The Wonderful Bed Page 15

  CHAPTER XV

  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

  The Bad Dreams were all aroused by Thunder-snorer's war-whoop, and inan instant the whole pack of them, headed by Manunderthebed, were atthe children's heels. Rudolf and Ann ran as fast as ever they could,dragging Peter after them, but it was both difficult and dangerous torun fast through that dark wood, especially as they had no idea inwhat direction they ought to go. Each moment they expected to beovertaken, each moment they seemed to feel Manunderthebed's long blackarm stretched out to drag them back to their prison--or to somethingworse.

  Then suddenly from just ahead of them came the sound of a greatcrashing and rustling among the bushes and the tramp of approachingfeet. Some new danger--perhaps something worse than what was behindthem--seemed to threaten the children, but they were too breathless,too bewildered even to try to avoid it. On they ran--straight into thearms of a tall figure who was hurrying to meet them, a knight dressedin shining armor wearing a plumed helmet on his handsome head. At thesame moment a troop of little tin soldiers broke through the bushesand rushed past the children to attack the Bad Dreams. All of themwere quickly put to flight except their leader, Manunderthebed, who atfirst sight of the soldiers had hidden himself behind a tree. As soonas they had passed he crept forth and made a dart at the children. Butthey had a protector now! The tall knight stepped in front of them andraised his glittering sword. Before he could bring it down, thecowardly King of the Bad Dreams gave a horrible yell and turned torun. He might have escaped, but as he passed Rudolf the boy put outhis foot and tripped him up. There the rascal lay on his back, kickingwildly, while the Knight stood guard over him. Seen close by,Manunderthebed was not quite so dreadful as when he crouched in hisdark haunt near the hollow tree, but still his shaggy fur, sharp whiteteeth, and gleaming green eyes were very terrifying to Ann, who gave alittle shriek and turned her face away. "Don't be afraid," cried theKnight. "This is the end of Manunderthebed!" And he stooped and caughthold of the shaggy fellow by the shoulder. A crack, a rip, and thewhole silly disguise came away in one piece, fur suit, teeth, claws,and green glass eyes. The terrible King of the Bad Dreams was just abig naughty boy in knickerbockers who kicked and cried and begged tobe let go! The children had to laugh, they could not help it, to hearhim blubber and whine and promise over and over again that he'd never,no, _never_ frighten little girls and boys any more! So at last theKnight let him scramble to his feet and rush off through the woods asfast as he could go.

  "That's the last of _him_" said the children's protector smiling, "butnow tell me, you three, what do you think of the change in _my_appearance?"

  For a moment the three children stared up at the tall figure, admiringyet puzzled, then Ann clapped her hands and shouted: "Oh, I know _now_who you are--you're the Knight-mare!"

  The tall figure swept off his helmet and made Ann such a low bow thathis fair curling locks brushed the ground, fluttering like yellowplumes about his ruddy face. "I'm all knight now," cried he, "and noneof me mare. I'm a Good Dream now, and I've no doubt she'll be ratherpleased to get me back--the lady I belong to in the castle, you know.I'm wearing her glove, as you may perceive."

  "But how did it happen?" asked Ann, fingering the helmet with thegreatest admiration.

  "Well," said the Knight, "as soon as you children were imprisoned inthe hollow tree I managed to escape from those fellows and rushed offto Sandy to get you help. I found he had already sent to the Corn-cobQueen for rescuers and just as we were talking they arrived. I agreedto guide their leader through the woods to Manunderthebed's place ifhe would first settle a certain little matter for me--that one yourbrother wasn't very anxious to tackle, you know. Well, when I askedhim if he'd cut off my head, _he_ said he'd just as lief as not!"

  All three children burst out laughing.

  "There's only one person we've met as fierce as that," said Ann, "andthat's Captain Jinks."

  "Captain Jinks--at your service," snapped a sharp voice at her elbow,and turning, Ann found the little tin captain standing beside her. "Ihave to report," said he, wheeling around to Rudolf and saluting himstiffly--"the enemy--routed completely!"

  Never, never had the children expected to be so glad to meet thelittle captain again! They thanked him heartily for his part in theirsplendid rescue, and asked him what he thought it was best to do next.

  "Sound a recall," answered the officer, "and return in good orderaccording to commands."

  "Whose commands, Captain Jinks?" Rudolf wanted to know, but Jinkswould not answer any more questions just then. He recalled those ofhis fierce little soldiers who, with the sergeant at their head, werestill chasing the last remnants of the Bad Dreams back to the depthsof the wood, formed them into marching order, and taking the head ofthe procession himself, placed the children directly behind him underthe protection of the Knight. They were anxious to have the littlecaptain explain all the particulars of their rescue, but found it veryhard indeed to make him talk while on duty. He marched so fast thatthey had to trot to keep up with him, and stared straight aheadwithout winking an eye. "Queen's orders," was all they could at firstget out of him.

  "But, Jinks, dear, who was it brought the message to the Queen?" Anncoaxed.

  "Traveling Gentleman!" The little captain made a disgusted face."_He's_ a nice one! Said nobody was being shut up nowhere, nor didn't_want_ to be rescued."

  For a moment the children were puzzled, then Rudolf called out, "Oh, Iknow--the False Hare!"

  They all laughed and Ann said: "I suppose Sandy didn't know any betterthan to send him, but I should think he'd make a pretty funnymessenger!"

  "Make a better pie," said Jinks grimly, and not another word couldthey get out of him after that. They were now coming to that part ofthe wood Ann and Rudolf remembered so well, where the kindly Knighthad rescued them from the attack of the tiresome Fidgets. They lookedabout for signs of the little creatures' presence in the branchesoverhead, and listened for their chattering laughter, but the comingof so large a company must have scared the cowardly Fidgets away, fornot a trace of them was to be seen.

  At last the procession struck the little path Sandy had pointed out tothe children, and in another moment it was being met and greeted by awhole troop of Good Dreams who had rushed to welcome the returningparty and escort them back to the glade. Here they found the wholefamily assembled: the Cook-that-liked-living-in-the-Country, theGardener-with-the-Generous-Disposition, the Pink Stockings, the NiceNurse, the Good Baby, the Easter Rabbit, the Birthday Cake, the OrganMan, the Tall Candlesticks, and the Jolly Santa Claus--one and all ofthe Good Dreams, with Noddy and Blink, the two fat boys, and--best ofall--old Sandy himself, a twinkle in his sleepy eyes, a grin on hisround good-humored face.

  "Well, well, well," cried he. "Glad to see you back again, myfriends! Guess _you've_ had enough of the bad 'uns--eh, young man?"And he gave Peter a kindly dig in the ribs. Peter grinned and lookedrather foolish but said nothing. "And now," went on Sandy, pushingaside the excited dreams that crowded round him, "make way, all ofyou! Let these young people see who's come to welcome them." He ledthe children across the glade to where, throned on a pile of sacks,sat the Corn-cob Queen! There she was in her greeny-yellowy gown, herlittle head erect, her sweet face smiling, her tiny hands stretchedout to greet the children. They could have hugged her, but they didn'tdare, she looked, in spite of being just a doll and an old-fashionedone at that, so truly like a Queen. Back of her majesty stood a groupof doll ladies-in-waiting dressed in their gayest clothes, and amongthem were Ann's very own children, Marie-Louise and Angelina-Elfrida!They did not look haughty or naughty or cross any more, but smiledsweetly at their little mother.

  "Yes," said the Queen, "I have come to welcome you back, dears, and tosay good-by, for I suppose you would like to go home to your Aunt Janenow, wouldn't you?"

  "Oh, yes, indeed, please your Majesty," cried Rudolf and Ann in onebreath--but Peter said nothing. He was gazing rather regretfully atthe False Hare who lounged near by, smoking his chocolate ciga
retteand polishing the nap of his silk hat with the back of his paw. TheFalse Hare winked at Peter and edged a little closer to him. "Mightyglad to see the last of you, old chap," he whispered. Then Petersmiled all over, he was so pleased.

  "Yes, I suppose it's time for you to be going, if go you reallymust," sighed Sandy. "And since you're in such a hurry, I'm happy tobe able to include you in that consignment of your aunt's after all.She"--and he bowed gallantly to the Queen--"says it's all right, andwhat she says goes, though to be sure, it's out of order, slightly outof order!" As he spoke he took his list out of his pocket and ran hiseye over it once more. "Hullo," said he in a surprised tone, "there'sone more item on Miss Jane Mackenzie's and it seems to be missing!Comparatively unimportant, but I like to have my things complete. 'Onelost Kitten!' Now what can have become of that, I wonder?"

  It was Captain Jinks' voice that broke the silence. "Prisoner of War,sir! Taken with others by the Commander-in-Chief in the recentglorious victory of the tin soldiers over the cat pirates. Here youare, sir!" He motioned to two of the soldiers who stood on guardover something in a dim corner of the glade. The soldiers hustled theobject forward. It was Captain Mittens! Mittens despoiled of hisscarlet sash, his turban, his sword and pistols, even of his fierceexpression! Mittens, no longer a bold and bloody robber of the seasbut a humble repentant kitten who let himself be cuddled into Peter'sarms without so much as a single scratch.

  Peter stroked the pirate--and the pirate purred!

  "Now then, all ready? All aboard!" It was Sandy's voice who spoke andSandy's were the arms that lifted the children gently into theenormous sack held open by Noddy and Blink, and placed them at the topof the toboggan-slide--but they were feeling too curiously tired andsleepy to understand exactly what was happening. Rudolf, stillclasping his tin sword--that invaluable weapon--pillowed his sleepyhead on the shoulder of the Generous Gardener. Ann rested comfortablyon the large lap of the Cook-who-liked-living-in-the-Country, andPeter snuggled close beside her, holding Mittens tightly in his arms.

  "Now then, all ready?"]

  They thought the new non-fadable curtains were packed in somewhere,they thought they saw the kindly face of old Sandy peeping into themouth of the sack at them while the whole troop of Good Dreams pushedand crowded one another to peer at them over his shoulder. Among allthe familiar faces were some they had almost forgotten but were notsorry to see again: the Lady Goose, waving her spoon; the GentlemanGoose, and Squealer and Squawker, his two little duck apprentices; thecheerful grinning countenances of Prowler and Growler, the mates, withToddles and Towser the common sea-cats. But at the last all grew dim,faded, melted into mist until two figures only stood out clearly anddistinctly. One was the Corn-cob Queen smiling and waving her tinyhand in loving farewell, the other that of a little boy in longtrousers and a frill collar, a merry-faced boy with a toy swordbuckled round his waist and a toy ship in his hand. Though they hadnot seen him until now, the children recognized him at once. It wasthe little boy Aunt Jane had told them of--the Little Boy who WentAway to Sea. It was also the Commander-in-Chief of the tin soldiers,whom the Queen had said they might be allowed to see, if they weregood.

  Just then the children began to feel it impossible to keep their eyesopen any longer. They heard the voices of all their friends calling"Good-by", but they could not answer. They tried to get one moreglimpse of the Good Dreams, but their eyes dropped shut--they were faraway.

  In the morning Aunt Jane woke to find all three children in her room.Ann jumped into bed on one side of her, Peter, holding Mittens,snuggled himself on the other, and Rudolf bestrode the foot.

  "Why, good morning, dears," she said. "Did you sleep well in the bigbed?"

  The children looked at one another thoughtfully.

  "Did you have good dreams?" asked Aunt Jane politely. "I did, I dreamtabout you three all night."

  "We had funny dreams," said Rudolf, "at least, I suppose they were--"He stopped, looking very puzzled.

  "We woke up laughing," Ann said, "and we got right out of bed to comequickly to tell you something awful funny that happened to us, butnow--"

  "Now we've forgotten it!" finished Rudolf sadly.

  Peter said nothing at all. He looked very grave and thoughtful andsqueezed Mittens just a little--only a little too hard. The kittengave a slight squeak.

  "Will you be good now?" whispered Peter in his furry ear. "Will younever run away no more--_never_?"

  But Mittens would not answer.