Harold Gaze

“ UNDER THE SNOW “IT’S getting so warm, it is. I can hardly find any breff,” cried Kiddiwee.
“I call it beautifully cosy. This is how the snow keeps the flowers warm, I suppose. I like it,” said Coppertop.
“Oh, dear! It’s getting hotterer and hotterer!” he panted.
“The snow is melting all round us—we shall soon have room to walk,” said his sister. “And there will be more air, too.”
“The question is, how are we going to get out?” cried Tibbs.
“If you had any sense—which I very much doubt—you wouldn’t want to, at least till the blizzard’s gone!” piped up a little shrill voice beside them. ”

“ Everything has a price in this world, dearie! Nothing is given away. We must earn everything that is worth having, and then we know how to value it. I guess you’ve pretty well earned your wish by now, and there’s only one thing more to do——”
“Oh, do say!” cried Coppertop, anxiously.
“Well, you must kiss Biddy-be-sure, or the Blarney Stone, and then the December day will be yours.” ”

“ Coppertop fell to her knees, and buried her face in her hands. But Tibbs, although rather shaken, faced him boldly. And Kiddiwee actually ran toward Amon Ra fearlessly, attracted by the bright sun-disk which shone in his forehead.
“Foolish ones!” said Amon Ra in a mighty voice, deep and melodious as the thunder of an organ. “Why have you ventured here? You who have dared to kill a sacred crocodile!” ”

“ As soon as her back was turned, Tibbs seized the sleeping form of Kiddiwee in his arms, rushed out of the den with him, and, running down the long crevice road at breakneck speed, was soon out of reach of the Elderly Spinster Spider.
“Goodness gracious!” said Kiddiwee, waking up suddenly, and using one of Coppertop’s expressions—perhaps he had been dreaming of her—“Wherever am I? Why! it’s Tibbie. Oh, I am glad, I am!” and he threw his arms round his elder brother’s neck, and gave him a real big squeeze.
“Stop that!” cried Tibbs. “Fellows don’t hug each other,” but he was pleased nevertheless. ”

“ The White Elephant, feeling the weight on her back grow less—as Miss Smiler grew smaller—scrambled to her feet, and made off into the jungle, trumpeting joyfully.
As for Coppertop, the first rush of the East Wind blew her off the Camel’s back and whirled her up into a tall palm tree. And there she hung—by the leg of her pyjamas—in mid air. ”

“ Let’s try it,” cried Tibbs, beaming. And turning their backs on the South Wind’s Castle, they commenced their long tramp to the West.
“I do wish I was my right size again,” sighed Coppertop. “It’s so tiring walking, and we simply can’t fly whilst we’re so large.” As she uttered this wish she suddenly commenced to grow smaller and smaller, until, to her great joy, she was her right size again. ”

“ Sinclair stole softly into the room—so softly that Celia heard no sound.
The tall, soldierly man, bronzed by the hot sun of the East, smiled as his glance fell tenderly upon the quaint figure of Coppertop, standing there in her pyjamas, her hands clasped in ecstacy over the tiny bronze camel, and seeming to be part of the glowing sunshine which filled the room. ”

“ Hundreds of feet below, the water seethed round a beautiful island covered with trees, and looking quite peaceful, in spite of the angry torrent.
While she stood there, wondering, two tiny forms were borne along by the river, and flung out over the edge of the waterfall.
“Oh, Tibbs! Oh, Kiddiwee!” screamed Coppertop. “Oh, how terrible! They will fall and be smashed into a thousand pieces!” ”

“ Whatever shall we do?” cried Coppertop, beside herself with fear.
“Don’t be ’fraid, Cece,” said Kiddiwee; “I’ll just shoo him away.”
“Stupid! He wouldn’t even see you,” cried Tibbs. “Look out, he’s coming! We must run!” And he seized hold of the other two and pulled them along with him, helter-skelter down the snowflake, away from the bear. They could hear the thud! thud! of his great paws, under which the snow shook. ”

“ Why have you honoured me with this visit?” he asked.
“He means what are we here for,” whispered Tibbs to Coppertop.
“Oh, dear! It’s so hard to explain. You see, Mummie and Daddy are coming home from India to-day—and it’s the first of December.”
“How I hate that name!” grumbled the South Wind to himself.
“And—and it should be a fine day, but it isn’t—it’s a horrid July day!”
“You are ungrateful!” reproved the South Wind.
“You have much to thank the dull July days for. They soften the ground, and supply it with moisture to feed the coming spring-time crops.” ”

“ If I wasn’t so upset about my poor old spoilt wings, I could almost cry with happiness!”
“Funny things—girls?” remarked Tibbs, feeling awkward at being regarded as a hero. “Let’s find another head. This sword’s too sharp to waste. Come on, Kiddiwee,” and off he raced.
“Boys are funny—I should think,” remarked Coppertop. “Fancy leaving me like that, when we’ve only just found each other. Oh, I do wish I had a baby to squeedge.” ”

“ At the words the thundercloud melted away, and Coppertop found herself far out over a wide [Pg 28] ocean, and falling rapidly. She tried to fly up, but her wings had been injured by the storm, and were useless.
“I suppose I shall be drowned,” she muttered to herself, as she fell faster and faster, “and that will be the end of me and the December day. I suppose Tibbs and Kiddiwee are down there too, and that’ll be the end of them. I ought to be simply terrified, but I’m not. This falling-down feeling is so funny, that I believe, if I’m not dreadfully careful, I shall laugh instead.” ”

“ But that makes it all the more exciting.”
“’Es, it does too!” said Kiddiwee.
Just then a sharp breeze sprang up, flattening their gauzy wings (of course, they all had wings) against their sides, and nearly blowing them off the cloud upon which they were standing.
“I have an idea!” cried Tibbs, his face brightening up. “Let’s call on the Four Winds. They’re some of the Powers-that-be, and maybe they’ll help us.”
“Very well, then,” assented Coppertop, but without much enthusiasm; she never liked the Winds very much, they always made her hair so untidy. “But which shall we call on first? ”

“ We can have one each, and heaps of cuddles!” cried Kiddiwee.
“Oh, they’re not that kind,” explained his brother. “They’re not like Celia’s mummie. These mummies are all dried up, and yellow, and wrapt up in thousands of bandages.”
“Well, there’s not much difference—’cept the bandages,” said Kiddiwee.
“Oh! You’re very, very, very rude!” cried Coppertop. “Mummie may be a little wee bit thin and sunburnt, but people from India are all like that, and she’s beautiful underneath.”
There was an uncomfortable silence after this. Then Tibbs said—
“Well, come on, you people! There’s no time to lose. ”

“ It was a very dangerous thing to do, for, if she fell, she would be dashed to pieces at the foot of the Castle.
The sword of the Samurai lay upon the parapet and kept guard, and Coppertop kissed Smiler, [Pg 149] hugged and kissed Tibbs and Kiddiwee, and prepared to be lowered over the parapet. Of course, she was nervous—“terrifikly”—but she just grit her teeth, and determined to do this last thing to gain her precious December day, and thus to be able to greet her Mummie and Daddy with sunshine and beauty. ”

“ Swiftly over the snow and ice trotted the Bear, climbing, at times, to the top of a huge iceberg, to spy out the way, and the children had to hold tightly to his fur as he swung along.
Mile after mile they went, and Coppertop felt sure they must be nearing their journey’s end.
“We shall soon get the December day at this rate!” cried Tibbs.
“Will you?” screamed a piercing voice in their ears. “Not if I can prevent it! Oh, dear me, no!”
[Pg 35] “The Clerk of the Weather!” they all three exclaimed.
Before they could utter another word, they found themselves in the midst of a terrific blizzard. ”

“ Atom. “Things are seldom as bad as they seem. Keep up your hearts and your heels, and you’ll never drown.”
“I don’t believe I care much if I do!” sighed Coppertop. “Things are so awfully disappointing—just when I thought I had it, too! If I don’t get it soon, Mummie and Daddy will arrive on no day at all, and I shan’t be there either. They’ll be terrifikly upset—I know they will. And I’m just dying to see them.”
“You’ll die without seeing them, my dear, if you don’t do as I tell you. Keep your heart and your heels up.”
“Cheer up, old girl!” said Tibbs, who was swimming close by. ”

“ Oh, Miss Smiler, tell us how!” cried Coppertop.
“Easy as—smiling,” assured the Camel. “I’ll just push the Rajah’s Palace down, and then sit on the White Elephant till she consents to marry the East Wind.”
“I think that is an excellent plan, my dears!” cried Mr. Atom. “The East Wind will be so grateful to you for your assistance that he’ll surely spare you a December day. He’s in Tibet at present, cooling down after his rage. So if you take MY advice, you’ll carry out your plan at once. Ta-ta!” ”

“ Oh, much huger! I wish I had someone to scrumble and squeege now! It’s simply miserable being alone!”
“Those who love as you do are never alone,” said a soft rich voice from the mist in front of her. For she had now reached the tablecloth of cloud which hung over the mountain top.
Coppertop was startled. And yet she did not feel really afraid—the voice was too gentle for [Pg 67] anyone to be afraid of. It reminded her of her mother’s voice.
“Do not fear, little one!” continued the voice. “It is I, Waomba, who speaks.”
“I don’t think I know you, do I?” stammered Coppertop. ”

“ Making life
Just miles of Smiles!
Then hold tight, and see what happens. Ta-ta!”
Trembling with excitement, the children hastened to carry out the instructions of Mr. Atom. Tibbs and Kiddiwee fetched the sword of the Samurai, and laid it upon the steps of the old Japanese Lantern. Coppertop picked up her beautiful wings very tenderly, shedding a tear or two unseen, and placed them—the wings, not the tears—upon the Samurai’s sword, to which they at once became attached, and commenced to quiver with life! ”

“ The day is always after to-morrow, but he never catches it.”
[Pg 130] “Well, I’m after a December day, and I never catch that,” sighed Coppertop.
“Hush!” suddenly cried the old Mother-bird. “There goes the Mikado!”
“The Mikado!” exclaimed Coppertop; “why, he lives in Japan!”
“Well, isn’t this Japan, stupid?” snapped the old Mother-bird.
“Is it? I thought it was India,” said Coppertop, wearily, “nothing seems to be right. I’ve got feathers instead of hair, and I eat worms! I don’t believe I’m me at all! I must be someone else, but if I’m not ‘me,’ who am I?” ”

“ Bats only fly in the twilight! These have wings like flying fish,” said one who had travelled far.
[Pg 50] “Queer fish!” sneered another. “I shouldn’t like to eat ’em. You try.”
“Gracious! I only hope they don’t!” cried Coppertop, in alarm.
“They’d better not attempt to!” said Tibbs, rolling back his sleeves. “Do you remember that lovely sea-gull pie we ate last Sunday!” he cried in a loud voice.
“We didn’t——” began Coppertop.
“Hush!” warned Tibbs. “Look!”
For at the mention of “sea-gull pie” the birds nearest to them grew pale, and edged nervously away. ”

“ For long years he has whispered love songs round the folds of her unheeding ears. At length, driven to despair, he asked a friendly Cyclone if he would kindly blow the White Elephant from Amrapure to the Taj Mahal, and there shut her up, a prisoner, until she consented to wed him. Which the friendly Cyclone did, blowing the little elephant along, willy-nilly, past Benares and Allahabad, till they reached Agra. And it so happened——”
“’Es, but who is Willie Nilly?” asked Kiddiwee.
“Don’t interrupt! That’s only an expression,” corrected Tibbs. ”

“ As the poor Albatross lay stretched upon the ocean, slowly sinking, from the four corners of his body arose four carved posts, and his back became a large feather mattress!
The Four-Posted Bed at Sea.
Before Coppertop, Tibbs or Kiddiwee could recover from their astonishment, the Albatross turned into the old four-posted Bed!
“That’s the second time you’ve saved us!” cried Coppertop, clapping her hands with joy. “When we get home, I’ll buy you a real golden counterpane, [Pg 61] and you shall live in a crystal case, and never be slept on unless you wish.” ”

“ But it was a pity about the Taj Mahal, wasn’t it? Never mind,” he added, “when you get to Japan look for the North Wind. He’s a good fellow, and perhaps he’ll lend you a December day.”
“Yes! But how are we to get to Japan?” burst out Tibbs.
“Quite easily,” answered Mr. Atom. “If you take MY advice, you’ll walk quietly along this road till you reach a Bungalow on the left-hand side. There you will find a little Baba-Sahib blowing beautiful soap bubbles. Wait until one falls to the ground, and then—before it breaks—step inside, and think hard that you want to go to Coppertop in far-away Japan. ”

“ Strange creepers twined through the branches of the trees, like never-ending serpents; masses of bright scarlet flowers showed here and there, and clusters of orchids shone from the green of the undergrowth. ”