CHAPTER XIII
So far, the Piper had seemed to be no one's friend--unless, perhaps, hisown. He had lagged along, surly or boisterous by turns, and careless ofhis manners; not even showing respect to the Man-Who-Makes-Faces and thePoliceman! But now Gwendolyn remarked a change in him. For as he spoketo her, he took his pipe out of his mouth--under the pretext of cleaningit.
"Say!" he began in a cautious undertone: "I'll give you some adviceabout Jane."
Gwendolyn was looking about her at the Zoo. Its roofs seemed countless.They touched, having no streets between them anywhere, and reached asfar as she could see. They were all heights, all shapes, allvarieties--some being level, others coming to a point at one corner, afew ending in a tower. One tower, on the outer-most edge of the Zoo, wassquare, and tapered.
"Jane?" she said indifferently. "Oh, she's only a top."
"Only a top!" It was the little old gentleman. "Why, that makes her allthe _more_ dangerous!"
"Because she's spinning so fast"--the Policeman balanced on one armwhile he shook an emphatic finger--"that she'll stir up trouble!"
"Well, then, what shall I do?" asked Gwendolyn. For, elated over seeingThomas disposed of so completely--and yet with so much mercy--she wasimpatient at hearing that she still had reason to fear the nurse.
The Piper took his time about replying. He sharpened one end of amatch, thrust the bit of pine into the stem of his pipe, jabbed awayindustriously, threw away the match, blew through the stem once ortwice, and turned the bowl upside down to make it _plop, plop_ against apalm. Then, "Keep Jane laughin'," he counseled, "--_and see whathappens_."
Jane was alongside, spinning comfortably on her shoe-leather point. Now,as if she had overheard, or guessed a plot, sudden uneasiness showed onboth her countenances, and she increased her speed.
"You done up Thomas, the lot of you," she charged, as she whirled away."But you don't git _me_."
"And we won't," declared Gwendolyn, "if we don't hurry up and trip her."
"A _good_ idear!" chimed in the Piper.
"If we only had some string!" cried the little old gentleman.
"String won't do," said the Policeman. "We need rope."
There was a high wind sweeping the roofs. And as the three began to runabout, searching, it fluttered the Policeman's coat-tails, swelled outthe Piper's cap, and tugged at the ragged garb of the Man-Who-Makes-Faces.
"Here's a piece of clothes-line!"
The Policeman made the find--catching sight of the line where it dangledfrom the edge of a roof. The others hastened to join him. And eachseized the rope in both hands, the Piper staying at one end of it, thelittle old gentleman at the opposite, while Gwendolyn and the Policemanposted themselves at proper distances between. Then forward in a rowswept all, carrying the rope with them. It was a curious one of itskind--as black as if it had been tarred, thick at the middle, butnoticeably thin at one end.
Jane saw their design. "Ba-a-a!" she mocked. "_I'm_ not afraid of you!I'm goin' to turn the Big Rock. _Then_ you'll see!" And she madestraight toward the square tower in the distance.
"_Oh!_" It was the little old gentleman, beard blown sidewise by thewind. "We musn't let her!"
The Piper, in his excitement, jounced the pig so hard that it squealed."We ought to be able," he panted, "to manage a top."
"Jane!" bellowed the Policeman, galloping hard. "You must _not_ injurethat shaft!"
Then Gwendolyn realized that the square _tower_ toward which the nursewas spinning was the Big Rock. And she recognized it as a certain greatpillar of pink granite, up and down the sides of which, deep cut bychisels, were written strange words.
It rose just ahead. Answering the Officer with a shrill, scoffing laugh,Jane bore down upon it. Aided by the wind, she made top speed.
There was not a moment to lose. Her pursuers fairly tore after her. Andthe Piper, who made the fastest progress, gained--until he was at hervery heels. Then with a final leap, he passed her, and circled, draggingthe rope.
It made a loop about the buttonless shoes--a loop that tightened as thelittle old gentleman came short, as the Piper halted. Each gave a pull--
With disastrous result! For as the line came taut, up Jane went!--caughtbodily from the ground. And still spinning, whizzed forward in thathigh wind and struck the granite squarely.
She fell to the ground, toppling sidewise, and bulking large.
But the shaft! It began to move--slowly at first--to tip forward,farther and farther. When, gaining velocity, with a great grindingnoise, down from off the massive cube upon which it stood it camecrashing!
Instantly a chorus of cries arose: "Oh, she's bumped over the obelisk!She's bumped over the obelisk!"
With the cries, and sounding from beneath the tapered end of the BigRock, mingled ferocious growls--"_Rar! Rar! Rar! Rar!_"
And in that same moment, the four who were holding the rope felt itbegin to writhe and twist in their grasp!--_like a live thing_. And itsblack length took on a scaly look, glittering in that pink glow as ifit were covered with small ebon _paillettes_. It grew cold and clammy.At its thicker end Gwendolyn saw that the Piper was supporting a head--ahead with small, fiery eyes and a tongue flame-like in its color andswift darting. Next, "_Hiss-s-s-s-s!_" And with one hideous contortion,the huge black body wrung itself free and coiled.
Once Gwendolyn had boasted that she was not afraid of snakes. And nowshe did not flee, though the black coils were piled at her very feet.For she recognized the serpent. There was no mistaking that thin faceand those small eyes. Moreover, a pocket-handkerchief was bound roundthe reptilian jaws and tied at the top of the head in a bow-knot.
She had gotten rid of Thomas. But here was Miss Royle!
There was no time for greetings. Again were sounding those furiousgrowls--"_Rar! Rar! Rar!_"
Jane swung round in a half-circle to warn the governess. "It's thatBear!" she hummed. "Can't you drive him away?"
Miss Royle began to uncoil.
The Policeman was _tick-tocking_ up and down. "The Den's damaged!" helamented.
"_Now_, who's goin' to pay?" demanded the Piper.
"I'm afraid the Bear's hurt," declared the Man-Who-Makes-Faces.
In her eagerness to trip Jane, Gwendolyn had utterly forgotten theBear's Den. Now she saw it--a large cage, light in color, its bars wovenclosely together. And she saw too--with horror--that what the Policemansaid was true: In falling, the Big Rock had broken the cover of theDen. This cover was flopping up and down on its hinges.
"Oh, he's loose!" she gasped.
"_Rar! Rar! Rar-r-r!_"
The Bear himself was knocking the cover into the air. The top of hishead could be seen as he hopped about, evidently in pain.
And now an extraordinary thing happened: A black glittering body shotrustling through the grass to the side of the Den. Then up went a scalyhead, and forth darted a flaming tongue--driving the Bear back under thecover!
At which the Bear rebelled. For his growls turned into a muffledprotest--"Now, you stop, Miss Royle! I _won't_ be treated like this! I_won't!_"
Then Gwendolyn understood Jane's hum! And why the governess had obeyedit so swiftly. The light-colored cage with the loose cover was nothingelse than the old linen-hamper! As for the Bear--!
Hair flying, cheeks crimson, eyes shining with quick tears of joy, shedarted past Jane, leaped the glittering snake-folds before the hamper,and swung the cover up on its hinges.
"Puffy!" she cried. "Oh, Puffy!"
It was indeed Puffy, with his plushy brown head, his bright, shoe-buttoneyes, his red-tipped, sharply pointed nose, his adorably tiny ears, anddeep-cut, tightly shut, determined mouth. It was Puffy, as dear as ever!As old and as squashy!
He stood up in the hamper to look at her, leaning his front paws--inrather a dignified manner--on the broken edge of the basketry. He wasbreathing hard from his contest, but smiling nevertheless.
"Ah!" said he, affably. "The Poor Little Rich Girl, I see!"
Gwendolyn's first impu
lse was to take him up in her arms. But his proudair, combined with the fact that he had grown tremendously, caused herto check the impulse.
"How do you do?" she inquired politely.
"I'm pretty shabby, thank you."
"Oh, it's _so_ good to hear your voice again!" she exclaimed. "When youleft, I didn't have a chance to tell you good-by."
It was then that she noticed a white something fluttering at his breast,just under his left fore-leg. "Excuse me," she said apologetically, "butaren't you losing your pocket handkerchief?"
Sadly he shook his head. "It's my stuffing," he explained. And gentlywithdrawing his paw from her eager grasp, laid it upon his breast. "Yousee, the Big Rock--"
The little old gentleman was beside him, examining the wound; mutteringto himself.
"Can you mend him?" asked Gwendolyn. "Oh, Puffy!"
The little old gentleman began to empty his pockets of the articles withwhich he had provided himself--the ear, the handful of hair, the plumpcheek. "Ah! Ah!" he breathed as he examined each one; and to and frowagged the grizzled beard. "I'm afraid--! I must have help. This is acase that will require a specialist."
The tone was so solemn that it frightened her. "Oh, do you mean we needa _Doctor?_"
Puffy was trembling weakly. "I lost some cotton-batting once before,"he half-whispered to Gwendolyn. "It was when you were teething. Oh, Iknow it was unintentional! You were _so_ little. But--I can't spare anymore."
Down into the patch-pocket went her hand. Out came the lip-case. Shethrust it into his furry grasp. "Keep this," she bade, "till I comeback. _I'll_ go for the Doctor."
The Man-Who-Makes-Faces leaned down. "Fly!" he urged.
At that, Jane began to circle once more. "Lovie," she hummed, "don't yougo! He'll give you nasty medicine!"
"Hiss-s-s-s!" chimed in Miss Royle, her bandaged head rising andlowering in assent. "He'll cut out your appendix."
One moment she hesitated, feeling the old fear drive the blood from hercheeks--to her wildly beating heart. Then she saw Puffy sway, halffainting. And obeying the command of the little old gentleman, shegrasped her gingham dress at either side--held it out to its fullestwidth--and with the wind pouching the little skirt, left the high grass,passed up through the lights of the nearby trees--and rose into thehigher air!
She gave a glance down as she went. How excitedly Jane was circling! HowMiss Royle was lashing the ground!
But the faces of the other three were smiling encouragement. And sheflew for her very life. Lightly she went--as if there were nothing toher but her little gingham dress; as if that empty dress, having tuggedat some swagging clothes-line until it was free, were now being waftedacross the roofs, the tree-tops, the smooth windings of a road, to--
A bake-shop, without doubt! For her nostrils caught the good smell offresh bread. Suddenly the shop loomed ahead of her. She alighted tohave a look at it.
It was a round, high, stone building, with stone steps leading up to itfrom every side, and columns ranged in a circle at the top of the steps.Seated on the bottom step, engrossed in some task, was a man.
As Gwendolyn looked at him she told herself that the Man-Who-Makes-Faceshad given this customer such a nice face; the eyes, in particular, werekind.
He had a large pan of bread-dough beside him. Out of it, now, he gougeda spoonful, which he began to roll between his palms. And as he rolledthe dough, it became rounder and rounder, until it was ball-like. Itturned browner and browner, too, precisely as if it were baking in hishands! When he was finished with it, he piled it to one side, atopother brown pellets.
She advanced to speak. "Please," she began, pointing a small finger,"what is this place?"
He glanced up. "This, little girl, is the Pillery."
The Pillery! Instantly she knew what he was making--_bread-pills_.
And the bread-pills helped her to recognize him. She dimpled cordially."I haven't seen you since I had the colic," she said, nodding, "but Iknow you. You're the Doctor!"
The Doctor was most cordial, shaking her hand gently; after which,naturally enough, he felt her pulse.
"But there's nothing the matter with _me_," she protested. "It's my dearPuffy. _You_ remember."
Now he rose solemnly, selected a fresh-baked pill, bowed to the right,again to the left, last of all, to her--and presented the pill.
"In that case, Miss Gwendolyn," he said, smiling down, "a toast!"
And--quite in contrast to the evening of her seventh birthdayanniversary--toast there _was_, deliciously crisp and crunchy!
"Oo! How good!" she exclaimed, not nibbling conventionally, but takingbig bites. "'Cause I hate cake!"
The next moment she became aware of the munching of others. And onlooking round, found that she was back at the Den. She was notsurprised. Things had a way of coming to pass in a pleasantlyinstantaneous fashion. And she was glad to see the little old gentleman,the Piper and the Policeman each fairly gobbling up a pellet. MissRoyle was eating, too, and Jane was stuffing _both_ mouths.
But Puffy was having quite different fare. In front of him stood theDoctor, busily feeding filmy white bits into the tear just under afore-leg.
"I think you'll find," assured the latter, "that a proper amount ofcotton-batting is most refreshing."
"Once I wanted Jane to take me to the Doll Hospital," complained Puffy,his shoe-button eyes hard with resentment; "but she said I was only alittle beast."
Gwendolyn looked severe. "Jane, you'll be sorry for that," she scolded.
"Ah-_ha!_ my dear!" said the Man-Who-Makes-Faces, addressing the nurse,"at last one of your chickens is coming home to roost!"
Gwendolyn glanced up. And, sure enough, a chicken _was_ going past--asmall blue hen, who looked exceedingly fagged. (This was an occurrenceworth noting. How often had she heard the selfsame remark--and neverseen as much as a feather!)
Jane also saw the blue hen. And appeared much disconcerted. "I thinkI'll take forty winks," she hummed; "--twenty for the front face, andtwenty for the back." Whereupon she made a few quick revolutions,landing up against the granite base of the obelisk.
The Doctor had been sewing up the tear in Puffy's coat. Now he finishedhis seam and knotted the thread. "There!" said he, cheerily. "You're asgood as new!"
"Thank you," said Puffy. "And I feel so grateful to you, Miss Gwendolyn,that I must repay your kindness. You've always heard a certainstatement about Jane, yonder. Well, I'm going to prove that it's_true_."
"What's true?" asked Gwendolyn, puzzled.
He made no answer. But after a short whispered conference with thePoliceman, turned his back and began sniffing and snarling under hisbreath, while a fore-paw was busy in the region of his third rib. Whenhe faced round again, the shoe-button eyes were shining triumphantly,and he was holding both fore-paws together tightly.
"I found one!" he cried. And wabbling over to Jane, stationed himself onone side of her, at the same time motioning the Officer to steal roundto the other side on quiet hands.
And now Gwendolyn saw that Jane, though she was only feigning sleep,was ignorant of what was happening. For her double equipment of faceshad its disadvantages. Even when upright she had not been able to rollone eye forward while its mate was on guard in the rear. And recliningflat upon her back, she could not rumble her eyes forward to her frontface for the reason that they would not roll up-hill. Both stayed in theback of her head, where they could see only the ground.
Very cautiously Puffy put his fore-paws to Jane's ear--suddenlyseparated them--and waited.
A moment. Then, "Well, finding _this_ out, you can wager I don't stayheels over head no more!" cried the Policeman. And with a wriggle and atwist and a bound, he gave a half somersault and stood on his feet!
At once, the bottoms of his trouser-legs came down over his shoes, hiscoat-tails fell about him properly, uncovering his shield and his belt,and his club took its place at his right side. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. Andbegan to scratch hard at the spot just between his shoulder-blades. Atthe same time
, the tears that were in his cap flowed out and down hisface. So that he seemed to be weeping.
The Doctor, leaning close beside Gwendolyn, was all sympathy. "There isno reason to feel bad," he said kindly. "The operation was successful."
"Feel bad!" repeated the Policeman. "Why, I'm _laughing_. Ha! Ha! We puta flea in her ear!"
At that, Jane began to laugh "Oh, laws!" she exclaimed, sleeve to mouthonce more. "Oh, I never heard the like of it!"
"_Rar!_" growled Puffy, delighted. "The plan is working! See hergrowl!"
"That flea went in one ear and came out the other," declared the littleold gentleman, poking Jane with the toe of a worn shoe.
Jane laughed the harder. "Oh, it's awful funny!" she cried, rockingherself to and fro--and steadily increasing her girth. "Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"We've proved that you're empty-headed," said Puffy.
And now the nurse was seized by a very paroxysm of mirth. Both facesdistorted, she whopped over and over.
"That's right! Split your sides alaughin'," cried the Piper.
At these words, sudden terror showed on her face. For the first time shesaw the trap into which she had been led!
Yet she could not check her laughter. "Oh, ho!" she gaspedhysterically; "_oh!_--"
It was her last. Black sateen could stand no more.
She gave a final and feeble rock. Both revolving faces paled. Then theresounded a loud _pop_--like the bursting of an automobile tire. Next, aripping--
"Look!" cried Gwendolyn.
There were great rents down the front seams of Jane's waist!
The nurse guessed what had happened, and clutched desperately at thegaping seams with both fat hands--now in front, now at the sides,striving to hold the rips together.
To no avail! All the laughter was gone out of her. Quickly shecollapsed, her sateen hanging in loose, ragged strips. Once more she wasjust ordinary nurse-maid size.
"Oh, will she die?" asked Gwendolyn, anxiously.
The Doctor knelt to grasp Jane's wrist. "No," he answered gravely;"she'll only have to go back to the Employment Agency."
"I won't!" cried Jane. "_I_ won't!--Miss Royle!"
"_Hiss-ss-ss!_"
"Get you-know-what out of the way! A certain person musn't talk to it!If she does she'll find--"
"I understand!" hissed back the snake.
_You-know-what?_ Gwendolyn was troubled.
Now the Policeman and the Piper, assisted by Puffy, picked the nurse upand packed her into the linen-hamper. Whereupon the little old gentlemanslapped down the cover and tied a large tag to it. On the tag waswritten--_Employment Agency, Down-Town!_"
"I'm done with _her_" said Gwendolyn; "--if she _is_ a perfectly goodtop."
"You're rid of me," answered Jane, calling through the weave of thehamper "_Yes!_ But how about _Miss Royle?_"
"We'll send her back too," declared the Man-Who-Makes-Faces. "Here!Where _are_ you?" He ran about, searching.
The others searched also--through the grass, behind the granite shift,everywhere. Concern sobered each face.
For the snake-in-the-grass was gone!