Rinkitink in Oz Page 6

  Chapter Six

  The Magic Boat

  Prince Inga was up with the sun and, accompanied by Bilbil, beganwalking along the shore in search of the boat which the White Pearl hadpromised him. Never for an instant did he doubt that he would find itand before he had walked any great distance a dark object at thewater's edge caught his eye.

  "It is the boat, Bilbil!" he cried joyfully, and running down to it hefound it was, indeed, a large and roomy boat. Although stranded uponthe beach, it was in perfect order and had suffered in no way from thestorm.

  Inga stood for some moments gazing upon the handsome craft andwondering where it could have come from. Certainly it was unlike anyboat he had ever seen. On the outside it was painted a lustrous black,without any other color to relieve it; but all the inside of the boatwas lined with pure silver, polished so highly that the surfaceresembled a mirror and glinted brilliantly in the rays of the sun. Theseats had white velvet cushions upon them and the cushions weresplendidly embroidered with threads of gold. At one end, beneath thebroad seat, was a small barrel with silver hoops, which the boy foundwas filled with fresh, sweet water. A great chest of sandalwood, boundand ornamented with silver, stood in the other end of the boat. Ingaraised the lid and discovered the chest filled with sea-biscuits,cakes, tinned meats and ripe, juicy melons; enough good and wholesomefood to last the party a long time.

  Lying upon the bottom of the boat were two shining oars, and overhead,but rolled back now, was a canopy of silver cloth to ward off the heatof the sun.

  It is no wonder the boy was delighted with the appearance of thisbeautiful boat; but on reflection he feared it was too large for him torow any great distance. Unless, indeed, the Blue Pearl gave him unusualstrength.

  While he was considering this matter, King Rinkitink came waddling upto him and said:

  "Well, well, well, my Prince, your words have come true! Here is theboat, for a certainty, yet how it came here--and how you knew it wouldcome to us--are puzzles that mystify me. I do not question our goodfortune, however, and my heart is bubbling with joy, for in this boat Iwill return at once to my City of Gilgad, from which I have remainedabsent altogether too long a time."

  "I do not wish to go to Gilgad," said Inga.

  "That is too bad, my friend, for you would be very welcome. But you mayremain upon this island, if you wish," continued Rinkitink, "and when Iget home I will send some of my people to rescue you."

  "It is my boat, Your Majesty," said Inga quietly.

  "May be, may be," was the careless answer, "but I am King of a greatcountry, while you are a boy Prince without any kingdom to speak of.Therefore, being of greater importance than you, it is just and rightthat I take, your boat and return to my own country in it."

  "I am sorry to differ from Your Majesty's views," said Inga, "butinstead of going to Gilgad I consider it of greater importance that wego to the islands of Regos and Coregos."

  "Hey? What!" cried the astounded King. "To Regos and Coregos! To becomeslaves of the barbarians, like the King, your father? No, no, my boy!Your Uncle Rinki may have an empty noddle, as Bilbil claims, but he isfar too wise to put his head in the lion's mouth. It's no fun to be aslave."

  "The people of Regos and Coregos will not enslave us," declared Inga."On the contrary, it is my intention to set free my dear parents, aswell as all my people, and to bring them back again to Pingaree."

  "Cheek-eek-eek-eek-eek! How funny!" chuckled Rinkitink, winking at thegoat, which scowled in return. "Your audacity takes my breath away,Inga, but the adventure has its charm, I must, confess. Were I not sofat, I'd agree to your plan at once, and could probably conquer thathorde of fierce warriors without any assistance at all--any at all--eh,Bilbil? But I grieve to say that I am fat, and not in good fightingtrim. As for your determination to do what I admit I can't do, Inga, Ifear you forget that you are only a boy, and rather small at that."

  "No, I do not forget that," was Inga's reply.

  "Then please consider that you and I and Bilbil are not strong enough,as an army, to conquer a powerful nation of skilled warriors. We couldattempt it, of course, but you are too young to die, while I am tooold. Come with me to my City of Gilgad, where you will be greatlyhonored. I'll have my professors teach you how to be good. Eh? What doyou say?"

  Inga was a little embarrassed how to reply to these arguments, which heknew King Rinkitink considered were wise; so, after a period ofthought, he said:

  "I will make a bargain with Your Majesty, for I do not wish to fail inrespect to so worthy a man and so great a King as yourself. This boatis mine, as I have said, and in my father's absence you have become myguest; therefore I claim that I am entitled to some consideration, aswell as you."

  "No doubt of it," agreed Rinkitink. "What is the bargain you propose,Inga?"

  "Let us both get into the boat, and you shall first try to row us toGilgad. If you succeed, I will accompany you right willingly; butshould you fail, I will then row the boat to Regos, and you must comewith me without further protest."

  "A fair and just bargain!" cried the King, highly pleased. "Yet,although I am a man of mighty deeds, I do not relish the prospect ofrowing so big a boat all the way to Gilgad. But I will do my best andabide by the result."

  The matter being thus peaceably settled, they prepared to embark. Afurther supply of fruits was placed in the boat and Inga also raked upa quantity of the delicious oysters that abounded on the coast ofPingaree but which he had before been unable to reach for lack of aboat. This was done at the suggestion of the ever-hungry Rinkitink, andwhen the oysters had been stowed in their shells behind the waterbarrel and a plentiful supply of grass brought aboard for Bilbil, theydecided they were ready to start on their voyage.

  It proved no easy task to get Bilbil into the boat, for he was aremarkably clumsy goat and once, when Rinkitink gave him a push, hetumbled into the water and nearly drowned before they could get him outagain. But there was no thought of leaving the quaint animal behind.His power of speech made him seem almost human in the eyes of the boy,and the fat King was so accustomed to his surly companion that nothingcould have induced him to part with him. Finally Bilbil fell sprawlinginto the bottom of the boat, and Inga helped him to get to the frontend, where there was enough space for him to lie down.

  Rinkitink now took his seat in the silver-lined craft and the boy camelast, pushing off the boat as he sprang aboard, so that it floatedfreely upon the water.

  "Well, here we go for Gilgad!" exclaimed the King, picking up the oarsand placing them in the row-locks. Then he began to row as hard as hecould, singing at the same time an odd sort of a song that ran likethis:

  "The way to Gilgad isn't bad For a stout old King and a brave young lad, For a cross old goat with a dripping coat, And a silver boat in which to float. So our hearts are merry, light and glad As we speed away to fair Gilgad!"

  "Don't, Rinkitink; please don't! It makes me seasick," growled Bilbil.

  Rinkitink stopped rowing, for by this time he was all out of breath andhis round face was covered with big drops of perspiration. And when helooked over his shoulder he found to his dismay that the boat hadscarcely moved a foot from its former position.

  Inga said nothing and appeared not to notice the King's failure. So nowRinkitink, with a serious look on his fat, red face, took off hispurple robe and rolled up the sleeves of his tunic and tried again.

  However, he succeeded no better than before and when he heard Bilbilgive a gruff laugh and saw a smile upon the boy Prince's face,Rinkitink suddenly dropped the oars and began shouting with laughter athis own defeat. As he wiped his brow with a yellow silk handkerchief hesang in a merry voice:

  "A sailor bold am I, I hold, But boldness will not row a boat. So I confess I'm in distress And just as useless as the goat."

  "Please leave me out of your verses," said Bilbil with a snort of anger.

  "When I make a fool of myself, Bilbil, I'm a goat," replied Rinkitink.

  "Not so," insisted Bilbil. "No
thing could make you a member of mysuperior race."

  "Superior? Why, Bilbil, a goat is but a beast, while I am a King!"

  "I claim that superiority lies in intelligence," said the goat.

  Rinkitink paid no attention to this remark, but turning to Inga he said:

  "We may as well get back to the shore, for the boat is too heavy to rowto Gilgad or anywhere else. Indeed, it will be hard for us to reachland again."

  "Let me take the oars," suggested Inga. "You must not forget ourbargain."

  "No, indeed," answered Rinkitink. "If you can row us to Regos, or toany other place, I will go with you without protest."

  So the King took Inga's place at the stern of the boat and the boygrasped the oars and commenced to row. And now, to the great wonder ofRinkitink--and even to Inga's surprise--the oars became light asfeathers as soon as the Prince took hold of them. In an instant theboat began to glide rapidly through the water and, seeing this, the boyturned its prow toward the north. He did not know exactly where Regosand Coregos were located, but he did know that the islands lay to thenorth of Pingaree, so he decided to trust to luck and the guidance ofthe pearls to carry him to them.

  Gradually the Island of Pingaree became smaller to their view as theboat sped onward, until at the end of an hour they had lost sight of italtogether and were wholly surrounded by the purple waters of theNonestic Ocean.

  Prince Inga did not tire from the labor of rowing; indeed, it seemed tohim no labor at all. Once he stopped long enough to place the poles ofthe canopy in the holes that had been made for them, in the edges ofthe boat, and to spread the canopy of silver over the poles, forRinkitink had complained of the sun's heat. But the canopy shut out thehot rays and rendered the interior of the boat cool and pleasant.

  "This is a glorious ride!" cried Rinkitink, as he lay back in theshade. "I find it a decided relief to be away from that dismal islandof Pingaree.

  "It may be a relief for a short time," said Bilbil, "but you are goingto the land of your enemies, who will probably stick your fat body fullof spears and arrows."

  "Oh, I hope not!" exclaimed Inga, distressed at the thought.

  "Never mind," said the King calmly, "a man can die but once, you know,and when the enemy kills me I shall beg him to kill Bilbil, also, thatwe may remain together in death as in life."

  "They may be cannibals, in which case they will roast and eat us,"suggested Bilbil, who wished to terrify his master.

  "Who knows?" answered Rinkitink, with a shudder. "But cheer up, Bilbil;they may not kill us after all, or even capture us; so let us notborrow trouble. Do not look so cross, my sprightly quadruped, and Iwill sing to amuse you."

  "Your song would make me more cross than ever," grumbled the goat.

  "Quite impossible, dear Bilbil. You couldn't be more surly if youtried. So here is a famous song for you."

  While the boy rowed steadily on and the boat rushed fast over thewater, the jolly King, who never could be sad or serious for manyminutes at a time, lay back on his embroidered cushions and sang asfollows:

  "A merry maiden went to sea-- Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do! She sat upon the Captain's knee And looked around the sea to see What she could see, but she couldn't see me-- Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!

  "How do you like that, Bilbil?"

  "I don't like it," complained the goat. "It reminds me of the alligatorthat tried to whistle."

  "Did he succeed, Bilbil?" asked the King.

  "He whistled as well as you sing."

  "Ha, ha, ha, ha, heek, keek, eek!" chuckled the King. "He must havewhistled most exquisitely, eh, my friend?"

  "I am not your friend," returned the goat, wagging his ears in a surlymanner.

  "I am yours, however," was the King's cheery reply; "and to prove itI'll sing you another verse."

  "Don't, I beg of you!"

  But the King sang as follows:

  "The wind blew off the maiden's shoe-- Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do! And the shoe flew high to the sky so blue And the maiden knew 'twas a new shoe, too; But she couldn't pursue the shoe, 'tis true-- Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do!

  "Isn't that sweet, my pretty goat?"

  "Sweet, do you ask?" retorted Bilbil. "I consider it as sweet as candymade from mustard and vinegar."

  "But not as sweet as your disposition, I admit. Ah, Bilbil, your temperwould put honey itself to shame."

  "Do not quarrel, I beg of you," pleaded Inga. "Are we not sad enoughalready?"

  "But this is a jolly quarrel," said the King, "and it is the way Bilbiland I often amuse ourselves. Listen, now, to the last verse of all:

  "The maid who shied her shoe now cried-- Sing too-ral-oo-ral-i-do! Her tears were fried for the Captain's bride Who ate with pride her sobs, beside, And gently sighed 'I'm satisfied'-- Sing to-ral-oo-ral-i-do!"

  "Worse and worse!" grumbled Bilbil, with much scorn. "I am glad that isthe last verse, for another of the same kind might cause me to faint."

  "I fear you have no ear for music," said the King.

  "I have heard no music, as yet," declared the goat. "You must have astrong imagination, King Rinkitink, if you consider your songs music.Do you remember the story of the bear that hired out for a nursemaid?"

  "I do not recall it just now," said Rinkitink, with a wink at Inga.

  "Well, the bear tried to sing a lullaby to put the baby to sleep."

  "And then?" said the King.

  "The bear was highly pleased with its own voice, but the baby wasnearly frightened to death."

  "Heh, heb, heh, heh, whoo, hoo, hoo! You are a merry rogue, Bilbil,"laughed the King; "a merry rogue in spite of your gloomy features.However, if I have not amused you, I have at least pleased myself, forI am exceedingly fond of a good song. So let us say no more about it."

  All this time the boy Prince was rowing the boat. He was not in theleast tired, for the oars he held seemed to move of their own accord.He paid little heed to the conversation of Rinkitink and the goat, butbusied his thoughts with plans of what he should do when he reached theislands of Regos and Coregos and confronted his enemies. When theothers finally became silent, Inga inquired.

  "Can you fight, King Rinkitink?"

  "I have never tried," was the answer. "In time of danger I have foundit much easier to run away than to face the foe."

  "But could you fight?" asked the boy.

  "I might try, if there was no chance to escape by running. Have you aproper weapon for me to fight with?"

  "I have no weapon at all," confessed Inga.

  "Then let us use argument and persuasion instead of fighting. Forinstance, if we could persuade the warriors of Regos to lie down, andlet me step on them, they would be crushed with ease."

  Prince Inga had expected little support from the King, so he was notdiscouraged by this answer. After all, he reflected, a conquest bybattle would be out of the question, yet the White Pearl would not haveadvised him to go to Regos and Coregos had the mission been a hopelessone. It seemed to him, on further reflection, that he must rely uponcircumstances to determine his actions when he reached the islands ofthe barbarians.

  By this time Inga felt perfect confidence in the Magic Pearls. It wasthe White Pearl that had given him the boat, and the Blue Pearl thathad given him strength to row it. He believed that the Pink Pearl wouldprotect him from any danger that might arise; so his anxiety was notfor himself, but for his companions. King Rinkitink and the goat had nomagic to protect them, so Inga resolved to do all in his power to keepthem from harm.

  For three days and three nights the boat with the silver lining spedswiftly over the ocean. On the morning of the fourth day, so quicklyhad they traveled, Inga saw before him the shores of the two greatislands of Regos and Coregos.

  "The pearls have guided me aright!" he whispered to himself. "Now, if Iam wise, and cautious, and brave, I believe I shall be able to rescuemy father and mother and my people."