The Greatest Adventure Books for Children. Люси Мод Монтгомери
Читать онлайн книгу.
bound together from his ankles to his knees, so that he could only move toward them by hopping.
Nevertheless, at sight of the gingerbread man, who was mixed with his precious Elixir, the Arab began bounding toward his victim with long hops, and had John and Chick not run so fast as they did it is certain the Arab would soon have overtaken them. Through the throne-room they fled, with Ali Dubh just behind them, and then they began mounting the marble stairways to the upper stories of the castle.
Their pursuer, nothing daunted by his bound legs, hopped up the stairs after them with remarkable swiftness.
"HURRY, JOHN DOUGH, OR YOU'LL BE EATEN!"
"Hurry!" cried Chick; "hurry, John Dough, or you'll be eaten."
They came to the second flight of stairs, and still the Arab followed.
"We are lost," said John, in despair. "He'll surely get me this time."
But Chick tugged at his puffy brown hand and hurried him on, for the Incubator Baby at that very moment thought of a clever way to save the gingerbread man. Still holding John's hand, the child ran through the upper passages to the foot of the tower of Imar, and began climbing up the steep stairs as fast as possible. Luckily for the fugitives, these stairs to the tower were very difficult for Ali Dubh to climb by hopping. When he was half-way up he lost his balance and tumbled down again, and this accident gave John and Chick time to enter the body of the bird flying-machine, which still lay stretched upon the roof of the tower.
"Quick!" shouted the child, shutting and fastening the silver door behind them. "Pull over that lever, and away we go!"
"Is it safe?" asked John, hesitating.
"Is it safe to be eaten?" inquired Chick.
John quickly grabbed the lever, pulled it over, and the huge bird fluttered its wings once or twice and rose slowly into the air. It sailed away from the roof just as the Arab appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Stop!" screamed Ali Dubh. "You're mine, John Dough. Come back and be eaten."
"Don't mind him," said the Cherub, peeping at the Arab through a little window in the bottom of the bird's body. "And don't worry about this flying-machine, either. Imar has told me how to run it, and it will carry us somewhere, never fear. This button that I pushed is to start it, and there's another button somewhere to stop it."
"Where?" asked John.
"I don't remember. But never mind that; we don't want to stop just yet, anyhow."
John stooped to look through the little window, and saw spread out beneath him the Isle of Phreex. The Brotherhood of Failings stood upon the shore watching the flight of the machine, and the kinglet was riding along calmly upon his two-legged horse without any idea that the Incubator Baby and the gingerbread man were leaving his kingdom for good and all and he would probably never see them again.
The great bird flew steadily westward, and Chick laughed and chatted, and seemed to enjoy the journey immensely. They were flying over the ocean now, and before long the Isle they had left became a mere speck upon the water.
"Where are we going?" John asked.
"I don't know," answered Chick.
"What land lies in this direction?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," said the Baby.
John became thoughtful.
"How long will this machine fly?" he inquired.
"Who knows?" said Chick. "Imar was always afraid to go very far from the island with it. We'll just have to wait and find out."
This was not very encouraging, but it was too late to return now, the Isle of Phreex being lost in the vastness of the great sea. Moreover, John reflected that he would be in greater danger there from Ali Dubh than in riding in an untried flying-machine. The only thing to do was to continue the flight through the air until they sighted some other land—provided the machine did not suddenly break down. It seemed to be all right just at present, and John's admiration of Imar's genius in constructing it grew steadily as the bird flopped on and on without a sign of giving out.
Chick wasn't frightened, that was certain. The Baby laughed and sang little songs, and seemed as happy and contented as when upon firm land; so John gradually forgot his fears. The sun had sank low upon the horizon, and was looking for a good place to dive into the sea, when the voyagers discovered something far ahead of them that glittered brightly upon the water. Neither could determine what the glitter meant, until they drew nearer and saw a small, rocky islet, upon which was perched an enormous palace that seemed to be made of pure gold, having many crystal windows set in its domes and sides.
"It is certainly a beautiful place," said John. "Let us land upon the islet."
"All right," returned Chick. "I'll see if I can find out which button stops the thing."
The Baby pushed one of the buttons, and at once the bird shot up higher into the air.
"That isn't it!" cried John, in sudden alarm.
Chick pushed another button, and the machine began whirling around in short circles.
"Dear me!" said John; "what's going to happen to us?"
Chick laughed and pushed another button.
"One of 'em must be to stop," declared Chick, cheerfully; "and there's only two more left."
The bird paused, with a quick trembling of its wings, and slowly fluttered downward.
"Oh, now we're all right," gayly announced the queer child, "for there's only one button left; and when I push it, John Dough, you must pull back the silver lever and steer straight for the golden palace."
Down, down they sank, and fortunately the descent was made to the flat roof of a wing of the palace. When they had almost reached it, Chick, who was watching the roof through the little window, pushed the last button, while John threw over the lever.
Immediately the flying-machine fell with a thump that made the gingerbread man's candy teeth knock together.
"Wow!" said Chick. "That was a jolt and a half! I hope nothing's broken."
"I don't believe I will ever ride in it again," said John, smoothing the wrinkles out of his frosted shirt-front and pulling the baker's hat off his eyes, where it had become jammed. "These air-ships are too dangerous to suit me."
"Why, the bird has saved your life, and it may save it again," said Chick. "For my part, I rather like flying through the air. You never know what's going to happen next. And see how lucky we are! This is the only part of the palace roof that is flat, and we struck it to a dot. If we'd fallen upon one of those spikes"—pointing to the numerous spires and minarets—"our clocks would have stopped by this time."
"You have a queer way of expressing yourself, my friend," said John, looking upon the child gravely. "The vast knowledge I gained by means of the Elixir taught me nothing of your methods of twisting language."
"That's too bad," answered Chick. "I can't always figure out what you mean to say; but you always know what I mean, don't you?"
"Almost always," John acknowledged.
"Then don't complain," said the Baby, sweetly; and the gingerbread man looked at his feet with a puzzled expression, and then back into