Jack-in-the-box

“ So every one rejoiced exceedingly, and they set off back to the palace of the King of all the Birds, where Jack had left his horse; for now that he had the golden snuff-box safe he knew he could get the Castle back whenever he chose to send the three little red men to fetch it. But on the way over the sea, while Jack, who was dead tired with standing so long, lay down between the eagle's wings and fell asleep, the mouse and the eagle fell to quarrelling as to which of them had helped Jack the most, and they quarrelled so much that at last they laid the case before the frog. ”

“ I opened the box: there was another within it, as before; neither was locked; and as before, inside the inner receptacle was an envelope, and within the envelope a letter; no cheque to bearer, no bank-notes for one hundred thousand pounds.... My disgust and disappointment were too great for words; I could not speak; I could not even swear; I believe I burst into tears.
"Come, come!" said Jack bracingly, "don't give way, old chap; it's just as well there are no diamonds or gold—this elder fellow would have had the lot! Cheer up, man, and read the letter, or I will! ”

“ Jack did not get up till noon, at which hour the king ordered out a coach and six, together with a couple of outriders, and thus addressed the lad: "Well, Jack, my boy, I have no objection, you can take your foal, but don't reproach me hereafter." Jack thereupon had plenty to eat and drink, and even took out a bucketful of wine to his foal and made it drink the whole. He then took his goods and chattels and sat in the coach, but the king would not allow the foal to run along with the coach, and said: "Not that way, if I know it; put the ugly creature up on the box! ”

“ A little hook or ring should be attached at the bottom of one end, in order that a string may be tied on, and the vehicle drawn along.
A Jack-in-the-Box.—One of the most old-fashioned of toys, this never loses its interest. The box required for it is practically cubical: therefore 6 four-inch squares of cigar-box wood must be cut out. Two of these will need to be cut down to 3-3/4 in. in width, so that the four-inch bottom and lid will fit: so from two squares cut a strip 1/4 in. wide. Glue and pin together the [pg 44] two 3-3/4 pieces and two of the four-inch pieces to form a hollow square. ”

“ The gentleman now makes a large hunting party, and invites all the gentlemen around the country to it, and to see the castle as well. And by this time Jack has a beautiful horse and a scarlet dress to go with them. On that morning his valet, when putting Jack's clothes by, after changing them to go a hunting, put his hand in one of Jack's waistcoat-pockets, and pulled out the little golden snuffbox, as poor Jack left behind in a mistake. And that man opened the little box, and there hopped the three little red men out, and asked him what he wanted with them. ”

“ The elder crossed himself, spat on the ground, made a droll gesture of surrender to superior force, and banged the box down upon the table.
Then his face assumed a beseechful, maudlin expression, and he said that he had done as the gentleman desired, but if the gentleman considered it worth a gratuity that he should have safely preserved this box until the gentleman came for it, why—
"Tell him to go to the deuce," said Jack; "and wait there till we see what's in it and what isn't. Here, Peter; it's yours—examine." ”

“ It gladdens his heart to applaud and to hear others applaud, and he was much rejoiced in Callao when several Peruvians who were the guests of the New Jersey's wardroom at a boxing contest, sang out in their delight:
"Viva la box fight!"
Jack laughed at that long and hearty. He loves rowing contests and he and his mates on a single ship frequently wager as much as $10,000 on their own crew. Jack goes broke for months sometimes on these races. Sometimes a man will bet from $500 to $1,000 or $1,200 on his crew and he'll be all in for months afterward, but he likes a run for his money. ”

“ Rockernegie. "I've half a mind to start a trust company and make him president."
As for Mr. Moneypenny, after a year's experience at finding Jack at the bottom of pretty nearly every scheme he went into, he made the following observation to his daughter, as he pointed Jack out to her at the opera—in his own box now—one night.
"That young man in the third box on the left, my dear, is young Mr. Jack Hardluck. He's so keen that I don't even dare think what I'm going to do for fear he'll find it out!" ”

“ Well, Jack hadn't gone far till he came to a field where his father was ploughing. Now the goodman was dreadfully put out when he found his son was going away, and still more so when he heard he had chosen his mother's malison. So he cast about what to do to put things straight, and at last he drew out of his pocket a little golden snuff-box, and gave it to the lad, saying:
"If ever you are in danger of sudden death you may open the box; but not till then. It has been in our family for years and years ”

“ To my intense relief Jack shouted back—
"All right, Peter; do as he tells you, just now!"
Strong laughed loudly, and swore atrociously.
"D'you hear that?" he said. "You are to do just as I tell you; the captain says so. If you don't, your brains will fly in about two seconds. Your rifles are burnt, so is your revolver; your smart friend wasn't quite acute enough to-night, and he's a prisoner. Hand up the letter, or cheque, or bank order, or whatever it may be that you took out of Clutterbuck's tin box that night. ”

“ At last, when I saw they were going to give it up as a bad job, I said to them:
“Can’t you both go over there, get yourselves ten days like I did, make a key for the cell, and go out at night and get the box? You could plant the money and lock yourselves up again. Then when your time is up you can go away and come back for the coin when the thing cools off.”
They looked at me and laughed. An hour later Sanc said to Johnnie:
“Say, there might be something in that, after all. We would have a perfect alibi.” ”

“ I'm the busiest man in Branchville—and I had to go down to New York the day he come."
"Did you take possession of any property that deceased might have had at his room in Hickwood?"
"Sure," said Pike. "Half a dozen collars, and some socks, a few old letters, and a box almost full of cigars."
"If these things are here in your office," said Garrison, rising, "I should like to look them over."
"You bet, I can put my hand on anything in my business in a minute," boasted Mr. Pike. He rose and crossed the room to a desk with a large, deep drawer, which he opened with a key. ”

“ Black Washington has its share of deviates, too.
There is free crossing of racial lines among fairies and lesbians. We have seen aristocratic Southerners, on the bias, hunt down Negro men for dalliance. We bumped into a gal in show business, who we know is queer, sitting with two mannish-looking women at the Jewel Box. She invited us to a party in Black Town, an inter-racial, inter-middle-sex mélange, with long-haired, made-up Negro and white boys simpering while females of both races mingled in unmistakable exaltation. ”

“ Johnathon asked.
"Against what, the Root-Diggers?" Franz spat contemptuously. "No, they are secure. They need fear nothing."
It was another hour before they found the tunnel and entered in single file. Groping their way through the darkness, they finally felt a solid wall rise in front of them. Franz made his way to the left, feeling his way along the wall until he found a large box in a niche in the rock.
"It's here! It's still here after all."
"Good," Sten said. "All right, everybody up against the wall and push." ”

“ Otis," said I, with great dignity, "to relieve your mind, I will say that we have not found the box, nor do we expect to find it. I, myself, have given up the search. Like Pandora's box, it is more trouble than it is worth." ”

“ He even had the boldness to think of gaining both bags; but suddenly recollecting himself, he began to fear that the giant would sham sleep, the better to entrap any one who might be concealed.
⁠When the giant had counted over the gold till he was tired, he put it up, if possible, more secure than he had put up the sliver before; he then fell back on his chair by the fireside, and fell asleep. He snored so loud, that Jack compared his noise to the roaring of the sea in a high wind, when the tide is coming in. ”

“ Well, come along with me, and I'll make you a rich woman.
He took her to the treasure cave; and while she was in raptures, gazing at the heaps of gold and silver, Jack filled his pockets as full as they could hold, put more into a little bag, and walked out, locking the door on the old hag, and leaving the key in the lock. He then put on a rich suit of clothes, took the goat, and the wether, and the bullock, and drove them before him to the farmer's house. ”

“ These boxes are old and paintless and weather-beaten; and at night the very dusty-looking keepers, who from early morning until dark have had their shabby-backed wares spread out where dust and sunlight and wind and rain can attack them, pack them in the body of the box on which they are lying and close the lid. ”

“ Mrs. Jeep owned one; Keziah and Patty Ingles the between-maid shared another. One was a spare room for chance servant visitors, and the end one over Pamela's and Hughie's rooms was what is called a "box" room. Here was "luggage"--big, old-fashioned trunks, leather portmanteaux, large hat boxes. Neat piles of cardboard boxes--the sort that drapers and dressmakers send out--all sizes, and tidy stacks of brown paper--sacking--cords--all the odds and ends necessary for packing of any kind. ”

“ No one puts matches above doors by accident. Whoever put it there must have meant it—and more than that, must have opened it and dropped one out inside the boot-box.
“Now,” considered the astute Arthur, “it was pitch dark when Bickers was collared; lights were out, and the fellows thought they’d have a glim handy in case of need. They struck one and spilt one, and shoved the box up there, in case they should want it again. I say! what a clever chap I am! The tall chap this box belongs to did the job, eh?” ”

“ The butchers, the bakers, the candlestick makers, the milliners, the druggists, the jewelers, the stationers, the grocers, and the dry goods firms, as well as all the others, are constantly sending boxes to your home. The shoe stores, and the book stores, and the toy stores, and ever so many others, are throwing boxes away just because nobody seems to realize what magic there lies in them for the children.
When Happy Thought, Nimblefingers, and Play first told me about boxcraft, I did not find any trouble in securing the kind of box that I needed for the toy-making. ”

“ But no longer the sound of paper; instead, the clicking of the levers of the box! He is opening the box—he knows how to open it. You are a brave man, Mr. Hereford—five times I have shot, not knowing then who he was; yet in the dark, swiftly, without seeing at all, he makes to click the levers which, clicking so, throw the box open. ”

“ How Jack got into the Enchanted castle; broke the enchantment, killed the Giant, put the conjuror to flight, set free the knights and ladies, likewise the duke's daughter, whom he afterwards married. Having refreshed themselves with a small morsel of meat, they laid them down to rest, and in the morning Jack arose and put on his invisible coat, and cap of knowledge, and shoes of swiftness, and so prepared himself for the dangerous enterprise. ”

“ When the last guard departed and the outer door clanged shut, all the forty beaten disappointed men began to talk and ask questions. But almost immediately, roaring like a bull in order to be heard, Skysail Jack, a giant sailor of a lifer, ordered silence while a census could be taken. The dungeons were full, and dungeon by dungeon, in order of dungeons, shouted out its quota to the roll call. Thus, every dungeon was accounted for as occupied by trusted convicts, so that there was no opportunity for a stool to be hidden away and listening. ”

“ He took from his pocket a typewritten paper that he handed to the partners who thoughtfully read it:
Dear Mr. Carruthers: Your bank has never sent for the box you gave us to take care of. We don’t like to keep it any longer, because we've opened up our ledge and are going to put on a gang of men to work. Somebody might get on the job that would get curious about the box and break it open to see what’s in it. You'd better get some one else to keep it for you. ”

“ At which time the Giant was stooping to take up his club, Jack at one blow with his Sword of sharpness, cut off his head. The Conjuror mounted into the air, and was carried away by a whirlwind. Thus was the enchantment broken, and every Knight and Lady, who had been transformed into birds and beasts, returned to their proper shapes, and the castle, though it seemed to be of a vast strength and bigness, vanished away like a cloud ; whereon universal joy appeared among the released Knights and Ladies. ”

“ Then I will tear thee with my teeth, suck thy blood, and grind thy bones to powder."
"You'll have to catch me first," quoth Jack, and throwing off his invisible coat, so that the giant might see him, and putting on his shoes of swiftness, he ran from the giant, who followed like a walking castle, so that the very foundations of the earth seemed to shake at every step. Jack led him a long dance, in order that the gentlemen and ladies might see; and at last to end the matter, ran lightly over the drawbridge, the giant, in full speed, pursuing him with his club. ”