Tudor Jenks

“ Judging from photographs he had seen, Philip was sure that in the earlier days of the Exposition there was a better opportunity for examining exhibits. Now, everywhere he went, there were such throngs of people that he found it difficult to use his note-book. Every time he entered a building, he found his camera a burden and a trouble; but no sooner was he out again than he was glad he had brought it with him.
Here he had to fall into line if he wished to make any progress at all. People would gaze upon some slab-sided, pop-eyed fish until they entirely forgot they were keeping others away. ”

“ Strangely enough, Cyrilla was not very happy, for she could see that the little fairy prince, who had done so much to help her regain her throne, seemed very sad at the thought of parting from her. She could think of nothing that was in her power to give him which could reward him for all he had done. But although she could not offer him gold or jewels, or even an office in her kingdom such as might suit a mortal, she wished to give him some token of her gratitude, so she held out toward him the withered four-leaved clover. ”

“ I ask of the world only to let me increase its store of knowledge, and so far I have earned as a reward only poverty, prisoning, distrust, and enmity. And yet men great in the eyes of the world have been glad to share in the knowledge won by the work of the barefooted Franciscan Friar. Edgar, I have spent a fortune for knowledge and for the good of mankind, and my only satisfaction is in thinking that in some future time men will recall with gratitude the name and works of Roger Bacon. ”

“ Across the rampart, into the keep, to his own room, and back again the Friar hurried, while the party upon the walls remained watching the approaching group—which was seen, as it came nearer, to consist of four horsemen riding slowly, while a figure on foot walked between. As they halted, this figure was seen to raise its arms as if appealing for aid to the castle.
And Lady Mortimer, seeing the gesture, sobbed with grief, exclaiming, "Edgar, let them take the castle, and ransom poor Amabel! What is it but a pile of stone? She has risked her life for us, shall we grudge her anything we have?" ”

“ I said, "you could shoot the elk without needing to go near him."
"A rifle?" he inquired. "What is that? I have heard of a queer weapon made of a stick and a cord, and I believe that it can kill from a distance. But I do not know how it is made."
"You mean a bow and arrow," I said, laughing. "Why, they are nothing to a rifle. If I had a rifle, I could stand off further than a bow can send, and yet reach a man with ease."
"This sounds like magic," the chief said, cautiously drawing a little away from me.
"It is not magic," I answered; "it is only that I know more than your people." ”

“ Down-stairs were great dynamos, electric cars, the Edison-light tower, which they had already seen in operation on their first evening at the Fair, and such an array of complicated measures, meters, and tests that the boys walked humbly out, feeling very small indeed as they passed the heroic statue of Benjamin Franklin in the portico. They felt that for the first time they understood how great a man was the printer’s boy who began by carrying two rolls under his arms and ended by carrying a thunderbolt under one arm and a scepter under the other. ”

“ The Count went to him at once, and speaking loud enough for all to hear said: "You were right, Luke. With such as these soldiers we cannot take the least of the defenses by assault. At the first twang of the bowstrings all fly like hares! So let us bring forward your gimcracks and jiggermarees, your see-saws and go-carts, and batter us down the earthwork." ”

“ Hugh waited until he saw them reach the arrow, saw Edgar lean from the saddle and pluck the arrow out of the ground, and then he hurried to his horse and mounted with all speed. Anyone who had seen the old soldier only in times of inaction, would have been amazed at his activity now, as he forced his horse down the steep hillside at a gallop, taking risks that frightened the easy-going old steed herself. ”

“ Hugh replied modestly. "Any soldier of two campaigns might do as much. You have seen little or no fighting, and you overpraise me for but the every-day matters of defense. Let us think of the morrow. What, if you were the attacking party, would you do, young lord?"
"Do?" Edgar repeated. "I should be a dunce if I had not learned my lesson to-day. If I were the Count I should destroy your palisade as best and quickest I could. One could send axmen against it, and though a few would be lost, they would be men well spent." ”

“ There was silence in the hall, for the garrison had received from Edgar some hint of the Friar's device, and the besiegers had heard much of the powerful sorcerer from whose arts they had already suffered. Suddenly, a click was heard, a beam of light appeared extending across the hallway, and lighting up the dust that had been raised by the trampling feet of the men-at-arms, and an uneasy murmur was heard amid the besiegers' ranks. ”

“ What of the box—the soul-catcher?"
"It is but a picture-box," said the wizard. "It is curiously wrought, and will do in a winking of your royal eyelid more than a cunning worker in paint can do from dawn to dark."
"But," again spoke Batta, "that is witchcraft."
"Nay, great ruler," replied the wizard, " it is no witchcraft, and it harms no one."
"I fear me," said the ruler, making as he spoke a sniffing' with his nose, "that there is the smell of enchantment about thee." ”

“ Edgar exclaimed, looking admiringly at the old bowman, "and I say, give him the prize on condition he shall show me how to deliver true arrows on each other's heels! What is the secret, Hugh?" he asked, smiling.
"The secret," the old man replied as he carefully straightened his bow and replaced it in its case, "is to face another archer who draws his bow with the hope of planting his arrow in your breast before yours comes. I know nothing else that gives one so quick a hand and eye. You need only practice, my young lord. Your draw is sure and steady. Your eye and hand are true. ”

“ I could hear new bells clanging around me, and really it was hardly more than twenty minutes before a second fleet of airplanes arose from the top of the palace and soared out to drive away the attackers. The defenders were larger and swifter than their foes, and put them to flight. As the whole group receded into the distance, I could see that Prince Bertram's planes were one by one driven to earth.
We descended into the art-gallery and looked at the portraits. ”

“ We are always hopeful that a neighbor will recover, but we are never so cheerful about an invalid of our own flesh and blood. Cheer up, Edgar Mortimer,—we have many a task for the Count and his men before they shall set foot within the Castle of the Red Lion! But we must imagine the worst in order to insure the best. So far we have inflicted some loss on the enemy, and we have not lost a man, nor have they even come across the moat. ”

“ If we had not been so well defended, your desire to be a heroine might be gratified, but it would be at a frightful cost to some of us."
"I don't care to be a heroine," Amabel replied, "but I am tired of wandering about as useless as a sick cat. I am going to Edgar, and I shall offer him my services. There must be something I can do, some way in which I can be useful. Lord Mortimer has given me a home, and has cared for me as if I were his own daughter. Now that his castle is attacked, I wish to show him that I am not without gratitude. I am going to talk to the Friar, also. ”

“ The first rays of the rising sun had hardly touched more than the highest branches of the thick woods opposite the castle, when there appeared, at the opening of the road through the forest, a dark mass of men that poured forth upon the plateau like a swarm of ants coming out of an ant-hill, They did not approach very near to the castle itself, and were not apparently very well disciplined since they scattered in irregular groups, and did not seem to be aware what they should do first. ”

“ Under such leadership all men are brave; and first one, then another, and at last all the survivors followed him, echoing his cry. Some shouted also, "Death to the Sorcerer!" and rushed forward with renewed courage. The Count, taking a heavy ax from one of his men, dealt resounding blows against the timbers of the door. His example was followed, and in a very few minutes the tough oak planks were penetrated, and it was not long before the bolts were drawn, and the bold besiegers were within the tower—the second they had captured that night. ”

“ But, after all, most bores cure themselves. When the novelty was dimmed the invitations to banquets began to dwindle. The flute and torch accompaniment came to be a standing joke in Rome, and the street boys had a fashion of falling in behind, forming a rag-tag and bobtail procession behind the unhappy Admiral, imitating the nervous flute-player's notes and throwing things at the torch. So the better class of Romans gradually dropped Duillius from their lists. ”

“ The amphitheater was as full of people as if it had been the only exhibition given that afternoon in Chicago. A baby elephant lumbered in, followed by a large hound and two ponies, and these animals went through a clever performance of marching, wheeling, waltzing, and posing under the direction of a graceful young girl dressed in a close-fitting purple velvet jacket, trousers, and military boots. They were excellently managed, and performed cleverly.
A wild boar came next,—an ugly-faced fellow,—and was put through his feats of hurdle-racing and riding a chariot drawn by another boar. ”

“ And it was so from that day forth. "Do I look like that?" he asked again, with the voice of a thunder-peal, this time turning to the white-haired counselor, he-who-speaks-little-but-wisely.
"I would not be so foolish as to say it was like you, great Batta!" answered the counselor; and the rest who stood about said that his words were wise.
"Your art is no art!" then said the great Batta; and, calling the swordbearer, he ordered that the wizard's box should be thrown into the sea, together with his vile compounds, his dishes, the liquids, and his flat pieces and the baleful red-fire maker. ”

“ There is no eye so keen as that of a malicious enemy, and in the garrison was one man whom Amabel had offended. It was not that she had willingly done him wrong, but she had caused him to be detected in an act of carelessness, and thus earned for him a severe reprimand and a punishment. At the time Amabel had detected the attempt to scale the precipice on the river-side of the castle, it will be remembered that the sentry who should have been on the watch against such a surprise had deserted his post, and gone to the roof of the keep in order to watch the repulse of the siege-tower. ”

“ When Hugh considered that he had led them too for away for them to be of use to the rest, he suddenly pulled up in the road, wheeled his horse about, dismounted, and set an arrow upon the string, while he held another in his bow-hand. Seeing him turn at bay, Ferrers' men also reined in their horses, coming to a halt; for there was something in the coolness of the bowman that warned them not to be rash. As they halted, Hugh lowered his bow, and addressed them:
"I shall fly no farther," he cried. "If you men value your lives you will keep your distance. ”

“ At a sign from his father, Edgar stepped forward and shooting carefully, lodged an arrow in the center of the target. Edgar lowered his bow with a smile he could not repress, and the baron clapped his hands.
"Aha, old Hugh!" he cried, "the youngsters too have found out the use of a piece of yew, a clothyard stick and the gray-goose feather!"
"No archer can do more than make a center shot," said the old soldier, good-humoredly. "But if a young archer fixes a center, an old one should be able to put the ring around it!" ”

“ They will never know me, in the world, having seen me only as a mendicant Friar at the door of the Count's castle. I will alter the cut of my beard, and will appear among them from the other side, representing myself as a minstrel or a troubadour from the Holy Land. Never fear that I cannot play my part, and even if I be suspected, I shall have a way to save myself from any danger. Surely there can be no harm come to an unoffending old minstrel. ”

“ Philip walked away and sat down in a corner.
“What’s the matter, Philip?” asked Mr. Douglass—“are you tired?”
“I have been tired all the time I’ve been in the Fair,” said Philip; “but it isn’t that. I am getting mad. I want to see things; I want to learn about them, and remember about them. And there is no chance. It’s like trying to pick out stars in the heavens when you don’t know a thing about astronomy. As soon as you look at one it disappears, and you see another.”
“Well, Phil,” said Harry, “you know we leave for home to-morrow afternoon. Bear up—be brave ”

“ He warned the Earl that even yet the forces commanded by the Count de Ferrers were fully as strong as those the Earl was leading against him.
But the Earl answered Edgar's look with a smile of confidence, saying: "Such men as the Count leads are not the equals of honest soldiers. They fight for plunder, not for glory and honor. Whenever they suspect they will lose the day, they think only of their own skins, and run like rats from a terrier. This Count, robber though he may be, is yet a man of mettle, and he will resist to the end. ”

“ There was a shout of laughter from the garrison, and the Count, snatching a crossbow from one of the few soldiers who remained with him, took a hasty aim and sent the bolt whisking close to Edgar's ear. The young lord jumped behind the earthwork again, for he saw no glory in being slain by a chance shot. The Count then sullenly retired from before the intrenchment, where he found Luke trying to bring his men into the frame of mind for a second assault. ”

“ When Cyrilla was arrayed in all this splendor, she suddenly thought of her fairy wand, which she had taken good care to keep in her hand all the morning. To her surprise, she found that it had disappeared, or, rather, that it had changed into the four-leaved clover, which was now a little withered, naturally enough. Then she remembered that her wish was that she might be Fairy Queen only until she had recovered her kingdom, and she knew that she could no longer be one of the fairies. ”

“ The swordbearer, having taken a damp farewell, gathered the bowmen and went toward the rising sun; but his heart was cold. When the fourth pinkness of dawning dyed the sky, came black figures against the blue at the ending of the earth where rises the world-lighter, and before the gong for the morning meal had thrice been rung to waken the sleep-loving-in-the-morning ruler, the sword-bearer came bringing the wicked wizard. ”

“ Amabel, when left with the Friar and the old soldier, could not conceal her impatience until Edgar's return.
"I know," said she to Hugh, "that there are many maidens who would faint with fear at the idea of such an expedition; but I have ever been different. I am never so happy as when I am in danger. I love the excitement. And I do not say this as some might—from ignorance of what danger means. When I was a child of ten, my father fled from his castle one night, carrying me wrapped in his cloak, and for three days we were fugitives. I have seen more than one battlefield. ”

“ They walked between the State buildings over toward the lake, intending to take lunch somewhere nearer the shore. When in front of Ohio’s Building, with its projecting portico, they stopped to look at the great statue in front. A woman’s figure upon a lofty pedestal raises her arms proudly as if to call the attention of all the world. Around the pedestal, like a row of bad boys sent to stand against the wall for whispering, are a ring of Ohio’s great men, including Grant, Garfield, and Stanton. ”