WALDO GOES FISHING.
: The Lost CityIt was with stronger forebodings than he dared acknowledge even
to himself, that Professor Featherwit watched the two young men
out of sight in the early gloom, and scarcely had his nephew
passed beyond hearing than uncle Phaeton would gladly have
recalled Bruno.
Waldo made light of all fears, prophesying complete success, and
even going so far as to predict Bruno's return accompanied by the
trembling with excess of joy and anticipation.
What, then, was the blank dismay of all when, floating through
the night, came the hollow throbbing of yonder mighty war-drum,
fetching each person to his feet and holding him spellbound for
the first few seconds.
Cooper Edgecombe turned sick at heart, even while ignorant as to
the method of sending forth that alarm, his hollow groan being
the first sound to follow the simultaneous exclamation which
burst from three pairs of lips as the surprise came. And but a
breath later Waldo broke forth with the excited query:
"What is it? What's broken loose now? Surely--thunder?"
Only Professor Phaeton at once recognised the sound, through
description, and each one of those swiftly succeeding strokes
seemed falling upon his heart, bidding him mourn for his beloved
nephew, upon whom his aged eyes had surely looked their last in
this life!
Yet it was the professor who took prompt action, speaking sharply
as he darted across to where the air-ship rested:
"Come; get aboard, and let us do what lies in our power. It was
criminal to send the poor lad into the jaws of death, but
now--hasten, there may be a chance, even yet!"
The call was still hot upon his lips when his two companions
entered the aerostat, gripping tight the hand-rail as Professor
Featherwit sent the vessel afloat with reckless haste. As by a
miracle they escaped disaster through rushing into a bushy
treetop, and that fact served to steady the aeronaut's nerves.
"On guard, uncle Phaeton!" cried Waldo, making a lucky snatch at
his cap, which one of the stiff boughs brushed off his head.
"Ay, ay, lad," responded the man at the guiding-gear, as the
air-ship shot onward and upward, now heading, as directly as was
practicable, for the Lost City of the Aztecs. "That was the very
lesson I needed. I am steady of nerve, now, and will show no
lack,--heaven grant that we may not be for ever too late,
though!"
"What do you reckon could have kicked up such a bobbery, uncle?
And what--ugh!" as the wardrum's throbbings again swelled forth
in grim alarm. "What in time is that, anyway?"
As briefly as might be, the professor explained, and almost for
the first time Waldo felt a thrill of dread.
"If they've got Bruno, what will they do with him?"
That very dread was worrying uncle Phaeton, and already through
his busy brain were flashing horrid pictures of punishment and
sacrifice, of hideous scenes of torture, wherein the eldest son
of his dead sister played a prominent role, perforce.
He dared not trust his tongue to make answer, just then, and sent
the aeromotor onward at top speed, leaning far forward to win the
earliest glimpse of--what?
He caught sight of blazing beacons fairly encircling the Lost
City, forming a cordon through which no stranger could hope to
pass unseen. He beheld hundreds of armed shapes rushing to and
fro, plainly looking for some intruder or other enemy, yet almost
as certainly failing as yet to make the longed-for discovery.
Not until that moment had uncle Phaeton dared indulge in even the
shadow of a hope. The awful alarm seemed proof conclusive that
poor Bruno had been taken, through the treachery of Ixtli.
Naturally enough, that was his first belief, but now, as the
air-ship slackened pace to circle more deliberately above the
valley, all eyes on the eager watch for either Bruno or something
to hint at his fate, Professor Featherwit lost a portion of that
conviction.
If Bruno had indeed fallen victim to misplaced confidence, and
had been craftily lured into this den of ravening wild beasts,
why all this confusion and mad skurry? Why had not the traitor
first made sure of his victim? Why such a general alarm?
Although such haste in getting afloat had been made, some little
time had been thus consumed, and, before the aerostat was fairly
above the Lost City, Bruno and Ixtli had dropped by stages down
the shadowed side of the Temple of the Sun God, to burrow
underneath the ground as their surest method of eluding pursuit.
Only for that, the end might have been different, for, once
sighted, Gillespie would have been rescued by his friends, or
those friends would surely have shared death with him.
And so it came to pass that, circle though they might, calling
ears to supplement their eyes, swooping perilously low down in
their fierce eagerness to sight their imperilled one, never a
glimpse of the young man could they obtain, nor even a definite
hint as to where next to look for him.
"Surely they cannot have captured Bruno, as yet?" huskily
muttered uncle Phaeton, hungrily straining his eyes without
reward. "If the poor boy had actually fallen into such evil
hands, why such crazy confusion? Why--oh, why did I permit his
coaxings to overpower my better judgment? Why did I send him
into--"
The words stuck in his throat and refused to issue. Phaeton
Featherwit just then felt himself little less than a cold-blooded
assassin.
Mr. Edgecombe was but little less deeply stirred, although his
feelings were more of a mixture. He grieved for Bruno, and would
willingly risk his life in hopes of doing the young man a
service, yet his gaze was drawn far more frequently towards
yonder temple, on the top of which he had--surely he HAD caught
sight of his wife, his daughter!
"Let me down and try to find him," he eagerly begged, as one
might plead for a great boon. "I promise to save him if yet
alive, and--let me try, professor; I beg of you, give me this
chance to show my heartfelt gratitude."
But Professor Featherwit shook his head in negation.
"That would only add to our trouble, friend. Knowing nothing of
the dialect, you would be wholly at a loss. And, looking so
entirely different in every respect, how could you hope to pass
inspection?"
"All seems so confused, that I might--surely it is worth trying."
"It would be suicidal, so say no more on that score," almost
harshly spoke the usually mild-mannered aeronaut, sending his
vessel upon another circuit, only with stern vigilance choking
back the appealing shout to his lost nephew.
This time the aerostat was brought directly above the Temple of
the Sun, where there appeared to be some unusual disturbance, a
number of armed guards fairly driving a gaily arrayed Indian down
to the lower levels, and that greatly against his inclinations,
judging from the harsh cries and ringing threats which burst from
his lips.
Recognising the building, and unable to hold his intense emotions
longer under stern control, Cooper Edgecombe called aloud the
names of his wife and daughter, begging that they might come to
him; but then the air-ship was sent onward and upward, with a
dizzying swoop, and Professor Featherwit gripped an arm, sternly
speaking:
"Quiet, sir! Another outbreak like that and I'll lock your lips,
if I have to send a bullet through your mad brain!"
"I forgot. I could not wait longer, knowing that my loved
ones--"
"You forgot that the lives of all depend upon our remaining at
liberty," coldly interrupted Featherwit. "Without this means of
conveyance, how can your loved ones escape? Now, your solemn
pledge to maintain utter silence, or I will take you back to
yonder wilderness, leaving you to shift for yourself as best you
can. Promise, sir!"
"I will,--I do. Forgive me, for I was carried away by--'twas
there I saw--after so many horrible years!" huskily muttered the
exile, fairly cowering there, before his saviour from the
whirlpool.
"Enough; bear in mind that the rescue of your loved ones depend
on our efforts. If discovered by yonder snarling beasts, and the
machine is injured,--farewell, all hopes! Now, quiet, and look
for Bruno!"
Again the air-ship circled over the valley, in spite of the
moonlight passing wholly unseen and unsuspected by the Aztecs,
whose energies were bent on ferreting out mortal foes, not demons
of the upper world.
Waldo leaned farther over the hand-rail as they floated closer to
an excited group of warriors, the central figure being Lord Hua
himself, fiercely denouncing Aztotl and his son, Ixtli, as
traitors to the common welfare, and calling upon all honest
braves to mete forth befitting punishment.
Professor Featherwit caught one name indistinctly; that of the
young Aztec in whose company Bruno had set forth on his
ill-starred venture; and hoping to learn more of importance, he
caused the aerostat to hover directly above that particular group
of redskins.
Waldo, never stopping to count the risk he might thus fetch upon
them all, silently lowered the grapnel, by means of the
drag-rope, giving a boyish chuckle as the three-pronged hook
descended amidst that gathering, the sight causing more than one
superstitious brave to leap aside, with cries of amazed affright.
The air-ship gave a sudden swoop, and the grapnel caught Huatzin
by his girdle, jerking him fairly off his feet, and swinging him
into air, pretty much as a youngster might land a writhing fish.
But no fish ever sent forth so wild a screech of mingled rage and
terror as split the air just then.
Although hardly realising what was happening, Professor
Featherwit sent the aeromotor upward with a mighty jerk. The
shock proving too much for that sash, Lord Hua fell back to
earth, literally biting the dust, although he met with no bodily
harm beyond sundry bruises.
"Caught a sucker, and--I'll never do it again, uncle!" exploded
Waldo, as he swiftly hauled in his novel fish-line; but he had to
take a severe lecture from the professor before the subject was
finally dropped.
And, worse than all else, the air-demon was now the target for
both eyes and arrows, and, perforce, sailed swiftly away into the
night.
More
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THE WIND
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A dispute once arose betwixt the North Wind and the Sun about the superiority of their power; and they agreed to try their strength upon a traveler, which should be able to get his cloak off first. The North Wind began, and blew a very cold blast,... THE WIND'S TALE
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When Johnnie Green turned Tommy Fox loose, out in the meadow, in the moonlight, Tommy hurried across the fields as fast as he could go. You remember that he heard a fox barking, near the foot of Blue Mountain, and he thought it sounded like his mo... TOMMY CHASES MR. WOODCHUCK
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Tommy Fox was having a delightful time. If you could have come upon him in the woods you would have been astonished at his antics. He leaped high off the ground, and struck out with his paws. He opened his mouth and thrust his nose out and then cl... TOMMY FOX IN TROUBLE
A few days after Tommy Fox caught old Mr. Woodchuck, something happened that set him thinking. Perhaps I should say _"a few nights"_ instead of _"days."_ For one night his mother came home with a fat hen slung across her shoulders. She had been do... TOMMY FOX IS HUNGRY
Tommy Fox kept a sharp look-out to see what he could capture to eat. But he could discover nothing at all. To be sure, there were birds in the trees, and birds' nests too, and Tommy was very fond of birds' eggs. But he couldn't climb trees. The bi... TOMMY FOX LEARNS A NEW TRICK
Now, there was a road that ran through the valley, along the bank of Swift River. And when Mrs. Fox reached it, with Tommy close behind her, she turned again--this time to the left--and ran along in the beaten track which the horses and sleighs ha... TOMMY FOX LEARNS TO HUNT
Tommy Fox was hunting crickets in the field near his mother's house. Being a young fox, not much more than half-grown, Tommy knew very little of hunting. In fact, crickets were about the only thing he could hunt and _catch_. Of course, any one can... TOMMY FOX MAKES A STRANGE FRIEND
There was one thing, especially, that surprised Tommy Fox. And I think it surprised the dog Spot even more. Tommy and Spot became friends. At first, whenever Spot came near, Tommy would run into his hole, as far as his chain would allow him. But... TOMMY FROST SEES A BEAR.
Tommy Frost was making his first visit in the country. He was enjoying it very much. He liked to ramble about in the woods close by the house of his aunt, Mrs. Drew. Tommy had never even seen any birds before this, but pigeons and sparrows. That is,... TOMMY GROWS TOO CARELESS
By the time summer was nearly over, Tommy Fox was much bigger than he had been in the spring. So many things had happened, and he had learned so much, that he began to be quite bold. And he had grown so saucy that his mother often had to scold him... TOWSER TALKS.
I am not a big dog and I don't know very much, but I know more than I used to. The reason why I know more than I used to is because I asked Carlo some questions once. I asked him what made him so gaunt and thin and why he had such an enquiring expre... TWO LITTLE RIDDLES IN RHYME
There's a garden that I ken, Full of little gentlemen; Little caps of blue they wear, And green ribbons, very fair. (Flax.) From house to house he goes, A messenger small and slight, And whether ... TWO STRANGE SIGHTS.
"Oh come into the dining-room!" Cries Fred, "come, grandma, dear. For something very strange indeed Is going on in here!" And sure enough, when grandma comes, Perhaps at first with fright, She stands quite still, astonished at An unexpected sigh... UPON THE ROAD TO ROCKABOUT
Upon the road to Rockabout I came upon some sheep-- A large and woolly flock about As wide as it was deep. I was about to turn about To ask the man to tell Some things I wished to learn about Both sheep and wool as well, When I beheld a rou... VIOLA ROSEBOROUGH
... WALDO GOES FISHING.
It was with stronger forebodings than he dared acknowledge even to himself, that Professor Featherwit watched the two young men out of sight in the early gloom, and scarcely had his nephew passed beyond hearing than uncle Phaeton would gladly have ... WATER-LILIES
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"Well, Hermod, what did she say?" asked the AEsir from the top of the hill as they saw him coming; "make haste and tell us what she said." And Hermod came up. "Oh! is that all?" they cried, as soon as he had delivered his message. "Nothing can ... WHAT HAPPENED CHRISTMAS EVE.
It was Christmas Eve and the frost fairies were busy getting ready for Christmas Day. First of all they spread the loveliest white snow carpet over the rough, bare ground; then they hung the bushes and trees with icicles that flashed like diamonds... WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SNOW QUEEN'S PALACE AND AFTERWARDS
<table><tr><td><img src="/images/plate08-th.jpg" alt=""></td> <td>The Snow Queen sat in the very middle of it when she sat at home</td></tr></table> The Palace walls were made of drifted snow, and the windows and doors of the biting winds... WHAT IS IT?
What is that ugly thing I see Which follows, follows, follows me, Which ever way I turn or go? What is that thing? I want to know. If I but turn to left or right It does the same with all its might; It looks so ugly and so black When o'er my s... WHAT THE FROST GIANTS DID TO NANNIE'S RUN
... WHAT WAS THE END OF THE HEROES
And now I wish that I could end my story pleasantly; but it is no fault of mine that I cannot. The old songs end it sadly, and I believe that they are right and wise; for though the heroes were purified at Malea, yet sacrifices cannot make bad ... WHICH DEALS WITH A MIRROR AND ITS FRAGMENTS
<table><tr><td><img src="/images/plate02-th.jpg" alt=""></td> <td>One day he was in a high state of delight because he had invented a mirror with this peculiarity, that every good and pretty thing reflected in it shrank away to almost nothing</td>... WHO KILLED THE OTTER'S BABIES?
Once the Otter came to the Mouse-deer and said, "Friend Mouse-deer, will you please take care of my babies while I go to the river, to catch fish?" "Certainly," said the Mouse-deer, "go along." But when the Otter came back from the river, wit... WHY DID MAMMA CHANGE HER MIND?
Mamma Miller told Fay and Lonnie that they might have a party, so they tried to get ready for it. But the party was very different to what they expected. It always happens so about everything, if we pay no regard to one another's wishes. Mrs. Mil... WHY THE EVERGREEN TREES KEEP THEIR LEAVES IN WINTER
One day, a long, long time ago, it was very cold; winter was coming. And all the birds flew away to the warm south, to wait for the spring. But one little bird had a broken wing and could not fly. He did not know what to do. He looked all round, to ... WHY THE MORNING-GLORY CLIMBS
Once the Morning-Glory was flat on the ground. She grew that way, and she had never climbed at all. Up in the top of a tree near her lived Mrs Jennie Wren and her little baby Wren. The little Wren was lame; he had a broken wing and couldn't fly. He ... WHY THE SEA IS SALT
Once there were two brothers. One was rich, and one was poor; the rich one was rather mean. When the Poor Brother used to come to ask for things it annoyed him, and finally one day he said, "There, I'll give it to you this time, but the next time yo... WINDY NIGHTS
Whenever the moon and stars are set, Whenever the wind is high, All night long in the dark and wet, A man goes riding by. Late in the night when the fires are out, Why does he gallop and gallop about? Whenever the trees are crying aloud, ... WOOLLOOMOOLOO
Here's a ridiculous riddle for you: How many o's are there in Woolloomooloo? Two for the W, two for the m, Four for the l's, and that's plenty for them. * * * I wonder what the Jacks have got to laugh and laugh about I'm sure the wor... YOU AND I
They say the eagle is a bird That sees some splendid sights When he soars high into the sky Upon his dizzy flights: He sees the ground for miles around Our house, and Billy Johnson's; But we cannot be eagles, for That would, of course, be nonsen... YOU ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM
"You are old, father William," the young man said "And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head-- Do you think, at your age, it is right?" "In my youth," father William replied to his son, "I feared it ... YOUNG LOCHINVAR
Sir Walter Scott Oh young Lochinvar is come out of the west, Through all the wide Border his steed was the best; And save his good broadsword he weapon had none; He rode all unarm'd, and he rode all alone. So faithful in love, and so dauntless...