CHAPTER XIV
WHAT THE POLICEMAN DISCOVERED
Like a covey of startled quail the Brownies flew after the Policeman,for each was very curious to learn of the discovery that he had made.They knew that with his keen sense of dramatic values he wished to keepthem in suspense as long as possible, so that only at the proper momentwould the mystery be solved.
His fleet little feet padded along the sand, followed by others equallyso, and he led them a stiff pace for perhaps a mile down the beach.
There lying behind a dune that offered a shelter from the creeping tidesthey viewed the cause of all his excitement.
Scattered on the sand were some dingy old frayed uniforms, caps, andhob-nailed shoes, of which they counted five complete sets in all, whilenear by piled into a heap were some immense brass musical instruments,some bent and battered in places and all tarnished by the weather.
Soon they were making a minute inspection of these objects which forsome inexplicable reason had been abandoned by their owners. Theuniforms and caps were of worn blue cloth, and the latter had visors andbraids of gold around them. The sleeves of the coats likewise werebraided with gold.
With much interest in their work the Brownies began to separate theinstruments that formed a heap. There were two cornets, a saxophone,a trombone, and a tremendous tuba that wound around and around and hada mouth so big that a Brownie could have easily crawled inside.
While they were examining the outfit there was much speculation as towhom it belonged, and the only conclusion they could arrive at was thatthe original possessors had been some itinerant German band.
It was not so strange to them that a German band should be inDragonfel's enchanted country, for they knew that German bands goeverywhere. Sometimes they can be found even at the North Pole. Theonly strange thing about it was that while the uniforms andinstruments were there, the owners were missing.
"I wonder what's become of the band?" said King Stanislaus, very muchpuzzled.
"Perhaps someone heard them play," suggested the Dude.
His Majesty gave a sudden start.
"Humph!" he grunted. "What you have just hinted at rather unsettles anidea that suddenly occurred to me."
"Maybe you were thinking of the same thing I was," said the Policeman.
"That's very possible," said the monarch, "for great minds sometimesthink alike. I was thinking that some of us could disguise ourselves asa German band and maybe gain admittance to the palace."
"That's just what I was thinking," said the Policeman.
"In that way," went on King Stanislaus, "we might be able to get someknowledge of Dragonfel's real strength, and find out just how we stood.The chance might come to us to spirit away Queen Titania and hercompanions."
"Which of us would you choose, Your Majesty?" asked an eager Brownie.
All of them crowded around, each with the hope that King Stanislauswould select him for this task which involved so great a risk.
He looked them over, and finally, with his mind made up, spoke, in slow,measured tones.
"Of course, I'll be the leader," he announced. "That will leave justfour to go with me, and I'll take the Policeman, Sailor, German, andIrishman. The rest of you must hide just outside the palace, to be readyinstantly in case you are needed."
There was great delight on the part of the four who were to share withthe king the danger, and keen disappointment among all the others. Butno one thought of questioning the royal decision.
"I didn't forget my tin box of disguises, sire," reminded the Policeman.
"Good, officer!" said King Stanislaus, with an approving nod. "They'llall come in handy. You've got plenty of false noses and moustaches, Isuppose."
The Policeman gave a knowing wink.
"You'll need a rehearsal, won't you?" said the Dude.
"No," said King Stanislaus decidedly. "The worse we play the clevererwill be the deception."
Then he and the four selected by him began to make preparations fortheir queer masquerade, and in these the whole band assisted. The coatsand trousers had probably hung on their original wearers badly, but theyfitted the Brownies who tried them on much worse.
The general effect would have brought deep shame to any conscientioustailor who had made them, but nimble fingers soon accomplished wonderswith a tuck here and there, and the deft use of an occasional pin.
The ends of the trousers had to be rolled up a number of times, and thecoats turned up on the inside. When they put on the big, hob-nailedshoes their long, tapering feet were lost in them, and the whole Brownieidentity completely disappeared after they had donned the false nosesand moustaches that the Policeman handed around.
No one familiar with the Brownie band would have recognized theseparticular five, and their disguise was pronounced admirable by one andall.
The breast of the coat that had fallen to the Sailor was all coveredwith medals, and it was the only one of the lot that was decorated inthis manner. King Stanislaus thought that as the leader he was moreproperly fitted to wear this coat, but the Sailor seemed reluctant togive it up, so His Majesty good-naturedly did not press the matter.
He chose a cornet and the Sailor the remaining one. The Policeman tookthe saxophone, and the German the slide trombone. That left only thetuba for the Irishman, and it was so big that he could hardly manage it.
Thus fully equipped and with the whole band for an escort, theindomitable quintet set forth on their delicate mission.
Dragonfel's palace was a good deal farther away than they had supposed,for the atmosphere was very clear, so that objects at a distance seemedmuch nearer than they really were.
There was a fair road that led to it from the beach, and this took themover a rickety wooden bridge that spanned one of the numerous tide-watercreeks in the vicinity.
But before they reached the bridge they came to a small frame structureover whose arched doors was the sign: NEPTUNE HOOK AND LADDER CO. NO. 1,which caused remarks.
"Evidently Dragonfel has a fire department," said King Stanislaus. "Thisis a most interesting discovery."
"Why, I could have told you that," said a Brownie. "I saw it some timeago."
"You should have done so," His Majesty reproved. "It may have a veryimportant bearing on what we are about to try to do. But what was that?"
Something dim and shadowy flitted past in the dark, with the whirringsound of a night-bat.
"I saw it," the Policeman spoke up quickly. "There was a gleam of red,and I thought I could distinguish a bow and quiver."
"A bow and quiver!" repeated King Stanislaus, and his face grew suddenlygrave. "I hope they were not Prince Florimel's. I am greatly distressedby the fear that some dire mishap has come to him." His Majesty wouldhave felt very much relieved in mind if he could have known that nothingserious had occurred to the prince.
When like the rest of the Brownies Florimel had gone to seek whatinformation he could he had strayed nearer to the palace than perhaps inprudence he should have done.
With the impetuosity of youth he was ready to storm the palacesingle-handed, but he realized that such a rash, foolhardy attempt wouldonly bring disaster to the whole band.
So he gazed toward the lights that gleamed from the windows, wonderingall the while what Titania was doing at the time, and if Dragonfel wasvery cruel to her.
He was really helpless just then to exert himself in her behalf, and heturned with a sigh to go back.
The rigors of the hardships through which he had passed pressedheavily, and excessive weariness overcame him. He felt a suddenfaintness, and sank upon a grassy bank to rest.
He did not dream that prying eyes for some time had been watching himfrom an open panel in a fence hard by.
Those keen, malicious orbs followed every movement that Florimel made,and when they noticed him yawn, and rub his lids to keep the sleep fromthem, they glittered and gleamed with exultation.
Then Florimel's eyes in spite of him closed, and his tired head sankback in the deep gr
ass.
From the fence the Red Spirit issued like a wraith. Noiselessly headvanced toward the unconscious prince, and bending down began withdeft, adroit fingers to remove the quiver slung across his back.
But light as the thieving touch was it aroused Florimel who sprang atonce to his feet.
Quick though he was he still was not quick enough. All that he heard wasa whirring sound, and in a flash he noticed that his bow was missing.His hand involuntarily sought his back only to find that the quiver hadbeen craftily taken from it.
Wide awake and full of alarm now he ran with all speed back to thelocality that King Stanislaus had designated for the reunion of theband. But the half-hour had elapsed, and the Brownies were not there.
Then he noticed in the sand prints of narrow, tapering feet all leadingdown the beach, and he flew in the direction they pointed. But when hereached the spot where the Policeman had made his discovery the Brownieswere not there, either.
He felt convinced that they had started for Dragonfel's palace, and heran as fast as he could to overtake them, passing the engine-house, andgoing over the bridge.
When he was approaching the palace he saw five persons very small ofstature, each with a big brass instrument, standing just outside theentrance. The doors swung suddenly open, they passed through them, andthen the doors closed again.
Florimel quickened his pace with the determination to follow them, butjust when he was about to pound upon the doors for admittance tiny butstrong hands grasped him, and held him back, and he heard the whisperedwarning:
"Don't, or you will ruin all!"