

once intric a te and beau tiful There w a s n o co lor
.
—
abou t the co stum e it w a s a ll snowy w hi te And .
when K o lo lo hurried u p w ith so m e soft w hite

leather sanda ls to ta ke the p lace o f her stu bby ,
d u sty little shoes Patty w a s de lighted

, .
H o w sha ll I keep the m on ? she w ondered .
B u t th e o ld w o m an w a s even then sm i ling ly draw

ing the m over her little ba re feet and cla sp ing them
w i th b and s of go ld aro u nd her de lic a te an kle s .
Then the b lue bu tterfly bo w had to go P a t .
r icia p u t up a p ro te st ing hand w hen it w a s lift ed

from her hair B u t when she sa w that it w a s
.
creased and soi led she w a s w illing to par t with it .
Then she gave a little ecsta tic cr y For K olo lo w a s

.
parting her brown locks w ith a go lden com b and

I 30
TH E HID D EN CITY
fast e n i n g hem back with a fillet of w oven pearls
t
clasped with a glo w ing opal .
- ”
H o w bee u tifu l she cried again and ag a in
-
, , ,
a s she s urvey ed her se lf in the si lver m irror I w i sh .
daddy could see m e .
The shadow of w ist fu lness that fe ll upon her

face a t the thought did n o t e scap e o ld Ko lo lo s a t ’
t en tion .S he could n o t ta lk to her in her ow n

s p eech bu t sy m p athy ha s a universal language
, ,
a n da tender h a nd touched and patted her sho u lder .
“ ”
I m ust be brave the little girl w hi spered to
,
h erself a s S he sm i led back a t K olo lo S o m eti m e .
I shall find father dow n here I fee l it ! and what a ,
sto ry ] shall have to te ll Tr a ddy and R o bin R o bin .
is nice if he i sn t a prince And I s po se he found

’ ’
, .
Trad and took him right hom e or I S hou ld have ,
”
c o m e acro ss him on the S tep s to N o w here .
So s he com forted herse lf And it w a s w e ll she

.
did Fo r whi le she w a s dre ssing happi ly a s a roy al

.
A z tec m a iden in the hidden la n d of Prince Monte

,
z um a R obin a n d Tr a ddles were o n the high seas o n

,
boar d the pirate g alley A dv en tu r e w ith Cap tain

, ,
Kidd a s skipper sp eeding so u thw ard to the Car

,
r ibea n S ea w i th a figh t before the m a n d a g a le a t
their kee l!
1
3 1
CHAPT ER F OUR T EEN
A SE A F I G HT
T w a s the m onth of the strong gale s .
Fo r two w eeks the A dv en tu r e the pri

,
va teer u n der the com m and o f Cap tain
Kidd had been fly ing before the m

, ,
sou t hw ard. And n o w her side s w ere bri stling w ith

guns and her lookouts w ere ever on the w atch for
the S pani sh g alleon laden w i th go ld that had so far
,
e luded the m .
Ro bin and Tra ddles had been kept be low

decks B u t they had been a bundantly supp li e d
.
w i th food and w ater and Tu n k el had b een allo w ed

,
to vi si t the m. They had n o t seen the C a ptain since

that fir st wi ld nigh t . B u t on the evening of the
four teenth da y he op ened the hatchw ay a n d cam e
do w n.
The boy s ha d been runni n g a bou t the s pace in

the ho ld n o t occupied w i th the cargo and he ,
p a ssed the m on the w a y to the c a bin B u t so o c

.
1 3 9
.
o p ening through w hich the shaf t of light stream ed ,
a n d c lo sed the hatch .
Then there w a s the scu fflin g o f feet the sound ,
of guns and after a whi le a sm all deep co lored

, , ,
stream fo u nd its w a y through the cracks in the

hatch and began to fall from step to step w ith a
ceasele ss drip dripping, .
Ro bin sa w it and catching Tr a ddy in his arm s

,
he ran with him farther into the black hold w here

he stu m bled and fe ll upon a heap of jewe ls and
p late that w a s pi led in confu sion o n a ll sides o f the
ve ssel
.
And there they staid together while abov e ,
them wi th ever increasing fur y raged the battle .
Tr a ddy who a t first had been only surpri sed

,
and interested a t the tu m u lt n o w bega n to be ,
alarm ed .
“ ”
I w ant to go ho o m e he whi spered cling
-
, ,
ing to the o lder boy s a r m ’

.
“ ”
A ll righ t o ld fel
, Robin a n sw ered wi th
,
forced cheerfu lness Br a ce up n ow We ll g et

. .
’
so m ewhere in the m or n ing See h ere o ld Tu n k .

,
thinks y o u are c r y ing and it m ake s him fee l sorr y

, .
Tu n kel w a s whining and sniffing a bou t bu t it ,
w a s hard ly becau se o f Tr a ddy s tear s

’
.
I 34 >
A SE A FIGHT
”
I w a nt to go he repeated so bbingly
ho o m e,
-
,
a t the sam e ti m e re a ching a hand to Tu n k el to
S how that he w a s n o t ignored in this n ew m a tter .
“
We ll we ll just look a t thi s li ttle m a p inside
, ,
”
y our lock e t exc,lai m ed R o b in t r y ing to keep th,e
child s ca r s fro m hearing the terri ble sou nds a bove

’
,
an d ho lding Cap tain K idd s gif t open in his h a nd

’
.
There is a little char t carefu lly dr a w n on ivory

instead o f a picture inside J u st look a t it I t . .
s ee m s like that point of land tha t w e w er e on
w h en they brough t u s away I t is The very one !

. .
Lo ok there ! See ho w the point runs o u t to w a rd

the Jer sey shore ! I ll bet th a t s a bou t w here For t
’ ’
—
George is n o w don t y o u ? ’
”
Yes w hi m pered Tr a ddy
, 0 b w ba t a a w su l ,
N ev e r ind Tr a ddy I ll take ca re of y o u

m , .
’
.
B u t y o u m a y have to be rea l br a v e Can y o u if it .

,
is nece ssary ? Ro bin rep laced the locke t o n the

child s neck and asked the que stion so ber ly
’
.
”
Yes , rep lied Tr a ddy w iping his ey es , .
”
fa vver is b rave I will be brave to o
.
, .
”
Good sa id Ro bin dra w ing him clos e He
, , .
felt m uch co m forted Your father w i ll be proud

.
”
of y o u he whispered
, .
l
35
So the hour s passed .
Then c a m e the nearer and m ore terrib le sounds

of the battle S av a ge y e lls ro se over the boo m of
.
g u ns and w ere an sw ered by shouts of defiance

, .
The n there w a s a sudden crashing jar a grinding of ,
ship ag a in st ship .
”
They have bo a rded u s though t Robin A n d
, .
he he a rd the clang of axe a n d cutlass .
Tr a ddy sa t p ale b u t sti ll He w a s keeping his

.
prom i se He w a s the worthy so n o f a brave father

. .
Ro bin s h ea r t thri lled a t the look of the baby face

’
.
I t w a s heroic .
Wi lder an d m ore furiou s the figh t w en t on .
B u t they sa t q u ie t under the m enace o f the guns and

the savage crie s from the ship s w hich were n o w ,
side by side he ld to each other with grapp ling

,
irons and figh ting hand to hand

, .
R obin could h ear the boarder s a s they swar m ed

and slip p ed over the crim son deck bu t he cou ld n ot ,
te ll who he ld the vic to r y He alm o st ho p ed that

.
the S paniard w ou ld w in And y et w hen he rem e m

. ,
bered the kindne ss that Cap tain K idd had show n

the m he cou ld n o t w i sh him defeat an ddeath
,
Bu t .
B oo m I B o om I The s hip staggered u nder a n

exp lo sion .
I36
give u p O nce and a hundred ti m es he renew ed his
.
efforts B u t ju st a s the sm oke n o w thick and ro ll

.
,
ing found his throat and his ar m s weakened just

, , ,
a s he had hidden Tr a ddy to hide his face in the
c urve of his neck w hi le he s ti ll c lung to his shou l

,
der s and to sa y again the dear secret w ords tha t

,
c hi ldren sa y in ti m e s of danger the hatch w a s tor n,
open from above and down fairly u p on them ru shed

, , ,
a dozen strange m en .
The shri ll c ry of the little st hoy stopped them .
There w ere flam es a b ove and be low B u t the .
delica te da rk face s of the S pani sh adventurer s p aled

,
a t the sigh t of th e tw o pairs o f blue up lif ted e y e s ,
t hat m et their o w n .
S a nta Marie ! breathed the fore m o st a s he ,
h e sitated on the to p of the ladder .
B u t there w a s no ti m e to lo se And in a .
m o m ent the lad s w ere dragged u p a n d acro ss the
burning decks of the f a st sin king pirate ship a n d

-
to ssed over the rai l of the S pani sh ga lleon a long

s ide w hi le t he cap tor s re turned to br in g up the
,
treasure .
R o bin sa w a t once that the free hooter s ha d n o t

-
expected so v a lian t a foe w he n they attacked the

S pani sh ship And n ow such a s had escaped the
.
,
I38
A SEA FIGH T
steel a n d le a d , w ere f le eing aw ay in all boats
sm
u nd er c o ver of t he nigh t a n d the storm leavi n g

,
t heir t rea s u re and their burning ship behind the m .
There w a s no sign of the pira tes any w here .
B u t a n hour aft er w hen Ro bin stood looking o u t

,
a cro ss the b lack w a ter s that w ere ligh ted h ere a n d
t her e by a fi t fu l dy ing flam e fro m the charred hu ll

,
o f the once proud ship he though t he sa w a shado w

,
c reepi n g for a m o m ent ne a rer to his p la ce and,
t hough t he heard the soft sw i sh of a m u ffled o a r ,
a n d th e w hi sper
“
Gu a rd w ell tbc cbild .
Then here w a s only darkne ss and si lence

t ,
s a ve fo r the stor m that broke over th e sea ag a in
w i th su dden fur y .
l 39
CHAPT ER FIFT EEN
O N TH E R OCK S
daw ne d o n a sm oo th sea
O R N I NG .
R o bin aw a kening fr o m the slee p of

,
wearine ss that had follow ed the storm

and terrific battle o f the night lifted ,
Tr a ddles head fro m his shou lder gen tly so a s n o t

’
,
to w a ken him and a s he did so his hand touched

,
the locket The sudden contact w ith the cool

.
m e tal recalled the events of their stay o n board the
privateer vividly to his m ind .
”
This is cer tainly a strange thing he said to ,
“
him se lf . I alway s hea rd that K idd s treasure wa s ’
buried on the coast of N ova S cotia And y et it is .

,
m ore reasonab le to su ppo se tha t it w a s buried
around the H u dson so m ewhere .
“
He lived on Wa ll street I ve often seen the .
’
p lace H is hou se w a s down ju st a t the end o f

.
t he o ld w all or stockade He had a real nice

.
”—
w ife and a kid or tw o he sm iled a t his ow n
u p
been on Captain K idd s ship asked curiou sly about
’
,
the locke t on the wee chap s neck he show ed it

’
,
to him wi th frank pride ; and whi le the sentim ental ,
S paniard w ondered a t the uniform of the so ldierly

m a n he though t it w a s the right and p roper thing
,
for a bo y to wear his father s picture on his heart ’
unti l he becam e old enough to w ear so m e pretty

girl s instead
’
, .
I t w a s a w i se piece of work that R o b in did a s ,
will be m ade c lear in a fu ture tale And w hen it .
w a s fini shed he whi stled a n d walked a bou t looking

through t he great stret ch of b lue w ater s that g lea m ed
through the n et work of shroud s .
Thi s is certainly a long wa y from Gram ercy ,
“
he though t I w onder w here w e sha ll find
.
”
P atricia ?
He w a lked toward the ship s rai l a s he thought ’
, ,
w hen suddenly he w a s thro w n to the dec k vio le n tly , .
He scram bled to his fee t w i th fists dou bled u p

a n d ready for a n y kind of a figh t tha t shou ld pre
s en t i tse lf B u
. t it w a s o n ly T u n k el And t he li tt l
.e
dog capered a bout in grea t g lee a n d went over to
e
la p upon T r a d d le s w ho gree ted h im w i th e n t hu
sia sm .
“
We ll , y o u long loa fer I ,
’
m glad to see y o u ,
142
ON TH E RO C KS
called Robin re m e m bering w i th a p a ng that he
, ,
had left the dog to his fate on the burning galley .
Mighty gla d to see y o u even if y ou did trip m e

,
”
up . He patted the brown head w he n ever the
squirm ing wriggling li ttle ch a p cam e within reach
,
“
of his hand And if y ou w i ll forgive m e for n o t
lookin g y o u u p w hen w e changed ships I ll forgive ,
’
y o u fo r m aking m e bi te t h e deck . Hi there wha t ,
”
are y o u a fter ?
B u t the dog w a s a w a y a t fu ll speed and on his
,
w a y b e kn ocked a sa ilor hee ls over head down the

com panionway .The m a n ca m e up like a rocket ,
sc ared w hi te and m ut tering

,
C a r a m ha ! T w ice have I been hurled to earth

”
th i s very m orning by a fly ing de m on .
B u t R obin laughed :
”
That i sn t a dem on I t s a Du tc h do g he
’
.
’
,
replied in S pani sh fo r he ha d studied the la nguage

,
to good p u rpo se in the Cooper In sti tu te a fac t tha t ,
he ha d rea son to be gra tefu l fo r later o n .
S ee here he c om e s n o w And if he h a sn t
, .
’
g o t Trad ’
s c a p He. m u st have b rough t it a bo a rd
”
w hen he c a m e fo r I forgo t a ll a bou t it
, .
Tu n kel c a m e w riggling u p w ith the red cap in

his m o u th a n d the sai lor lunged a t him w ith his
,
1 43
foot B u t lo ng p ra ctice with his o ld m aster P eter
.
,
von P unk ha d m ade Tunk a n ar tful do dger So

, .
failing to kick the dog the sai lor lo st his balance and
,
fe ll down aga in while Tu n kelwent on his untroubled

,
w a y to drop the cap a t the fee t o f its lawfu l o w ner .
”
Don t tick m y do g cried the latter
’
, He is.
a fend o f Wo bin s a n d m ine

’ ”
.
A fact that wa s just then being dem onstrated by

“
the w a y Trad wa s hugging the fend in question
to h is bre a st .
Then from som ew here below a bugle sounded ,
and officers a n d m en bega n to ap pear on deck and

then di sap pear down the co m panionway .
”
I t m u st be breakfast Robin thought And
, .
he w a s su stained in that op inion by the arrival of a

sm art looking m id shipm an who po lite ly a sked Ro bin
-
,
to b ring his little charge and join the cap tain a t the
tab le . He spoke in E ng li sh choo sing his w ord s

,
with som e difficu lty until Robin assured him tha t he

w a s able to under stand his own beautiful language ,
and then they a t on c e becam e friends Robin begged

.
an opportunity to bathe and refresh him self and

Tr a ddles and in a short ti m e with a s careful a toilet
,
a s the y w ere ab le to m a ke under the circu m stance s ,
they pre sented the m selve s a t the cap tain s tab le and
’
1 44
fi bre a fter the sa m e fa shion em ploy ed by the Fili
pino s a t thi s tim e .
The se de lic ate fa bric s were co lored in the soft

est and m o st e lu sive s hade s and were m uch in de
,
m and by the ladie s of S pain .
There w ere a lso article s of ham m ered brass ,
beautifu lly wrought silver woven baske ts and po t

,
ter y si m i lar to that m ade by the Moki tri be s and
other c liff dwe llers ; fam i liar to a ll who cro ss the

Con tinent to da y
- .
The se things were beau tifu l and o f m uch value .
B u t far m ore rare and really w orth their w eight in

gold w ere the m antles and other ga rm en ts and tapes
trie s m a de of feathers a n a r t brought to its p er fec
,
tion in Mexico be fore the Conque st bu t since

,
allowed to decay .
A s Ro bin w a s given som e idea of the value of

the cargo by his y oung friend the m id ship m a n he ,
w a s n o t so m uch surpri sed that the ship ha d been

reckoned such a p riz e by Cap tain K idd .
The strangeness of the situation ho w ever cam e

, ,
to him a gain a s t he sailors began their work u po n

the deck . Fo r they w ere dre ssed a s he ha d s een
the m in o ld prin ts in the Astor Librar y wi th tight ,
velvet knee breeche s short b raided jackets and stiff

,
I 4 6
ON TH E RO C KS
round cap s The m idshipm a n w ho w a s a bou t his
.
,
o w n age , w ore red b reeche s under a little y e llow

coat bra ided w it h gold and bla ck He ha d f lashing .
bla c k e y e s and w hi te teeth and his o live ski n

,
g lowed like a s u n ki ssed a pp le

- .
Tra ddy cam e u p wi th Tu n kel leaping around

h im a s the y talked a n d the two o lder boy s in c luded
,
him in their conversa tion w hi le the dog went scur

t y ing after a sha dow tha t a p a ssing gu ll ca st u pon
t he deck .
I t w a s ju st a t tha t m o m en t t ha t the cap tain

em erged hurriedly fro m his c a bin to give so m e in
s t ru c tion s to the off icer o f the da y and r an a fou l
the long lo w raki sh dog

, Thi s w a s m o st u n fo r tu
.
nate Fo r one of the sa i lors chanced to be holy

.
s t oning the deck and t he di st ingui shed head of t he

,
captain struck the edge of the bucke t in such a

m anner that the soapy wa ter tipped over on his fa ce .
R o bin spoke fairly good S pani sh bu t he cou ld ,
n o t ca tch eve r y thing the c aptain sa id Tr a ddy had

.
la ughed bu t the o ther boy re strained him

, And .
t h e m ate and the bo sun and the cre w ru shed u p

’
in di sm ay and finally set o u t after Tu n kel a s the only

w a y to a venge the injured dignity of the ship .
B u t Tu n kel scen ting d a nger had disap peared

, , .
I -
47
S o with, any groans and pure c asti lian sw ear
m
words E l Capitan w a s ho m e to his ca bin again

, ,
while the great sails grew big with the airs of m orn
ing and sa iled away aw a y , .
The ship ha s gone m any points o u t of her

”
course and the m ate s afraid S he ha s sprung a leak
’
,
w a s the startling new s the m iddy b rought back to

Robin and Trad when he returned an hour or so
”
later. We shall have to p u t back to po r t .
I want to g o hom e ! p rotested Tr a ddy .
”
So do I Trad o ld fel b u t never m ind
, , , re ,
plied Robin noticing the trem ble on the brave

,
laddie s lips
’
.
“ ”
I want m y si ster the li ttle boy whi spered
, ,
tw o big dew y drop s ro lling sudden ly down his soft

cheeks Ro bin s heart ached in sy m pathy bu t he
.
’
,
cou ld n o t ha ve the child break down so he said ,
He llo hello ! W hat did y our friend the tick

, ,
li sh c lock sa y abou t a ca se like thi s ?

D on t cry Tea r s ru st y ou r w or bs
“
s aid Trad
’ ’
.
,
dle s pro m ptly and laughed a t the rem e m brance

, , .
“ ”
He w a s awfu l ticklish he said If I, .
pointed m y finger a t him so he d dou ble a ll Up a n d

, ,
’
sa y : D on t — - —
D on t ttt ttt txcble m e !
’ ’
I d like to see ’ ’
”
him again .
1 48
down tow a rd P anam a ourse lve s Perhap s we m a y
, .
g e t to t he Z one W.h o know s ?
B u t the m ention of his father m ade the li ttle

boy s lips quiver again and Robin had to think
’
,
quick
”
Look a t that he exc lai m ed pointing to a
, ,
li ttle whi te cloud the size of a m a n s head in t he

’
blue sky above them I sn t that y our fly ing

.
’
Du tchm an ?
The li ttle boy ha d to ld him about the strange
adventure o f P eter von P unk when wi th a pi n e tree
for a sling he flew over the Hud son and Tr a ddy ,
w a s a ll eage rne ss He lifted his g lo w ing face and

.
his ey e s grew big with wonder and de lig ht .
“ ” “
Yes sir
, ,he laughed ; Yes sir it is L oob , , .
a t dose w bite w bissers on bis fa ce L oob! Trad w a s .
greatly excited a s he pointed up .
Sure enough the c loud had a ssu m ed the appea r

ance of a m a n with a fleecy flowing beard and , ,
Tra ddy ran to the rai l and shou ted waving his ,
hand
Hello P eter Can y o u see m e ? I m here
, .
’
,
”
and Tu n kel to o !
, B u t the c loud drifted chan ge d ,
shape and w a s gone

, .
He didn t see m e I dess rem arked Trad

’ “
, ,
1
50
ON TH E RO C KS
so m e disappointm en t . But be he cou ld
m ay
I sought he d be glad
’
to kn ow old Tunk w a s
Ro bin shook hands with him hat at t .
”
That w a s bully of y o u he said I a m sure
, .
”
he wou ld be g lad For Robin rightly read in the
.
wee chap s shouted m e ssage the S ign of a kind

’
heart .
S everal day s after that when the boy s ha d he

,
com e fam iliar w ith the si tu a tion gu lls went scream ,
ing by and the ship began to to ss upon a darkening

sea. The sa i ls strained and after a short tim e the
riggin g cre a ked in the stiff breeze .
The galleon which had been speeding sou th

,
wa rd a t such a pace a s she cou ld com m and from

canva s and oars in her disab led condition w a s now ,
p u t in shape to m ee t a tropi c ga le and th e bo y s
were ordered to re m ain in their quarters unti l it ha d

passed .
Down it cam e catching the galleon in its

,
teeth crunchingly letting go bu t to catch a n d

,
cru sh again whi le the craft wounded bu t u n co n

, ,
q u ered righted herse lf after each a ssault and trai l

,
ing her broken wing s struggled on Then the

, .
wind turned a n d b le w after h er pursuingly re lent ,
1
5 1
le ssly ,until weary w ith its own crue lty with one ,
m ighty m a liciou s ru sh ca st her Up o n a reef a league

,
fro m a green m ounta in walled shore !

-
,
R o bin had Tr a ddy in his arm s when the shock

cam e and Tu n kel for once wa s n o t gui lty o f their
fall w hen they a ll went do w n together .
Then cam e the aw fu l confu sion of the ship

wreck The ru n ning to and fro the c a lling u p on
.
,
t he sa ints and the swinging o ff of the b o a ts th at
turned fai th le ssly and ca st their load of lives in to
the sea .
Boat after boat w a s cap sized B u t the m en .
t ru sted them se lve s to the m ercy of the water s in ,
so m e w a y ti ll a ll were gone
, even the Middy , .
Then Ro bin w ith a ll his y oung strength in the

,
e ffort wrenched the door from the captain s own

,
’
ca bin an d whi le the Ship hung on the spur of

,
rock rea dy to g o to pieces a t a n y m om ent he

, ,
da shed to the scu llery cram m ed his pockets with

,
biscui ts and fi lled w ith fre sh water a large fla t ca n

teen . Thi s he hung to his be lt a s he ran back to
Tr a ddy w ho wi th his arm s about the long lo w do g
, ,
w a s b ravely awai ting his re turn .
A huge wave li fted the stern of the ship and

bent her no se i n to the w aters .
1
5 2
CHAPT ER S I X T EEN
TH E W H I T E R O S E
H E CITY O F TH E S U N he ld a fe sti
va l for a w eek in honor of The Whi te
—
Rose a nam e which they had given to
P atri c i a
.
S he lived w i th o ld K o lo lo in the dw elling in

t he c liff
. And from the go lden ba lcony w hich
,
hung a bove the Plea sure Garden s she w a tched the

,
ga m e s and con tests and p rocessions and pageants

, ,
w hich h a d been a rran ged for her enterta inm ent and
,
alm o st forgot that S he w a s a little N ew York gir l of

the Tw enti eth Century .
S he w a s particu la rly intere sted in the pageants

.
And s u re ly they w ere the m o st S p lendid ever w it

, ,
n essed by any bod y bey ond the w a lls of the Fo r
go tten Mountains in tha t Lo st Va lley Fo r in.

,
helm ets a n d ca sques of go ld and m a ntles of h u m

m ing bird s fe a ther s Prince Montezu m a s w a rrior s
’ ’
-
,
acted fo r her the scenes o f the Conquest o f Mexico .
I
54
TH E W HIT E ROSE
They were arm ed w ith cro ow s and lanc e s which
ss b
-
,
c aught the lig ht on eve r y bri stling p oint a s the
t roop s appeared on the p la teau to the a cco m p a n i,
m ent of variou s harsh sounding dru m s of ba ttle

-
.
P atricia on her golden balcony ha d been

, ,
s ho w ered wi th ro ses and ha d re sponded to the

,
cheers and m erry greeting s of the peop le pretti ly , .
S he app lauded the ac tors by c lapping her hands in

ood A m eri ca n fa shion w henever she w a s p a r t ic u
g
la r ly p lea sed . B u t by a n d by she sa w som ething
, ,
tha t deep ly offended her .
A white bull had been brought into view ,
w reathed wi th flo w ers and adorned w i th bells A .
w i ld shou t went up fro m the m en and wo m e n
g a thered abou t in their gorgeou s and beau t ifu l

c o st u m e s
. The m en waved their m an tles to the air ,
and the la die s lifted their bro n ze jewe l encirc led

-
,
arm s and shrieked their p leasure B u t when Pa t .

,
r ic ia w a s w ondering w hat it w a s a ll abou t a troop ,
o f h a lf n aked a n d pain ted Indian s rode o u t and shot

-
a t the frightened w hi te creat ure with arro w s a n d ,
hurled feathered ja vlin s into his ey es and sides until ,
in furiou s h elp le ss rage he turned w ith lo w ered

, ,
head a n d a ngry bello w in g s from side to side b lind ly ,
s eeking his torm entor s un ti l he fe ll u pon his kn ee s

,
l 55
and fought And fro m his knees still brave sank
.
, ,
do w n and died .
Tre m endou s exci te m ent follow ed thi s scene .
B u t Patricia sa t w hit e and sti ll wi th p ity Then she .
caught Kololo s f lowing sleeve and poured o u t s uch

’
a flood of y oung anger that the o ld wo m an w a s

frightened even though she could n o t unde rsta nd
, ,
and did n ot know what to do B u t Patricia knew .
what to do S he di spatched a servant who had

.
,
brough t her refre sh m ent a t that m o m ent for the ,
p rin ce
.
H ow she convey ed her m eaning it wou ld be

hard to tell B u t she pointed o u t to the dai s rai sed
.
for Montez um a a t the end of the pleas ure ground ,
and then back to he rself A n d the page ran o u t a s

.
though he had winged feet and in a few m o m ents ,
the p rince arrived p anting wi th haste and so m e dis
plea sure .
S he looked a t him w i th straight m eeting brow s , ,
and blue battle challenged him from under t hem .
B u t he said haugh ti ly
I t is n o t the cu sto m here for a m aid to co m
m and a king
’
.
”
I don t care whe ther it is or n o t s to rm ed
’
,
“
Patricia . If y o u are a king it is a ll the m ore
I 5 6
TH E W HIT E ROSE
reason that y ou ought to be a sham ed o f y ourself fo r
le tting s uch crue l things be done in y our countr y .
’
Cruel thing s ? he repeated w onderingly

, .
What do y o u m ean ?
S he pointed o u t to w here they w ere m oving the
white dea d thing fro m the p leasure garden .
”
That s w hat I m ean S he said And then
’
, .
burst into such tears a s her o w n strange adventures

had n o t forced to her ey e s and cried and cried
, .
The prince w a s bu t a boy fo r a ll his y ea rs He .
forgot his tram p led dignity and her hard w ords a t

s ight o f her w et ey e s
.
K o lo lo soo thed and scolded and co m forted ;

and com forted sco lded a n d soothed in vain
, .
Then Montezu m a pro m ised that he would

abolish bu ll fighting fro m his realm forever and a
-
da y. And she dried her tea rs and sm iled .
After that a ll went well fo r so m e ti m e .
The prince had dai ly be co m e m ore fond o f

Patricia and ha d fu lly m ade up his m ind to m arry
,
her .
The only trou ble wa s the one that he had a lw a y s

had in love affa irs during his long career The la dy.
w ou ld be su r e to gr ow old whi le he re m ained fou r teen

, .
I t w a s m o st unfortunate.
I
S7
He fully rea lized that it wa s a sweet and beauti
fu l thing fo r two peop le who love each other to
gro w o ld together .
B u t for one originally the y ounger to creep u p

, ,
and pa ss the other and then go on into the white

,
y ear s w i thou t him, w a s qui te ano t her thing .
He thought a bout thi s m atter so m uch that it

had m ade him cross and he wa n ted to hang a few
,
of his su bjects to relieve his fee ling s B u t Patricia s

.
’
being there m ade him hesitate S he had p roved to

.
him that she w a s a very particula r y oung p erso n

a bo u t certa in m atter s S he had n o t liked the
.
bull fight and she m ight objec t to his hanging

-
,
peop le .
There w a s o n ly one wa y to solve the di fficu lty .
He quite m ade up his m ind to that .
—
So he got his m aps the ancient m ap s of Fathe r
—
Sahagun and pored over them to see if he cou ld
n o t locate that Fountain of Yo u th again Failing in .
tha t he sent for an o ld p rie st who w a s the keepe r

,
of the secrets of the tem ple .
The priest wa s an o ld m a n a n d wi se B u t .
,
a ltho u gh he did n ot know a thing about the spring ,
he did know so m ething about p rinces S o he did .
n o t di sappoint the ru ler bu t referred him to a m u ch

,
I 58
he inquired taking a tiny puff and then waiting
,
po li tely for the bo y s daz ed answer

’
I t s a habit I .
’
learned in N ew York Very popu lar with the

.
i m ages there I assure y o u

, .
”
N ew York ? repeated Montezu m a eagerly , .
”
That is the ho m e of the White Ro se .
”
Yes they gro w there
, interru pted the ido l , ,
lo ts of em of every co lor
’
, .
’
Thi s is a m aiden said the prin ce co ldly

,
’
, .
”
I w ou ld m arry her .
Hu m ! The su n god cleared his throat

-
noi si ly He had been pre sent on several occasion s

.
w hen som e y oung m a n had a sked Doc to r Dee the ,
archeo logi st for one of his daughters and he

, ,
t hough t he wou ld be a ble to i m i tate his m a n ner
p erfectly .
H u m ! Do y o u m ean Pa tty ? Patty is very

y oun g
Then the Prince re m e m bered w ha t Patricia
had told him of her journey w i th the s u n god u p-
the invi si ble sta irway .
”
Yes , he nodded and then added plainti ve ly
, ,
B u t she wi ll gro w o ld very o ld Tha t is the , .
”
trou ble ! Then b e ru shed o n w i th the who le
m atter.
I 6o
TH E W HIT E ROSE
The -
su n god nodded fro m ti m e to ti m e a s the ,
p rince to ld a bout the fountain and how he had ,
tried in vain for a ll the y ears to find it

, ,
Then the ru ler added hopefully ,
Yo u O Tu n a tiu h ! brought the m aiden here

, ,
by y our strange m irac le N ow ta ke u s to the

.
sp ring so that she m a y drink and re m ain like m e ,
”
y oung forever and ever l
If I were the real thing I m ight do that said ,
Tuna B u t a s she know s I m only a su b for the

’
.
, ,
t rue lu m inar y Although she ha s to ld m e never to

.
m ake that excu se again to any body bu t to dare and ,
”
do the be st I can He paused hu m m ing the Yam a
.
,
Yam a song a n d sm oo thing the glo w ing ray s o f his

c orona though t fu lly .
What doe s Patty sa y a bout thi s p lan ? he ’
a s ked suddenly I s it her wish to re m ain y oung

.
forever ?
“
In thi s land m aiden s wi sh a s we w ish the m to
,
”
wi sh ob served the prince haughti ly
, .
B u t the s u n god laughed unti l ra y s o f light

-
twinkled a ll over the grea t go lden roo m a s though

a p rism had been shattered and the fragm ents to ssed
fro m corner to corner .
“
Why prince he guffaw ed
,
”
, Patricia s a ,
’
1 61
su ffrage tte ! And if she staid here she d bo ss thi s ’
who le kingdo m .
’
The boy frowned darkly and shook his head ;

the m ore so becau se he re m e m bered the da y of the
,
hu ll fight .
“
I don t know what y o u m ean by suffrage tte
’ ’
,
he rep lied . B u t I com m and y o u lead u s the m aid ,
"
and m e to the fountain
, .
“ ”
I m on ly a su b be gan the ido l bu t if she
’
, ,
w ants to go on an exp edition I ll throw w hat light I

’
”
can upon the situation .
The p rince struck his hand s toge ther and a t ,
the signal a slave app eared dropping on h is face a t ,
the sigh t of the su n god a n d craw ling to the fee t of

-
his m aster .
”
Make m y caravan ready the prince said , ,
a n d h a ve it a t the To p az Gate a t the second hour of
the m oon to m orro w w i th so ldier s in fu ll ar m o r a

-
, ,
hunter and a runner and the litters a ll wi th m en

, ,
”
be sides the tents Prepare for m any day s
. .
“
I go I go cried the S lave leap ing away
, , , .
Then the prince turned to the su n god and -
said
I wi ll tell the m aiden and her wo m en o f the

”
journey .
1 62
CHAPT ER SEV EN T EEN
TH E T OPA Z T U NN E L
OW , as ha s been entioned before in

m
thi s n a rr a tive it is sa id tha t the Ch a gre s

,
River flow s along in a dou ble stre a m ,
o n e divi sion r u nning ben ea tb the st ra ta
of porou s rock and the other form ing the chartered

river th a t is sho w n o n the m a p .
Ac cordi n g to thi s report in certa in sea son s the

,
under or su bterranea n stream ri se s a n d joins the

upper current Thi s c au ses the floods that fro m
.
t i m e to ti m e in terfere wi th the work of conne c t ing
th e ea stern and w e ste r n ocean s by m ean s of th e
Panam a Canal Native s c la i m ed to ha ve di scovered

.
p lac es w here the river di sa ppe a rs from the surfa c e

of the ear th altogether and m erge s with the hidden
w a ter s underground .
How ever tha t m a y be and by w ha tever na m e it

m a y be c a lled it w a s a lost r iv er th a t r a n through
,
th e For g o tten M o un ta in s a n d c ro ssed the Top a z

I 64
TH E TO PA Z TUNNE L
Grotto like a foam ing y e llow tiger re lea sed fro m
bonds .
The engineers under the Prince Montezu m a had

long tried to divert the cour se of thi s torrent whi ch
hurled its fu m ing w a y acro ss the tunnel whi c h w a s
,
the on ly ou tlet excep t the p a th u sed by the courier s
and spie s fro m the Hidden City of the Su n to the

sea shore .
Fa i ling in thi s attem p t to change the wa y of the

strea m the b ui lders ha d flung a b ridge over the
,
tur bu len t w ater s and le ft the m to their w i ll .
This bridge w a s adorned w ith v a rio u s c a rved

and painted i m a ge s and em bla zoned w i th th e so la r
disk in go ld A peri sty le co m po sed o f the sta tue s
.
o f a ncient A z tec king s in the s a m e prec iou s m e ta l
gu arded each side of the river A sp a ce only la rge

.
enough to a d m i t of a flig ht o f pink m ar ble step s led

to a tiny w h a rf Here a boat w ith a jew e led p ro w
.
a lway s w a i ted .
There ha s never been an inv a sion o f the Hidden

City The nation that fled from Mexi c o a t the ti m e
.
of the conquest ha s kept its very exi stence a secret

,
fro m the re st of the w orld .
E xcep t fo r the va gue hints that have trou bled

—
the centurie s th a t there is bey ond the fa rthest
,
I 65
reach of the recorded m ounta ins a n otber r a ng e im
, ,
p en e tr a t a hle re m
, o te th a t b i
,des tb c m y stery f
o a v a n
isbed r a ce ! the m atter ha s n o t bee n m a d e pu blic

unti l this ti m e .
Do u btless the air ship s n o w being construc ted

,
by the Uni ted S tates Governm ent for the coast su r

vey w i ll so m e ti m e chance upon the gloriou s region
,
so stra nge ly di scovered by the li ttle gir l fro m Gram
crcy Park .
I t m a y be that the aviators wi ll be ab le to a dd

so m e thing O f s cientific value to the di s cove r y .
B u t Patricia s pape rs filed w i th the Li b raria n

’
,
o f Congre ss in 1 9 1 0 will S how that the rights a n d

,
patents o f discove ry are hers a lone !

B u t now leaning her di m p led elbow s on the
rail of the go lden balcony of O ld Ko lo lo s hou se ’
,
Patri cia w a s watching so m e one on donkey bac k -
m aking the a scent to the door .
A s he drew nearer she recognized a page fro m

the pa lace and in a few m om ents the bo y w a s a t
,
her fee t pre senting to her the m e ssa ge fro m the

,
prince .
Patricia m ade o u t the w ord s w ri tten w ith a

sty lu s on a bit O f parch m en t .
S he w a s to m ake ready fo r the journey to the

1 66
She heard the cavalcade c o m e jingling to the
door and runnin g o u t she spra ng to her li ttle don
, , ,
key s ba ck and he shook his head bells unti l they

’
chi m ed w ith her la ugh ter .
Then w i th Ko lo lo s so berer steed pacing be

,
’
side, they m ade their w a y do w n the win di n g ,
gradual descent to the p lateau w here his carava n ,
a n d a co m pany of so ldier s be side him the prince,
waited to a ccom p a ny her .
He looked a t her with vi si ble p lea sure a s she

ca m e riding dow n on her little white steed in her
A z tec dre ss . B u t sti ll he shook his head and r e
p e a ted w ha t he had s aid w hen the y had sa t t oge ther
on the bank of the Chagre s river on the o ther side
o f th e hi lls
You are a s different from the Az tec m aidens

a s the nigh t is different fro m the da y .
Then he sp ra ng to his horse for he and his

,
troo ps were m ounted upon m agnificent horses w i th
trapping s of ge m s and go ld and with loo sened

,
rein the co m pany started rapidly down the sm ooth

road w hich ha d been cu t in the rock and strew n
w i th ru she s to serve the dou ble ends of co m fort to
the horse s and quiet fo r the rider s Patricia sa w
.
before the m a m igh ty gate guarded by great go lden

I 6S
im a ges on either side a n d incru sted w ith j ew e ls of
every h u e .
”
Wha t p la ce is thi s ? S he cri ed shrinking ,
ba ck before the sudden bur st o f lig h t tha t re flected ,
from the pri sm a tic w a lls w hen the porta l w a s throw n

open sudd en ly stre a m ed around her
, .
”
Thi s answ ered the prince I S the Topaz
, ,
Tunne l through w hich y o u entered the city the da y

y o u c a m e on th e underground river I t le a d s .
through the m ountain to w here I hope w e sha ll find

”
the fountain .
I t w i ll be w e ll to re m e m ber tba t tber e w a s on ly

b and ha a
’
on e otb er w a y ou t o f t c p r in ce s city t, t w a s
twi sting tw ining m ountain pa ss fro m the ci ty to the

,
sea , only know n to the ro y al couriers w ho forever ,
watched fro m the pe a ks for the S panish ships .
A n d Pe do th e runner w a s even a t thi s ti m e

, ,
w atching w i th his fierce y oung e y es a sb zp being dr iv en

befb r e a torn a do tow a r d tb e sbor e A S p a ni sh ship
.
with broken m asts a n d tr a i ling c a nv a s w i th the ,
la shing w inds behind her a n dthe jagged reefs before 1

B u t n o w a s they rode blithe ly forw ard two and ,
two there w a s the so u nd of g a lloping horse s co m ing

,
from the rear and the troop s caught u p w i th their

,
m a ster in the Topaz Tunne l .
I 69
K o lo lo jogging along behind the so ldiers
wa s ,
and Patrici a seeing after a ti m e that the prince w a s

,
occupi ed w i th his own th ough ts rode back and ,
joined her .
They rode steadily on for a long distance

through the blazing glory of the p lace a n d the li ttle ,
g i r l s m i led a t o ld K o lo lo and K o l
,o lo sm i led a t her .
B u t ju st a s she w a s wishing she had so m ebody

near w ho cou ld a nsw er her que stions in p lain E n g
li sh who should com e bobbing up bu t the su n
,
g o d?
Hello cried the little gir l de lightedly ; bu t
,
a t sigh t o f h im the o ld w o m an scram bled do w n fro m
her donkey a s fast a s her tre m bling lim bs and

volu m inou s gar m ents wou ld perm i t and pro stra ted
,
herse lf a t the ido l s fee t’

.
He said a few w ords to her in the Aztec t ongue ,
a n d she a ro se wi th her fa ce g lowing wi th p le a sure .
B u t P atricia gree ted him w ith dark looks .
” “
That s a S ha m e she cried pe tu lantly to let
’
, ,
tha t nice o ld la dy grove! down like that to y o u ! I

— ”
don t like y o u a bit
’
.
The su n go d w a s vi si bly e m barrassed A c loud

- .
of anxie ty vei led his ruddy face N o t a bit ?

. he
que stioned .
S he shook her head and w i thou t a no ther glance
,
at him ju m ped do w n to lend a ha nd to K o lolo a s

s he re m ounted .
“ ”
Yo u can t expec t m uch of a su b he m u r
’
,
m ured apo loge tically a s with a S pring s he t ook her

,
p lace agai n o n the wee donkey s back whi le Ko lo lo ’

, ,
m urm uring happi ly rode on , .
I g u e ss y o u did n o t have people bo w ing down

t o y o u like tha t in Irving P lace did y o u dem anded
,
Patrici a .
”
No he confe ssed
, ev ery body t
,b ou g bt I w a s
a B illibin an d tried to tieble m y toes I

He good natured a bout it tha t Patricia
wa s so -
had to laugh and that encouraged him to sa y

,
You are n ot m a d a t m e for bringing y o u here ,
are y o u ?
“
I wan ted to go hom e rep lied the little gir l , ,
“
h er e y e s fi lling w i th sudden te a r s Ho m e to .
Tra ddy
”
I m ean t to send y ou bac k to Gra m ercy he ,
r ep lied . B u t y o u see I a m r a ther o u t o f pra ctice

becau se there is nev er a n y need o f Az tec m a g ic in
N ew York I t ha s so m uch o f its o w n
. Any w ay .
the spe ll didn t w ork qui te ri g h t Yo u see I m n o t

’ ’
.
t he re a l thing a n d I g ot m y w ir es cr ossed
I 7I
He pau sed and g la nced u p a t the li ttle gir l o n
the donkey .
Aren t y o u a little glad y o u cam e ? he asked

’
.
”
Where a m I really ? , she a n sw ered then ,
continued in a lo w voice The prince to ld m e

.
th a t thi s is the y e a r 1 69 8 H ow c a n it be ? You

.
”
know that it is 19 10 in N ew York .
”
You are in Centr a l Am erica he rep lied , ,
in P anam a a n d the prince ha s to ld y o u how the

,
few Aztecs left Mexico whe n Montez u m a fe ll in

1 523 and ca m e down here to hide fro m the S pan
,
ia r ds
. A s to y our co m ing back tw o hundred y e a r s
in histo r y that is the secre t o f the I n v isible Sta irs
, .
A n y one w ho step s upon the m w hen the y a r e let

down to the earth w ill be transported back to
another ti m e I hope I ha ve throw n so m e light
.
upon the m atter I t s perfec tly si m ple Aren t

.
’
.
’
y o u g lad y o u ca m e ? The O p p or tuni ty on ly occur s
o n ce in a hundred y ea r s .
B u t Pa tricia p u t up her hand quickly and san d

Hu sh so m e body s com ing !
,
’
They slowed their pace ; the su n god had been

-
w a lking be side P atricia s brid le rein and keeping

’
up w ith the jog trot of the little whi te donkey and

-
,
the ga llop of hoof s cam e to the m from the distan c e ,
1 7 2
”
What s D 17 f ’
asked the little girl
. . .
”
D on t IV or ry answ ered the op ti m i stic i m age
’
, .
B u t Patricia caugh t his y e llo w m a ntle in her

nervou s little fingers
”
Hark she whi spered hark !
, ,
There w a s a long shri ll cry from o ld K o lo lo , ,
riding ahead Then a boy in a feathered m antle

.
and rich cour t d re ss ca m e running w ildly to w ard ,
the m beating his breast and cry ing so m e thi n g that

,
t he gir l cou ld n o t under stand .
“ ”
Who is that ? and what is he say ing ? S he
cried grasping the golden a r m of the su n god
,
- .
”
Te ll m e te ll m e
, .
Fo r a m o m ent he did n o t answer Then .
Tbc p r in ce ba s been d a n d ca r r ied a w a y

ca p tu r e
”
dow n tbe L ost Riv er , rep lied the ido l grave ly , .
“
We m u st ri ed to tbe city tbe
n ew s !
l 74
CHAPT ER E IGHT EEN
TU N KE L T U RN S A T RI CK
H E wild w ave s thundered upon the

reefs of P anam a and broke in sh a ttered
rain bow s on the sands .
A n d after a w hi le o n e of the wa ve s ,
som ewhat higher than the re st cast a sm a ll objec t

,
on the shore w hich a t first glance appe a red to be

, , ,
a bit of weed torn up fro m the gardens of the sea .
B u t a s the su n strugg led fro m the black m a ssed ,
c louds a bove the m ountains it shone down upo n,
the little o bject a n d tber e on

, , tbc tr op ic str a n d
g lea m ed a w ee sca r let ca p I

ju st a bou t thi s tim e that so m ething sm all
I t wa s
and swift m ight have been seen dashing m a d ly
dow n from a di stant point on the be a ch .
N earer and nearer it cam e and proved to be a

—
lon g lo w ra ki sh dog a dog that fe ll upon the li ttle
,
red cap wi th a bark of joy and then sa t do w n w ith

,
it in his m ou th with an air o f great exp ec tanc y

, .
I 7S
A ll da y Tu n kel rem ained in that p lace n o w ,
a n d then taking an excursion a s hort di stance in
either direc tion b u t re tu rnin g to where he had

,
found the cap B u t when the darkne ss cam e his

.
, ,
fa i thfu l dog heart ached wi th di sappointm ent that

-
found expre ssion in prolo n ged ho w ls .
Fo r R obi n a n d Tr a ddles had n o t appeared and ,
Tu n kel began to fear that they were lost in t h e

st or m y sea .
S o m eti m e in the darkest hour of the tropic

night be fore the first hint of dawn began to touch
,
the heave n s with faint si lver and rose color Tu n kel , ,
keeping his vig il over the red cap on the silent

shore , heard the sound of runn ing feet on the
heigh ts above him .
In a n instant he w a s up a n d after with the c a p,
in his m outh and his long body near the ground .
S o it happened a s it had happened o ft before that

, ,
the dog in his haste ran be tween the fee t of the

, ,
runner and sent him rolling down the cliff to the

w et sands benea th !
Tu n kel cou ld n ot see in the dark B u t his .
sense s to ld him that the la st m a n he ha d brought to
earth w a s y oung and a stranger bu t n ot Robin a s

, ,
he had a t fir st fondly hoped it m ight be !

I 76
Ho w ever he w a tched the opera tion w ith inter
,
est, ba rking n o w and then and w a gging his ta i l

by w a y of encouraging the patient w ho looked a t
him a s though he had never seen a dach shu n d be fore
and wasn t quite sure whether he w a s a dog o r a
’
sea serpent .
B u t he took fro m a pack which he w ore be ,
tw een his shou lder s in the fa shion of a knap sa ck ,
so m e wafer like c a ke s and dried m ea t a n d h o sp it

-
a bly shared the m w i th Tu n ke l w ho received the m
with jo y .
B u t when he proffered fro m a bo ttle of p ainted

ear thenware a dri n k o f fer m ented cactus sa p the ,
dog slunk away grow ling and went dow n to the ,
water s edge and how led for his friends !

’
A ll a t onc e ho w ever his ho w l changed to a

, ,
short quick agi ta ted bark

, , .
The Indian bo y he a rd it and tried ag ain to

stand bu t fai ling in thi s sa t erec t a n d g a zed eager ly
,
over the wa ter s .
A t fir st he cou ld see nothing bu t the ri se a n d

dip of the now deep blue sea B u t by and by his . , ,
trained vision caugh t sigh t o f so m e thing w hi te

riding the w ave s S o m e thing sm all a n d g leam ing
.
in the sunlight A bit of w recka ge m a y be o r

. , ,
1 7 8
TU N KE L TURNS A TRIC K
But wh a t ai led the do g ? Had he gone
m a d? N ever w a s there such a w rithing tw i sting , ,
fri sking im becile of a dog anyw here !

He da shed up and down tha t stre tch o f sa nd
until he fina lly fe ll over his o w n fee t a n d rolled o n
h is back panting w i th exhau stion
,
.
B u t ste a di ly near and m ore near ca m e the

, ,
white f leck over the w aters Now the receding .
wave s de lay ed it ; now it w a s lo st fo r a m o m ent in

t he ho llo w o f a great sea ; b u t again it rode g a l ,
la n tly c li m bing fro m cre st to cre st u n til tbc w a tcbers

on sbor e sa w tba t tbc str a ng e ba d tw o p a sseng er s,
f
ra t
on e a bi g boy w b o b eld, w itb dr i i

pp g
n a r m s a g a in st bis
br ea st, a little cba p s sbin ing bea d

’
.
Tu n kel w ith a long thri lling how l of perfec t

,
s eized Tr a ddy s red cap again in his m ou th and

’
j
oy ,
p u e he m
t o u t to m e t t .
The Indian bo y on the beach heard the big bo y

o n the ra ft shou t a we lcom e ; then w hen the dis ,
t ance had been m ade reach o u t and pu ll the recep

,
t ion co m m i ttee on b oard .
Then the w a ve s lifted the li ttle ra ft and to ssed it

u pon th e beach like a pe bb le ; and the thre e fri ends
w h o had S hared so m any adventures were ready

fo r their new experience s o n the Shore s o f Pana m a !
l 79
Tr a ddles ha d sl
ep t m o st o f the ti m e fo r ,
w hich Ro bi n had given th a nk s to the sleep angels ,
since they kep t him fro m fear of th e lone ly sea a n d
from ho m esick te a rs .
A nig h t a n d a da y the y ha d drifted co m ing ,
a shore a t a poin t m i les further to the southw a rd

than where Tu n kle had la nded a s his instinct h a d ,
led him to swim straight for the neare st point of

land . He had run a t fu ll speed ho w ever for the , ,
sp o t w here he ha d awai ted their co m ing .
I t wou ld be di fficult to exp lain w hy he knew

that they wou ld be drive n by the current ashore ju st
a t th a t p lace ; bu t be didknow it A n d tha t s enough

’
.
rea son fo r dog or m a n .
And he ha dwatch ed like a sentinel on duty wi th ,
his li ttle m aster s red ca p be side him unti l they ha d

’
,
co m e a s he had known they wo u ld com e a llthe tim e

, , .
B u t n ow that a ll w a s w e ll he co u ld n o t re strain
his g lee and a s R o bin and Tr a ddy sti ff and la m e
, ,
from long crouching on the cabin door th a t ha d

been their life boat li m p ed w ondering ly to w ard
,
the Aztec bo y w ho w a s sm i ling ba shfu lly u p a t
the m , Tu n k el tripped Tr a ddles a n d sent Ro bi n

spra w ling on the w et sa nd by a s udden and u n ex
p e c te d d a sh b e tween their leg s .
1 80
CHAPTER N I NE T EEN
P E D O , TH E R U NN ER
E DO w a s thenam e of the A z tec bo y ,
and he w a s a ru n ner or c ourier to the

Prince Montezu m a .
Then cam e the stor y that m ade

Ro bin O pen his e y e s a s he sa t w i th him on the
,
beach n o t far fro m the ancient ci ty of N om bre de

Dios the fir st settled tow n in the N ew World
,
- .
The S p a ni sh ga lle y that had fought w ith and

captured Cap tain K idd s ship the A dven tu r e ha d
’
, ,
sto len her trea sure in the fir st p lace fro m the sec re t
, ,
cave s that the Prince of the Hidden City o w n ed in

Panam a .
Thi s ship had after m a ny day s be en driven

, , ,
rudderle ss and a t the m ercy o f the storm s fa r ,
s ou th w ard o u t of her cour se a n d a s th e reader we ll

, ,
kno w s had gone to pi ec es on the ro cks

, .
I t w a s Ped o s bu sine ss to g et b a ck to the

’
c pita l w ith his new s so that the w r ec ker s c ou ld

a
,
1 82
P E D O TH E RUNNER
,
co m e by the secret w a y and recover the tre a sure

from the waters before S pain s divers w ere a t w ork
’
.
E ve ryw here o n the coast ra nge which separated ,
the known land from the hidden citie s o f the A z tec s ,
the se sentine ls were o n w at ch and the y were a s

,
sure footed a s the m ountain goa ts and ran through

-
,
the secre t p ath s

o
f the great steep s faster than a
haw k c ou ld fly
The characte r o f their new s w a s alway s to b e
read by tho se w ho sa w the m a t a di stance by the ,
c o lor of their m a n tle .So that the fi shers and the

farm er s w ho sa w them pass knew w hat w a s h a ppen
ing w ithou t further inform ation .
If there w a s dang er fro m a destruc tive flood ,
the herald s m an tle w a s green edged w i th whi te to

’
,
ty pify the green foa m bord ered w a ter s

,
- .
I f it shou ld be by fearso m e chance the return

, ,
of the S paniard to di scover the City of the S un

a m ong the Forgotten Mountain s the co lor w ou ld ,
have b een scarle t and purple for blood and the ,
sm oke of b a ttle
.
W he n the new s had to do w i th gold or treasure ,
the hue s w ere y ellow and blue .
Pedo a lso to ld Ro bin a bou t the hollow log s

hung a t interva ls a long the w estern c oast fro m peak ,
1 83
TH E S TE PS TO NOW H ERE
to peak fro m far ff Mexico from w ho se gloriou s
,
-o
,
land s his peop le had been driven a t the ti m e o f

Cortez s occupation and showed the little si lver
’
,
ham m er with which he sent the strokes that were

echoed from hi ll to hi ll .
”
That s like our telegraph R o bin exc laim ed
’
, .
Don t y o u have the Morse sy ste m dow n here ?

’
B u t the bo y s hook his head and looked so be

wildered that Ro bin had a queer thought .
“ ”
O h by the w a y he said in S panish what
, , ,
y ear is t hi s ? And t he b o y rep lied

I t is the y ear 169 8 .
”
Whew l he whi stled N o wonder y o u a r e
.
keeping y our ey e on the S paniards W hy a t thi s .

,
tim e a c cording to y our ca lenda r the Inqui s ition is

, ,
”
in fu ll sw ing He sa t dow n on the sand beside
.
the A z tec and his m ind w a s crowded w ith thin gs
to o w onderfu l and strange to speak of Wa s there .
ever such a stra nge experience ?

What if he cou ld tell the bo y that this wa s
indeed the y ear 19 10 That S pain the once terri ble
.
, ,
w a s tre m bling on her throne to the sorrow of the

rest of the wor ld That she had for a king a brave
.
,
s p lendid bo y w ho wa s be loved and honored by every
one and that a little E ng li sh princess wa s his queen !

1 84
.
And he began unfo lding fro m his com pac t
knapsack a tissue m antle o f y e llow and blue .
B u t when he aro se to his fee t he fe ll bac k

again only his Indian pride preventing him fro m
,
c ry ing aloud in pain .
”
I m ust go he repeated , I m u st be up a n d .
away !
Ro bin leaned o ver and looked into h is ey es .
“
I f its i m portant o ld m a n that y o u shou ld g et
, ,
that m e ssage to y our chief I ll g o for y o u

’
I s it
, .
very i m portant
"
H
Si .
Ju st the one word y es B u t it w a s spoken with

, .
intense earnestne ss .
Can y o u tr u st m e ? asked Robin Ag ain the .
”
an swer Si , B u t it w a s spoken wi th a confident
.
sm i le .
”
A ll righ t said Robin ri sing
, I can run , .
,
too . A sk a n y of the fe llow s around Gram ercy o r — ,
—
rather w ell never m ind !,
He stopped re m e m bering that an Az tec of 169 8

,
w a s n o t a pt to be in co m m unication wi th a schoo l
bo y cro w d of 1 9 1 0 and a dded : ,
Give m e y our pap ers and show m e the
1 86
P E D O TH E RUNNER
,
B u t the w a y involved a gr eat deal of exp lana

t ion a n d the bo y drew m an y m a p s w i th a poin ted
s he ll in the sa nd before Ro bin learned h o w he w a s
t o g et into the Forgotten Hi lls that la y bey ond the
r a nge ri sing in pur p le heights b efore the m .
There w a s gr ea t danger o f his ge tting lo st and ,
t he w a y w a s a lm o st i m passa ble to a n y one n o t
a ccu sto m ed to m oun tain c li m b ing .
B u t Ro bin w a s brave a n d a fter he ha d m ade a

,
diagram hi m se lf a n d had the m atter c learly in his

,
m ind b e di scarded his c oat threw the y e llo w and

, ,
b lue m antle over his shou lder s and announced tha t

he w a s ready !
B u t he had for the m o m ent forgo tten Tr a ddy
until he w a s rem inded b y a shri ll o bjection on the
p ar t of t ha t y oung gen tle m an to b eing
, lef t a lone
w i t h hi sto ry .
Ju st then however an ox cart driven by a bent

, ,
o ldwo m an ca m e a long the be a c h and the A z tec bo y,
p u t h is finger s in h is m ou th ex a c tly li k e a n E a st
sider wou ld do to da y a n d w hi stled shri lly

-
, .
“ ”
S he is of our nation he said hurri edly to
,
“
Robin a lo y a l su bjec t of o u r princ e a n d in his
,
service . S he w ill care fo r y our bro ther a n d re store

m y hur t i m m ediate ly w i th pou lti c e s of vio le t lea ve s .
1 87
I w i ll b ring him safe ly to y o u in the Hidden
City .
Robin g lanced a t the kind fa ce o f the o ld

wom an hurry ing to w ard them I t w ou ld be best
.
fo r t he li ttle bo y to stay and recover fro m his shi p

wreck before going into n ew adventures tha t he ,
kn ew .
He hastily to ld Tr a ddles the plan and the li ttle

b y
o nodded h is he a d un ti l h is red cap fell onto the
sand .
”
A ll wite he said sm iling up a t the o ldwo m an
, , ,
who by this ti m e wa s a t his side and replacing the

cap w ith gentle hand upon his curly pate .
A ll wi te Tu n kel ll stay too

.
’
, .
Tu n kel who had been chasing a sea hor se o r

, ,
”
hippo cam pu s a s Ro bin called it c am e up just
-
, ,
then with a dash and ran between the leg s o f the

bu llock without the cu sto m a ry effect For the .
anim a l scooped the little dog up on his horns and

to ssed him in to the sea fro m which he e m erged a ,
m o m ent later looking m uch surpri sed a n d so m e

,
what re sentfu l w i th the sa lt water drippin g from his

ears and ta i l.
Haste ha ste ! cried the A z tec ru n ner to

,
Ro bin w ho would have lingered to laug h a t

1 88
CHAPT ER TWEN TY
TH E C A PT U RE
H E prin c e had indeed fallen into the

, ,
hands of an enem y an enem y that ha d

,
long been daring the dark w a ter s of the

hidden river in the hope of finding go ld .
B u t w h en the ha lf dozen adventurou s pira te s

-
e m erge d in their canoe into the da zz ling light of the

w onderfu l Topaz Tunne l their surpri se and deligh t
,
knew no bounds ; they were n o t prepared for such a

disc ove r y B u t they were n o t slo w to ta ke advanta ge
.
of their opportunity and m ade a ll ha ste to pry the

,
jew els fro m the statu es o f the kings which edged

the banks and to brea k the va ses of si lver and g o ld
,
tha t w ere w i th in ea sy reach of their hand s the b ette r ,
to sto w them away in their boa t .
I t w a s w hi le thu s engaged n o t stopping for re

,
freshm ent or rest tha t they heard the prince s ca ra

,
’
va n a pproaching fro m the di sta nce .
Wh en it cam e in sight the leader gazed a t it

1 9 0
TH E CAPTURE
with speculation ; and then a s one who ha s con sid ,
ered a que stion and fully m ade up his m ind be a d ,
dre ssed his m en .
We have co m e by chance upon an unkno w n

, ,
t rea sure hou se

- L et u s be w i se
. Thi s is a roy a l .
”
caravan we ll a rm ed We shall let it pass S andro
, . .
,
he sa id turning to the ta llest o f the three Moors w ho

,
ac co m pa nied his p a rty do y o u pull the boat w e ll

,
o u t of sigh t under the bridge and let no m a n m a k e ,
a sound a s we bide our ti m e w ithin the shadow s .
E m ba r b / Un sbea tb y ou r bla des I B ut str i e é

n ot, u n less I g ive tbe sign a l I
Tbc cap ta in w a s a P or tu gu ese in a str ip ed m a n tle .
Tber e w a s a Tu r b in bis com p a ny a n d a ba n dit G7 eeb , .
Tbe otber tbr ee w er e Moor s bla cb a s Otbello bu t , ,
na bed, sa vef
f b
b r t eir loin clotbs
f o w bite cotton
They took their p laces under the go lden arch

o f t he bridge bu t pee red o u t co vetou sly a s the
, ,
richly caparisoned horse s w ith their laden packs , ,
appeared a t the head of the caravan I t w a s evident .
t hat the y accep ted bu t su llen ly the co m m and of
their leader a bou t le tting the cara van pa ss Fo r .
their lean fingers c lo sed over their da gger hi lts a n d

-
,
their ey e s flam ed a t sight of the go ld .
They could see the caravan and hear the troops

1 9 1
fo llowing ; bu t there were too m a ny for the m to
attack I t wa s indeed best to let the m pass
. , , .
The horse s and ca rts rattled on ; the n cam e the

flu tter o f plum e s and the shine of the jasper t ipped
-
lances .
N ear they ca m e and sti ll nearer m bile u n der tbe

, ,
br idg e tbc r obber s cow er ed wai ting for the beat o f

,
hoofs above the m that shou ld carry the so ldiers

away and leave the m safe to loo t and de stroy thi s
stra n ge and unexpected cave o f trea s ure .
B u t n ow a s t he fore foot o f the first troop horse

,
touched the bridge an order cam e from the rear that

,
set the hearts of the lurking foe in the go lden a m
b u sh to tre m bling .
“ ”
H a lt
, and the ranks stood still Cou ld it .
m ean that the hiding p lace o f the pira tes in the
she lter of the bridge had been di scovered ? The

chief ro se in the boat si lently drawing his long
,
pi stol from his sash A t the sam e m o m ent the Turk s

.
’
curved scim eter fl a shed in the am ber radi an ce The .
Greek gra sped his short sword a n dthe B lac kam oors
cro uched to spring show ing their tee th
, .
A ll ear s were strained to hear the c o m m and

which w a s repeated fro m one officer to a no ther
along the shining legion:
1 9 2
y ea r s y ou ng an Tis a legend
d bea u tiful But a .
thought cro ssed m y m ind a s I heard the troope r

S pea k t he na m e of Monte z u m a A h that such a .
,
thing m ight be !
The Turk w ho w a s o ld ru bbed his gray beard
, ,
”
and sighed . To find such a fountain he said I , ,
”
wou ld give were it m ine a ll the gold before u s
, , .
”
And I m urm ured the leader softly a s there
, ,
w a s a sound of so m e o n e drawing near would ,
— —
give a ll tbis and sla y and r ob for m or e g old in ex
change for on e draught of its waters !
”
And I said the G reek
, B u t see ! He .
peered o u t then turned with w ide ey ed wonder to

,
-
whi sper : The prince is co m ing !

Montez um a acco m pa nied on ly by Acula w ho
, ,
r a n o n foo t beside his steed w a s approach ing in fu ll

,
view of the hidden adventurers H is bronz e co lored - .
fac e under his go lden head dress wa s uplifted and

-
full of S pirit H is cheeks g lowed with the dusk red

.
of the po m egranate He wa s dressed in arm or

.
which w a s m a de like the body of a bird feathered

with silver and gold and a m a ntle of feathers of the
,
m o st gorgeou s hues a n d exqui si te fine ne ss fell from

his should ers The so les o f his sandals w ere of the
.
sa m e preciou s m e tal that w a s u sed so la vi sh l c o m

y ,
I 94
TH E CAPTURE
b in e d wi th turquois in his saddle adornm ents , and
the y were laced a s far a s his kne es wi th cri ss cro ss
-
string s o f ru bies and pearls H is la nce w a s tipped

.
w i th a dia m ond of s urp a ssing size and sp lendor .
H is arrow s were headed w ith am ber like sun light ,
c r y sta lized.
The c hecks of the rob bers flushed w ith avarice

a s the y looked and w ai ted . B u t the o ld Turk co v
eted m ore than his gold .
“ ”
H a ve l n o t p ra y ed for y ou th ? he m u ttered
”
in his beard . Have I n ot pra y ed ?
B u t a sharp signal fro m the c hief startled the m
to a c tion. He m ade the m understand by one m o
tion o f his head that th ey w ere to ru sh upon the
prince and m a ke him a prisoner .
N oisele ssly they m ade re a dy Then the thr ee

.
Moors crept u p the pink m a r ble stairs th a t led to

the little w h a rf and there w a s on ly the sound o f the
,
single ho rse s fee t to b reak the si lence of the c a vern

’
.
The prince reached the place w here his troop s

ha d turned back so recently and the Moors w ere
,
u pon him before he cou ld c r y o u t or speak a w a rn
ing to the li ttle page trudging be side him !

—
B u t Acu la sa w a ll sa w the bla c k sava g es seize
his m a ster and w i th a w i ld heart u rging fled whi le
,
-
,
l 95
TH E S T E PS TO NO W H ERE
Montez u m a w a s lifted from his horse a n d carried ,
strugg ling a n d thre a tening to the boat t ha t n o w

,
with poised oars waited for him bo ldly a t the brim

of the y ellow river .
B u t he w a s n o t su b m itting ta m e ly even in his

,
surpri se to the co m p elling b la c k a rm s t hat he ld

,
him . He fought unti l the boa t rocked perilou sly and

s ee m ed like ly to be overtu rned in the foa m ing wa ter s .
Then a blow fro m the hi lt of a bla de fell u pon

him a n d he dropped unconsciou s acro ss t he la p s o f
,
the Greek and th e o ld Turk and the m a n in the
striped m a n tle !
B u t faster than an arro w in its flight t he bo a t

w a s sent acro ss the tunne l s w idth and into a c a ve
’
of W hirlpoo ls where it w a s tossed about a n d fin a lly

,
s ucked into a p o t o f swir ling w ater s w hic h poure d
o u t in a narrow strea m be tw een the rocks and

found the open country !
When Montezu m a opened his ey es som e hours
later he fo u nd hi m se lf on t he edge of a m ountai n
,
fore st Deep tang led under b ru sh w a s all a round

.
, ,
a n d his cap tors ha d b ui lt a cam p and were prepar
ing food over a crackling fire .
He watched their faces in the light of the

flam e s Eag er faces cruel and fu ll o f treachery
.
, .
1 9 6
CHAPT ER TWEN TY O N E -
A F O U N TA I N I N TH E F O RE ST
H E ro bbers had a ll heard the

ory a s it st
had been told by their chief and there ,
w a s great exci tem ent and wonde r

am ong them when the Turk cam e
back c r y ing a s he ran :
,
’
,
’
—
Tis he tis he of whom y o u sp oke the ever
”
y oung prince of the Az tec s !
And he fe ll down and cowered shivering ove r ,
the blaze holding his le a n hand s to the w arm t h

,
eagerly .
Then after a tim e the Greek spoke the

, ,
very thoughts that had been in the m inds of the

others .
We ca n n ot kill the prince if this be true

, .
A t be st we can bu t ho ld him a s a S lave and cap

tive. B u t he h a s som ething m ore de sir a ble than
go ld
m urm ured th e gray Turk in tently ,
1 9 8
A F OUN TAI N I N TH E F ORES T
li stening , S ti ll tre m b ling , and crouching where he
ha d fallen by the fire .
“ ”
And I continued the Greek p ropo se that
, ,
he S hall win his freedo m by lea ding u s to tbe Fou n

ta in. He spoke confidently standing in his purp le ,
”
tunic st r a igh t and tall
, .
“ ”
For he continued
, once we have coo led ,
o u r lip s wi th its water s w e s hall be like him for ,
”
ever y oung .
The o ld Turk sprang to his feet a s if to go to ,
the p rince bu t the chief re strained him

, .
“ ”
I will p u t the m atter to him he said ha n g h , ,
tily throw ing back the fo ld s of h is striped red and

,
“
y e llow m an t le I a m y.oung and ha v e a fancy for ,
stay ing so If he leads u s to the foun tain we will

.
set him free If n ot . he shrugged his S hou lders

-
m eaning ly Well we shall invent so m e de licate

,
torture .
He walked over to where the lord o f the

V ani shed peop le la y fu m ing wi th i m patience over
the m atter of his ca p ture He blam ed hi m self for
.
di sregarding the warning sent by his couriers that

adventurers were upon the River of Canoe s eXp lo r ,
ing e very outlet and tribu tary That they ha d found .
their wa y into the sub terranean stream that had its

I 99
outle t in the Topaz Tunne lw a s n ot after a ll surpri s
, ,
ing There wa s bu t one con so lation to his injured

.
pride In their eagerness to carry him away the

.
pirate s had n ot di se m barked and m ade their w a y

through t he tunne l to the sa c red Hidden Ci ty .
If he cou ld bu t keep the m fro m returning and

di scovering h is beau tifu l c api tal w ith his loy al peo
,
p le and s p lendid p a la c e s and te m p le s If he cou. ld

p revent them fro m finding the dwelling in the c liff
“ ”
tha t she ltered the Whi te Ro se and the wi thered ,
b rown K o lo lo he wou ld take his own di sco m forts

,
lightly .
B u t Mon tezu m a s thoughts w ere interrup ted by

’
the chief who approached j u st then a n d cur tly m ade

,
the propo si tion th a t t he Greek had S poken of .
The p rince li stened a s the chief offered him his

freedom in exchange for the secret o f the spring his ,
m ind ac tive and eve r y sen se a lert . In so m e w a y he

m u st kee p the se m en fro m re turning to his ci ty .
He w a s the pro tector of his peop le and the

defender of the tem p le s of the S un .
He did n o t know where to look for the Foun

ta in of You th A s he had told Patricia it had never
. ,
b een found since th a t far di stant da y when o ld S aha

gun h a d m a de him drink its waters .
20 0
do with him ? He g lanced a t the y oung proud face
before him and cha nged his m a nn er of S peech .
If y o u O Montez um a wi ll lead u s to the

, , ,
”
Fountain of Youth he said in a low tone
, I
, ,
pro m i se to sail with a ll m y co m pany fro m the

nearest port and to never m ore set foo t upon the se
,
shore s .
“ ”
You m u st do m ore than that said Monte ,
z um a . A s soon a s y o u have had one draught of

th e water I m a y offer y o u y o u m u st ta ke y our oa th
,
that y o u wi ll seal y our lip s a n d the lip s of tho se t hat

follow y o u concern ing it
, .
More than tha t ; y o u m u st go a t onc e with ,
o u t spea king a n d with face s covered and wi thou t

, ,
once taking food until y o u are on a galley m an y

,
leagues a t sea S o on ly w ill tbe m a g ic of tbe sp r ing

.
p r e v a il If
.
y o u or a n y of y our m en b u t b r ea b y ou r
p ro m ise to m e and re t urn or shou ld y o u s

, peak to
others of thi s Fountain its power will be de stroy ed

,
it wi ll be n o di fferent fro m the m ere st spring that

feeds a m ountain stream ; y o u wi ll grow o ld and die
”
like o ther m en .
He spoke indifferently although he w a s far ,
fro m certain that the wi ly pirate wou ld be de c eived

by a ll he said B u t m u ttering tha t he wou ld g o
.
,
20 2
A F OUN TAI N I N TH E F ORES T
an d la y his condi tions before the others the chief ,
r et u rned to the fi r e .
Through his half shu t ey e s Montezu m a could

see t he re st thru st o u t their hand s eager ly a s ,
though to pu sh the leader ba ck And in a m om ent

.
he cam e to sa y that they were ready to accept the

p rince ’
s off e r,and w ere in ha ste t o s et o u t for t he
p l ace w i t hou t an hour’

s de la y .
Hurriedly m aking prepara tions for Montezum a -

,
w ith so m e show of reluc tance consented to begin ,
—
the que st a t the ri sing o f the m oon the li ttle co m
an
p y s e t o u t on their jo u rne y ing s And .a s t h e ,
prince s first purpo se w a s to lead the m a w ay fro m

’
the vicini ty of the Hidden City b e req u ired the m en

,
to be blindfo lded after the y were w ell star ted on
their wa y .
Thi s m ade progre ss slo w ; for they w ere afraid

to p lay a n y tricks upon an i m m or tal and the ba n ,
da ge s co m p lete ly vei led th eir ey es 80 while he .

,
wound about in c irc ling wa y s guiding them by his,
voi c e they stu m bled a n d fe ll and recovered a n d

,
s tu m b led and fe ll aga in re sting on ly in the darke st

,
part of the nights u nti l the m orning of the fifth da y .
Then Montezu m a in a voice tre m bling wi th

,
ex c i te m en t sudden ly ba de the m uncover their e y e s

, .
20 3
For to his o w n a m azed de light they had b u r st ,
into an opening in the thick fore st ; and there ,
guarded by colu m n s of vio let ony x w a s a natu ra l ,
fountain with a S pray of water leaping toward t he

skie s .
Fo r a m o m en t they a ll stood speech les s w i t h ,
jy
o . Then t he o ld Turk tre m b
,l ing wi th do u b t ,
cried hoarsely :
I s thi s the foun t ? I s thi s the i m m o rtal spring ?
How shall we know
The prince he si tated .
”
I can n ot tell unti l I taste the waters he sa id , ,
really try ing to rec a ll the place .
”
Give him a cup cried the chief ; and a s a
, ,
c u p w a s crowded in his hand Mon tezu m a ran a n d , ,
stooping fi lled it wi th the s parkling wa ters

, .
Then he ro se to his fu ll height lifted the cu p to ,
his lip s sipped and rai sed it lightly hi g h abo ve his

, ,
head .
To im m ort a l You tb I he shouted exu ltant ly .
B u t unheeding him
, w i th fierce
, breath le ss ,
ga sps and savage crie s the others threw them se lve s

,
down a t the fountain s brim and sco oping the water

’
,
in their hands p lunged their ho t face s into its

,
depths and drank and drank thirstily l ,
20 4
A FOUN TAI N I N TH E F ORES T
Then one by one they staggered to their kn ees ,
to the ir fee t where they stood for a m o m ent s space

’
,
s way ing .
Tben tbe p d m n l
str i e
a t e cr u m p le d on tb c g r ou n d,
a n d ou t of f
its olds ca m e a p f f
u o du s t I T be t u n ic f
o
t b e Gr eeb sa n é slow ly in a p ile of p u rp le clotb A nd

t ba t w a s a ll Tbc old Tu r b fell a n d w a s a bea p of
.
a s b es beside tbc br ow n du st sba t ba d been tbc Moor s I

’
Bu t the
prince wa s standing w here he stand s
,
t o da y with his y oung face turned toward Mexi c o !

-
,
Lithe and beau tifu l and y oung he sta nd s the ,
e m peror s diadem abou t his brow s and the go lden

’
c u p up lifted in his hand s a form in ony x on that

,
v io let hi ll .
For be ba dfou n da dfifi r en t fou n ta in tba n tbc on e

b e sou g bt A n d its p em fy zng w a ter s tu r n ed bim in to
.
ston e an d cba ng ed bis to tb e
blows a wa y I
no ;
CHAPTER TWEN TY TWO -
TH E D I AM ON D L A NC E
M EW H A T back o f the c ru m b ling

villa ge of No m bre de Dio s in sight of ,
the little
ha rbor w hich even t hen he ld
in its cora l c ha m bered depth s m any a
-
proud ship tha t bore the go lden arm s of I m peria l

S p a in Ro bin found the path that led fro m the sea
,
coast to the Hidd en Ci ty of the Su n the o n e tw i st ,
ing sna ke like trai l that slipp ed betw een the m ou n

,
-
ta in s a n d in to the unkno w n prince s capi ta l

’
.
Ro bin ha d expec ted Tu n kel to st ay w ith Tra d

dles unti l he Shou ld fo llow w ith the Aztec r u nner
later on B u t he ha d n o t gone a day s jou rney whe n
.
’
t he little do g c a ugh t up w i th him .
A t first Ro bin w a s in c lin ed to send him ba ck .
B u t the night w a s c o m ing on a n d he fo u nd that the

lo n g low r a ki sh do g w a s after a ll rather d esira ble
, , ,
co m pa n y S o he sha red his dried m ea t and brea d

.
w ith his co m p a n ion ; a n d then w he n the gr eat bri l

20 6
Metropo li ta n Mu seu m .
—
Hi there don
t drink a n y
,
’
”
water here .
He w a ved his a r m and drove Tu n kel away from

“
a ri ll that cro ssed their path adding Judging from , ,
a ll the pe trified things the se spring s wou ld p lay the

,
deu c e w ith y our little insides Here com e b ack ! .

,
What s the m atter ?

’
B u t fro m a di stance far ther in the w ood , ,
cam e a long long how l from the li ttle dog A

, .
ho w ! so fu ll of terror that R o bin ran wi th long

leaps to the place g ra sping the knife that the
,
Aztec boy had given him expecting to have to ,
rescue his com panion from som e fresh d a nger .
B u t a s he S prang into th e c learing he stopped in

su rpri se for the dog w a s crouched befo re a sta tue
,
o f an I n di a n prince which stood on the brink o f a
founta in .
What a strange place for such a m agnific ent

”
piece of scu lp ture Ro bin exc laim ed aloud adm it
, ,
in g ly . B u t it m u st be near the ci ty for h ere are ,
c lothe s that their owner s have left behind

— a striped
m a ntle a purp le tunic and so m e queer Turki sh look

,
-
ing thing s Leave em alone T u nk What m a ke s y ou

.
’
, .
sniff so around tho se o ld trap s ? They can t hurt ’
y o u
. Co m e on !
20 8
TH E DIAM ON D LAN C E
He turned to leave when som ething Shining on
the g round caught his attention .
“ ”
Gee what a dandy sp ear ! he cried a s the
, ,
“
shivering li ttle do g kept a t his hee ls I be lieve I ,
wi ll take that along wi th m e and give it to the fe llo w

tha t thi s m e ss age is fo r I ll bet that stone a t the
’
.
tip is a dia m o u
S o he picked up the prince s lance And so it

’
.
happ ened tha t he had that sam e lance in his ha nd

when the guard s m et him in his c our ier s dre ss of
’
y e llo w and b lue a t the ga te of t he Hidden Ci ty a t

the hour of sunset the next eve n ing .
Robin had found the ci ty in a state of intense

excite m ent over the cap ture of the p rince And .
when he appea red wi th the we ll known lance o f

-
Montez u m a in his posse ssion he w a s a t once ,
arre sted.
There ha d been considerable surpri se on a ll

side s when thi s ha d happened Tu n kel had a ssi sted
.
in t he confu sion by tripping up the chief o f police

and hurtling down a judge who had donned his
wig of spun silver and hurried to the plaz a when the
new s of the arriv a l of the stra nger w a s taken to him .
The di spatche s w hich R o bin carried in his ba g

were a t once seized upo n a n d taken to the Cham be r
20 9
of the Counsellors ; bu t when a soldier w a s found
who w a s able to u nderstan d the S pani sh tong ue ,
R obin told his sto ry .
He began wi th the m eeting with P edo

a fter the wave s had t o ssed him and his little charge
upon the coa st of N o m bre de Dios and ended the ,
tale with the account of the wonderfu l sta tue of a n
I ndian y ou th which stood a t a spri n g in the fore st

of ony x .
“
I found thi s spear on the ground a t the
statu e s fee t and brough t it to give to the p rince of
’
”
the Hidden City ,he said a s he ended his sto ry .
Then a terri ble c ry w ent up from the peop le

who stood around and the wai ls spread with the
,
new s throughout the entire p lace .
“
If thi s tale is true our prince will n ot return ,
“
they said . If it is n o t true thi s w hite boy sha ll be
,
given to the gods a s a sac rifice of rejoicin g I n the .
m ean whi le aw ay with him to the pri s on !

,
So they carried Ro bin aw ay fighting wi th his

,
strong y oung fi sts and o therwi se prote sting bu t

, ,
help less betw een the dou ble row s of a rm ored m en

that form ed his e scor t .
And there they left him in a g loo m y ce ll bu t ,
Tu n kel staid beside him .
2 10
versation w ith som e one who had approached from
the o p po si te direc tion She cou ld n o t see very w ell
.
in the dim light ; bu t there appeared to be tw o

figure s one extrem ely sm all and the other taller and
, ,
lim pin g slightly a s he m oved a bou t Then she sa w .
the larger of the tw o turn a bou t a s though to guide ,
the searcher s and the little one stu m bled u n cer

, ,
ta in ly ah ead to w ard her in the m oonligh t !

,
P atricia lean ed over the wicke t her red lip s ,
parted her blu e ey e s wide

, .
“
Then with a cry of Tr a ddy Tr a ddy Tr a ddy !
, , ,
she tore open the gate and in a m o m ent her li ttle

,
bro ther w a s in her arm s so bbing ,
‘
My own dea r dea r sisser, .
For a long tim e they stood there c heck to ,
cheek now w eeping now sm i ling together The n

, , , .
Trad inquired :
Where s Wo bin Weed ? to P atty s i m m ense
’ ” ’
sur p ri se and wonder .
I s b e here to o ? ,she a sked in great delight , .
And Tr a ddy to ld her the whole story .
“ ”
Where can he be ? said P atricia n o t dream ,
ing that he w a s the p ri soner she had seen carried off

to the high to w er ; and ju st then the Su n g o d tro tted
-
by. S he called to him .
2 1 2
TH E DIAM ON D LA N C E
H is face shone w i th day ti m e radiance when he
sa w Trad an d he to ld h im he had grown a lo t s ince
,
he had last seen him running up the S tep s to N o

w her e .
Then P atricia interrup ted by asking him if he

had seen Robin .
“ ”
O h y es he rep lied a s he stooped to pick up
, , ,
Tr a ddy s cap and du st it wi th his chu bby fing ers

’
.
”
H e s in a ba d p la ce ju st n o w
’
.
“ ”
What ? cried Patricia And he to ld her
.
,
adding :
“
If they find he w a s m istaken abou t that being
the prince they w i ll sa crifice him o n the altar s .
”
Horri ble cried the li ttle girl
, They shan t
.
’
.
”
I w on t let the m !
’
She stopped and stared a t the
su n god
- .
“
W hy don t y ou g et him o u t o f th a t
’
”
p lace ? N o w .To n n t
-
.
He shifted fr o m o n e p lu m p foo t to the o ther

”—
and blinked : W hy “
he began he si tatingly , .
N ow y o u are g oing to sa y y o u cou ld if y ou

” “
were tbe r ea l tbing she exc la i m ed
, I know ! and
.
it is a ll non se nse ! Yo u ca n do it if y o u tr y even if ,
y o u are a s u b ! A n y body ca n do w b a t tb ey tb in b tb ey
”
ca n do I S tart thi s instan t !
S he stam ped her fee t i m patiently .
Q I 3
Wi ll y o u think I am thereal thing if I do ?
he inqu ired a bit w i stfully
, ,
—
and be m ore re spect
”
fu l to m e?
”
Yes , I w i ll,
aid Patty giving him her hand
s , .
H e shook it war m ly and said

“
A s a m atter of f a c t I think y o u had be tter
,
a ll be g etti n g o u t of thi s ci ty n o w tha t the prin c e is
gone You and the wee chap here run down to

.
the To p az Tunne l Yo u know the w a y

. And keep .
on to the golden bridge over the Lo st River I ll .

’
m ee t y o u there wi th Ro bin
”
Bring Tu n kel too shri lled Trad after him
, , .
And he waved his h a nd a n d beam ed u pon them a s ,
hand in hand they ran off through the w hi te noon

lig ht toward the Top az T u nne l through whi c h ,
flowed the y e llow river .
21 4
Then she to ld him how she had m ade the trip
before on the de a r li ttle white donkey in the prince s
’
caravan and of w hat had ha ppened before they

,
reached the bridge B u t she did n o t te ll him fo r

.
,
happi ly she did n o t know what strange fate had

,
befallen Montezu m a a n d the little band of a dven

tu r er s a t the spring on the vio le t heigh ts of t he
O ny x Mountain .
The y reached the Bridge of the K ing s and

stood on its arched span over the ru shing y e llow ,
ri ver where the y could see the large go lden statues

,
on ei ther side of the stream Ma ny of the g em .
which ha d incru sted the se statues had been rem oved

by the p irates w ho had c a p tured the p rince a n d had
taken aw a y w ith the m so m e of the sm aller va se s a n d
im a ge s B u t there w ere enough left to daz z le the
.
chi ldren unti l they looked up to see a still brighter

light adva n cing toward the m .
—
I t w a s the shining ro ly poly figure of Tun a the ,
su n god
- . And when P a tricia sa w that Ro bin w a s
wi th him she ran like a whi te ga z e lle to m eet him wi th
Trad a t her hee ls calling He llo Wo bin a s he r a n
,
“ ”
, , .
The m eetin g between the tall boy and the little

girl w a s so af fecting tha t tear s of sy m pathy siz zled
do w n the g lo w ing fa ce of the ido l .
2 1 6
TH E RE AL THI N G
Tr a ddy heard the s iz zing ound and looked
s
a larm ed .
”
Do n t cry ’
he urged patting the p lu m p
, ,
”
shou lder s , don t cry Tear s ru st y our works
’
. .
Patty laughed and sa id

Wherever did y o u hear such a n expre ssion a s
that ? B u t Tr a ddy looked a t R o bin and sm i led
kno w ing ly .
“
We ll te ll y o u a bout da t so m e tim e w a s his
’
,
rep ly an d she had to be content wi th th a t B u t a s

, .
fo r the su n god he see m ed to be thinking it over

-
very serio u sly indeed fo r he finally said : That is

,
o n e of the m o st sen si ble re m arks I ever heard I .
a m going to j o t it do w n on m y ivory ta ble t and u se
it in m y bu sine ss Tea r s r u st y ou r w a r bs
. I sn t .
’ ’
tha t a bu lly say ing n o w ?
H o w slangy that sound s said Patricia look

, ,
“
ing a t him rather severely Yo u m u st re m e m ber
.
tha t y o u are a teach e r here .
Well I ve g o t to do so m ething to attract

,
’
”
attentio n and appeal to the m a sse s he rep lied , .
B u t com e I think y o u ha d better bu stle along to

.
”
the bo a t.
“
The boat ? a sked Ro bin who had been ,
laughing over the g a y worldly a ir o f the

,
2 1 7
ancient ido l Where can we go from thi s
.
place
“
I want to go hom e said Tr a ddles and
, ,
P atricia wi thou t a word caught him in her arm s

, ,
and gave him a big hug He returned it in fu ll .
m ea sure and his li ttle red cap fe ll off an d la y for a

,
tim e unnoticed whi le Tuna w a s gi ving Robin the
m o st c lear and care ful d irec tion s .
Then the su n god led the w a y down the p ink

-
m arb le step s to the landing .
The go lden boat w a s waiting a t the wharf a n d , ,
t o P atricia s surp ri se it had been care fu lly prepared

’
,
for the journey for a water skin a n dbaskets of food

,
a n d fruit w ere stowed in the bow .
She looked up to see Tuna b linking a t her wist

fu lly and suddenly she realiz ed that while he had
,
been forever p lanning for her com fort she had n ot

e ven been kind to him .
”
Tuna she exclai m ed
, You are a dear a , ,
—
p erfect dear and the R ea l Tbing ”
.
”
O h no he pro te sted m odestly : Not tba t
, , , .
You don t think I a m rba t do y o u ?

’
H is tone
,
w a s eag er and his face blaz ed wi th de ligh t .
“ ”
Yes I do she an swered
, Tbe R ea l Tbing , .
You are j u st gr ea t and sp len did and she he si ,
2 1 8
for the blithe co m rade , h er voy age with the
prince .
Th e s -
u n go d nodded and w ent on .
“
Yes : So y o u w i ll
urpri sed bu t n ot be s ,
Ro bin and Tr a ddles m ight be a t the darkne ss y o u ,
wi ll h a ve to pass thro u g h B u t thi s is w ha t I w a nt

.
y o u t o u nder stand : W b en y ou r eoob a cer ta in sta g e in
y ou r j
ou r n ey , f
a ter y ou ba v e gon e by tbe p la ce w b er e
y ou m et Mon tez u m a in tbe for est by tbe r iv er , y ou w ill
lea v e tbc la n d of y ester da y bebin d y ou R ov er a nd ,
.
,
fi y
n d ou rself g
a a in in tb c y ea r 1 91 0 if j .
“ ”
Can t y ou c om e ? cried Pa tty aga in B u t
’
.
he sho o k his head till the fe a thered ra y s of h is

corona g lea m ed like a ring of f la m e .
” “
No th a nk y o u he said
, , I m a y n o t be the .
Real Thing bu t I don t like to have m y toe s

,
’
tickled Good by e !
.
-
”
Good by e ! Good by e ! Adio s !
- - w ere the
three a n sw ering crie s Then a s Ro bin sent the
. ,
boa t sc u dding into the m iddle o f the stream there ,
c a m e a sound that cau sed Tra ddy to call o u t :

lV a it a m Wa it a m idit I sa y !
idit , /
ll obin .
,
And in a m om ent w ith sw ift pa ttering fee t an d ,
bre a thless panting ha ste Tu n k el arrived in sight

, , .
“ ”
We c a n t lo se Tunk laughed Ro bin ho ld
’
, ,
220
TH E RE AL THI NG
in g the o a r s He ll swim o u t to u s a ll right H e s
.
’
.
’
done that before hasn t he Trad ? There he s

’ ’
, , ,
”
s topped to g et y our cap .
S u re eno u gh the li ttle dog sw am up to the

,
b oat w i th the cap in his m ou th a n d Tr a ddy ,
dra gged him in and hugged him dripping a s he ,
w a s to his bre a st
, P at ricia patted h is dam p co a t
.
w ith her li ttle hand and Robin sm i led B u t the .
s u n god w h o had been jogging aw ay tow a rd the

-
,
c i ty cam e ru n ning b ack He m ade a ho llo w o f his

.
h and s and shouted

,
Throw the dog o verbo a rd and let him co m e

back H e belong s to tbe p a st You ca n t ta be bim ov er
’
. .
t bc tb r esbold o ftbc T w en tietb C en tu ry I

But Tr a ddy he ld on and Tu n k el looked back
,
w i th a defia nt grow l .
“
I w a n t to take him cried Tr a ddy And w ith
, .
a ge sture of his shou lders whi ch see m ed to sa y :

“ ”
D o a s y o u p lea se b u t I have warned y o u
, the ,
s u n g od wav ed his hand

- Then the little boat .
du cked under an arch a t the edge o f the Topaz

Tunne l preparatory to descending into the grotto
,
o f the su bterranean st ream and the three w a ved ,
their la st farewe lls to the lone glowing figure that ,
s tood on the Bridg e of the K ing s over the Lo st R iver !
22 1
CHAPTER TWEN TY F OUR -
TH E T E N T AT TH E Z ON E
A P TA I N L EE had been a m onth in

Pa nam a fa r o u t of the reg u la r line s o f
,
t r a ve l and a w a y fro m th e te legrap h
station s t ry ing to m a tc h his engineer

,
ing S ki ll wi th the stra nge baffling c ondition s tha t

,
were m aking the battle o f the leve ls a lo sing o n e

to the governm ent he repre sented .
He had n o t h eard from N ew York B u t h e .
w a s n o t trou bled. He had often been m any m onth s

a w a y fro m his chi ldren . A so ldier ha s first to think
o f U nc le S a m a n d then of his fa m i ly .
B u t he drea m ed o f the di m p ling sm i le o f Patty

a n d t he swee t and loving chatter of li ttle Trad m any
a night a s he la y in his canvas tent which w a s ,
p itched now here and n o w there through th a t wi ld

and little know n count ry a s he stu died the variou s
,
water course s along th e w a y .
“
I m g lad I to ld the m the y cou ld go to Aun t
’
222
dren rem ained o u t that afternoon and did n o t r etu rn
th a t night she sim p ly pack ed her satche l an d went
away .
”
They ll be safe with the o ld la dy she said
’
, ,
and goodne ss know s I ve needed a re st fro m them

’
fo r m a ny a da y .
Polic e m a n Grim e s u sed to sm ile to him se lf r e ,
m em be rin g the w hite whi sker seed a s he sw u ng

-
along o n his be a t a round the charm ing park and ,
he had counted the golden notes o f the bells in the

Metropo litan tower for every da y unti l thirty had
passed Then he began to w onder w hy the chil
.
dr en had n o t been around .
Their Aunt M rs Gray lived b u t a short distance

, .
,
from the square and o n e da y he stro lled o ver to

,
inqu ire a bou t the little Lee cha ps only to find her ,
doors and window s boarded up a s if S he had gone

on a lo ng vi si t aw ay fro m the city .
H is inquiry a t the drug store abou t her where

a bouts sent him hurriedly over to the Cap tain s ’
residence B u t thi s too w a s de serted Then a s a

.
, , .
,
loy al friend o f the officer a n d his chi ldren Gri m e s ,
w en t to the h o u se where R o bin who w a s a n orphan

, ,
boarded whi le he w a s in S choo l The peop le th ere.
h a d n o t heard o f the bo y for a t lea st fo u r w eeks .
2 24
TH E T EN T AT TH E ZONE
”
He w a s a nic e bo y they sa id And they hoped
, .
t hat no thing had happened to h im ; bu t he h a d gone

”
aw ay .
The bo y s still running their Marathon rac e s

,
a bou t the park c ou ld tell him no m ore o f their

tea c her .
Then half si c k w ith a dread that he cou ld n o t

,
nam e O ffi cer Grim e s had telegra phed to Captain

,
Lee He did n ot kno w w here to reach him S o he

. .
s i m p ly sent the m e ssage in care o f the Canal C o m

,
m i ssion so m e w here in Pa na m a
, .
The engineer ha d returned fro m his trip to the

m ountain s to w ard t he w e st and w a s n o w fo llow ing ,
the c our se of a str ea m w hi c h w a s said by t he native s
to dip underground and be co m e lo st altogeth e r .
Thi s w a s a tri bu tary of the Chagre s And the C a p .
t ain ha d a n opinion t ha t it m igh t be trou ble so m e in
flood tim e s .
H e w a s standing on the bank o f thi s stream o n e

m orning w he n he sa w a m a n in khaki a pproa c h a t
s u ch a speed a s he co u ld m a n a g e t hro u gh the rough
cou ntry ; and a s he dre w near he sa w th a t it w a s

, ,
a no ther engineer a bro ther offi c er and that he had

, ,
a m e ssage fo r him .
The C a ptain standing w ith his b road fe lt ha t

,
22 5
drawn over his ey es to protec t them fro m the fierc e
glare o f the tropic su n light presented a fine and ,
so ldierly figure in his khaki uniform ; and the ride r ,
waving his dispatc h galloped upon him ra pidly H is

, .
face w a s grave an d Captain Lee wondered In that

, .
de so late p lac e co m panion ship is alway s m et with

sign s of p lea s u re .
”
Hello Pie rson ! he ca lled c heerfu lly
, I m .
’
m igh ty glad to see y o u The voice of the m osqui to

.
alone in the lan d gets m onotonous What s that ? .

’
Ano ther m e ssa ge from som e o n e who knows a ll

a bout the Canal problem ? O r is it a dispatch fro m
the Pre sident ?
He reached up and took it languidly a s the
cavalr y m an bent in his saddle .
“
I ha d the deuce of a tim e finding y o u ,
co m p lained the officer jum ping from his horse

, ,
”
and sa y o ld fellow
, he pu t his a rm around
,
the Captain s shoulder’

I m afr aid it s ba d
,
’ ’
new s.
Lee s bro wn cheek grew pale a s he tore open

’
the enve lope A m om ent he sca n ned it and the n

. ,
w ith a hoar se cry hid his fac e in his ha nd s C ap .
tain Pier son sa w the word s in black ink a s the
m e ssage f lu ttered open to the ground :

226
For C a p ta in L ee su ddenly and w ith a loud
, ,
c ry , le a ped to the ve ry edge o f the strea m a n d

began r u nning a long the bank to w a rd the little
boat I t wa s sc uddi n g in like an arro w of light
.
,
sent by the strong ar m s o f a bo y y e llo w -

,haired ,
ta ll a n d y o u ng For a m o m ent t he so ldier looked

.
like o n e da zed a t the sigh t before him Then he.
turned to his friend

“
I don t kno w ho w thi s ha s co m e abou t Pier
’
,
”
so n , he sa id brokenly w hile tear s ran over h is ta n
,
“
c heeks . B u t m y cbildr en a r e in tba t boa t ! Look for
y our s e lf Pa tty
. and T r a ddle s w i th R ob in R eed God .
”
ble ss the m l
He gave a lo n g H a lloo I in w hich he wa s
joined by his co m panion A sho u t a n swered by a
.
three fo ld cry o f j
- o y fro m t he w a ter s .
Then the little kee l gra ted on the sands and the
Captain w aded o u t and c a u ght h is o w n to his breast
and carried the m bo th to shore .
Ro bin le a ped to the la nd and w a s gree ted by

Captain Pier son Then he stopped to pic k u p
.
Tr a ddy s c a p and to rep lac e it o n the shining head

’
t ha t w a s n o w cuddled a gain st a khaki-c overed
fa tb er —
b ca r t .
There w ere tear s and la u ghter an d h u rried

22 8
T he s h ut f
o ro m s ho re wa s a n s w er e d by a wild ch eer fr om t he s tr a n ge canoe
on t he r i ver
.
TH E S T E PS TO NOW H E RE
Through the Li ttle Lo st Door said Tra ddles
, ,
picki n g up his cap aga in a nd jam m ing it upon his

,
curls.
“
O n the S tep s to N o w here sa id Pa tty loo k
, ,
ing wi th a di m p ling sm i le a t Ro bin w ho a dde d

,
serio u sly
I n tbc L a nd o
f Yester da y I
2 30

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°

G RAC E D UFFI E B OYL A N

CHA PTER TH I RTEE N

CHAPTER TWENTY TH REE -

The pine s prang back and th r w e P eter high in a ir .

A nd h er e I ve been s tan ding up for y ou all

watch ed the gam es in the p l eas ﬁ ld b el ow u re- e .

The p ince was s tan di n g w h h stand

The sh ut o fr o m S h or e wa s answer d e by a wild ch eer fr om

The S te ps o f th e S i lver Cu p ids .

Th e Li ttle Lo st Door to Yesterda y .

Old N ew York a t th e Tim e o f th e Bri t i sh

The Hudson River bank w here Kidd buried

The Lost Riv er bey ond th e Forgo tt en Moun

No m bre de Dio s and the Path o f t he Couriers .

Th e To p az Tunnel a n d the Hidden Ci ty o f

The ho m e o f the Vanished Peo ple .

The P lace o f th e Foun tain .

The S panish Main .

The Chagre s R iver .

Pana m a and t he Riv er o f Canoes .

P ATRIC IA L EE, th e C a p ta i n s d a u gh ter, a ged ten

TRA DDL ES L EE, son o f the Sol d i er, fou r y ea rs old .

R OB IN R EED , co a ch fo r th e G r a m ercy P a rk a th l eti c tea m A .

TH E B AC KW ARD C L OC K, a ti ckl i sh ti m epi ece th a t h a s m u ch

V ROUW W IN KEL , th e l a dy o f th e ch u r n , a n d h er l over ,

TH E ZA N D KOKER, a M a ker of D r ea m s, w h o m e ets w i th

KOL OL O, wh o is ﬁ rst sw eeth ea r t a n d th en g r a n d m oth er to th e

C APTAIN KI DD , M a ster o f th e ga ll ey d ven tu r e .

CAPTAIN PI ERSON , U S . a com r a d e of C a p ta i n L ee, in

TUN A TI UH , a n fA z tec S u n god w itli m a n n ers a cqu i red in

ﬁ gh ter s, foot p a g es, M exi ca n troop s, ju d ges, cou n sell o rs,

H E Y ti ptoed through th e h a ll and down

s winging o u t o f th e library door in a

tr e m endou s hurry and nearly fell over

Hello kiddies dear li ttle kiddies ! he cried

catch ing t he m bo th in h is arm s wit h a big hug .

m inu t e fo r I ve g o t t o leav e y o u again

N urse told u s fa ltered Patricia try ing n o t

isn t it ? A n d I hav e on ly tim e to p ack and g et

so and t hen we ll ha v e larks E h Pa tty ? E h lod

dam p faces o n h is shou lde rs a n d said n ever a word .

m a de so m e arra nge m en ts fo r y o u B u t I ll tell

N urse to let y o u go to y our Au n t Mary s You

sary t o le t her know J u st t ake

c o m e sh e u sed t o give m e w hen I w a s a ta d S he .

h a s a fine ki tc hen fo r cookie s and Patty can m ake ,

He tried to spea k c heerfu lly b u t failed and so , ,

fo r a m o m en t he ld t h em c lose b e fore he a dded

He ki ssed the m and st oo ped to p ic k up Tra d

brigh t curls w i t h loving h a nd and glancing a t Pa

fo r a wa lk and now I g u e ss y ou d b e tt er run aw a y

to th e pa rk I t wou ld brea k m e a ll u p t o hav e to

Ca p ta in Lee threw so m e t hings in to a steam er

wi th m ore care and con signed t he m to a sp ec ia l

t ion s fo r de p a rt ure Then th e taxica b honked a t

th e door and t he soldier engineer w a s soon b eing

whirled through th e stree ts to t h e wh a rf; a n d in

ranging h is m a ps on h is sta teroo m w all: thu s get

in tended to do in th e lei sure t i m e he shou ld have

S oldiers p articu larly tho se connec ted wi th the

de pa rt m en t o f c on structive engineering a re alwa y s

t heory in regard to th e troub le so m e R iver Chagre s ,