Chapter XX: The Last 264 (5)

That was Mr. Emma’s story, and about all that could be got out of him. The two carriages had driven off in the direction of the palace, and Rose must have told Wooden’s aunt that that was where they were going to. The carriages were not the gilt and glass coaches that were generally used from the palace, but ordinary landaus. They had not stood before the House of Cards very long, and nobody had taken much notice of them. A few dolls had seen the Queen come out and get into the carriage, but they had not known who she was.

Well, what was to be done now? It seemed plain that Selim had found out somehow that the people were beginning to find out all about his wickedness, and had kidnapped the Queen. Why he had also taken off Lady Grace, and Wooden’s mother and aunt, was not quite so plain, but perhaps it was because he thought they knew too much, and he wanted to get them out of the way.

“What we had better do,” said the Lord Chancellor, “is to go back to the palace and interview King Selim. I’m all for prompt action in these matters, and I propose we start at once.”

“Oh, you silly old thing!” said Teddy. “As if he had gone to the palace! You ought to know better than that, at your age.”

“But Wooden’s aunt said they were going to the palace,” said the Lord Chancellor. “You wouldn’t accuse her of telling a lie, I suppose!”

“Rose told her so,” said Wooden. “You can’t believe _anything_ that _she_ says. Aunt would like to think she was going to the palace, and Rose must have told her that to quiet her.”

It was rather clever of Wooden to think of this, for dolls are apt to believe everything they are told. But when a doll has once made herself disbelieved, as Rose had done, there is an end of their trusting her.

“There is a good deal in what you say,” said the Lord Chancellor. “But if they have not gone to the palace, where _have_ they gone? It might be as well to go there and see if anybody knows.”

They might perhaps have done this, for, although Selim would not have been likely to tell anybody where he meant to go, still, they might have picked up some sort of a clue. But just as they were discussing it, our old friend Mr. Noah pushed his way through the soldiers who were guarding the square. He was, of course, a royal servant, and wore a medal to show it, so they let him through. He brought the important information that the two carriages had been seen driving fast through the town on the road to the sea.

Directly Teddy heard this, he gave a whoop, and said, “Let’s after them, then, as fast as we can go. Come on, all!” He dug his heels into his horse’s sides, and galloped off. The soldiers parted to let him through, and the crowd scattered away from him on all sides, as he galloped through the streets and was lost to sight.

Now this was all very well. Teddy was anxious to catch up the fugitives, but if he did catch them up he couldn’t very well do anything all by himself. Besides, he seemed to be about the only one who had any ideas in his head--or, at least, ideas that were worth anything--and if he went off all by himself, the others were likely to make a muddle of things. It was his “flightiness” coming out, but he had done so well already that he might be forgiven for it.

However, his going off like that was not so bad as it might have been. If it had been left to the Lord Chancellor to say what was to be done next, it would have taken a long time to do anything, and then very likely what would have been done would have been wrong. And Colonel Jim, though brave as a lion, and handsome, too, was not intellectual. But Mr. Noah seemed to have a few ideas in his head, and some spirit to carry them out. Of course he was not exactly a doll, though he lived in Dolltown, and he had Oriental blood in his veins, or whatever fluid dolls do have, and this made him rather more clever than might have been expected from his wooden expression. He was angry, too, at having had orders given him about his Ark by Selim, and wanted to get at him and tell him what he thought of him.

Anyhow, as the Lord Chancellor was talking and talking, Mr. Noah cut him short. “What are you wasting all this time for?” he asked. “What we’ve got to do is to go after them as quick as we can, and take the soldiers with us. Give me a horse, and let’s be off.”

There was a horse to spare, and Mr. Noah got on to it. He looked rather funny in his long yellow robe, and being a sort of sailor he was not used to horses. But he managed to stick on all right, and as the horse was fortunately a quiet one, he soon got used to the unusual motion. He said to the others, “Now, you come after me!” and without waiting any longer he trotted off.

The others all followed him. Colonel Jim gave some orders to his men, and they formed themselves into fours and fell behind. It was quite a gay cavalcade that went trotting through the streets of Dolltown, and this time the crowd cheered them to the echo, and forgot to hiss and boo at the Lord Chancellor.

XV

THE PURSUIT

They trotted along through the streets of the town, and soon got clear of the crowd. But the news of what had happened had spread all over Dolltown by this time, and there were many dolls at the windows and on the pavements to see them pass. They did not know yet that Selim had kidnapped Queen Rosebud, but they knew that she was alive, and that he was a usurper. When they saw all the soldiers they knew that something stirring was going to happen, and by the way they shouted and waved their hands it seemed that Selim had very few friends in Dolltown, and had better look out for himself if he ever came back there.

At the end of the town, where the country began, there was a gate, and a sentry box beside it, where a wooden sentry was keeping guard. They stopped to question him. He remembered the two carriages driving through the gate, and had wondered who they belonged to. It was not his duty to challenge them, as he was there chiefly for ornament; but when Teddy had galloped up, he had asked him, more out of curiosity than anything else, why he was going so fast. Teddy had said, “Open the gate and I’ll tell you.” So he had opened the gate, and the moment Teddy had got through it he had galloped off again, shouting out to the sentry, “I’m going fast because my horse is.” Of course this was true, but it had made the sentry angry; and he had been still more annoyed when Teddy had jumped himself round on his horse, just as if he had been a rider in a circus, and ridden away backwards, making long noses at him. The sentry said that this was disrespectful to a servant of the Crown, and asked the Lord Chancellor to send Teddy to prison for it. But they had no time to waste over his grievances, and set off again.

They trotted through the country roads, and Peggy enjoyed the ride very much. She felt quite safe, with all the soldiers riding behind them, but thought it was hardly necessary to have brought so many of them, as Mr. Noah and Teddy, to say nothing of Colonel Jim and his two special troopers, would have been enough to take Selim prisoner when they caught up with him. But it was a good thing that they had brought the soldiers, as will presently appear.

By-and-by they came to an inn, which was a farm as well, and looked very peaceful and comfortable, with its neat toy barns and outhouses among the trees and fields, and the toy animals feeding all about them. They stopped for a minute or two to ask questions of the innkeeper, who was a wooden doll of a rather stolid appearance. When the Lord Chancellor began to ask him questions he went and fetched his wife, and she was more intelligent, and gave her answers well.

She said that the two carriages had stopped at the inn, and a lady in the first one had put her head out and asked for a glass of water. The blinds of the carriage were drawn down, but when the innkeeper’s wife had brought the glass of water she had seen the lady who asked for it give it to another lady inside the carriage. She thought that this second lady had tried to say something to her, but the first lady had put her hand over her mouth and stopped her, and then somebody else in a corner of the carriage--she thought it was a man by the size of his hand--had passed the glass out to her, with a piece of money, and the window had been pushed up at once and the carriages had driven off.

She was rather confused about it all, as it had passed so quickly; but it seemed plain that Queen Rosebud had thought of this way of making it known that she was being carried off. She must have said that she didn’t feel very well, and would like a glass of water at the next house they stopped at, meaning to tell whoever brought it who she was. But Rose had prevented her. This was one more thing against Rose.

That was not all the innkeeper’s wife told them. As the carriage drove off, a wooden lady had put her head out of the second one and called out, “Here we go round the mulberry bush!” The innkeeper’s wife had thought afterwards that perhaps these were some lunatics--for there are a few lunatics amongst dolls--being taken out for an airing. But, of course, it had only been Wooden’s aunt acting in her usual silly fashion.

But the odd thing was that the innkeeper’s wife had seen nothing of Teddy. She said she must have seen him if he had passed along the road, as she had been in her kitchen, which was in front of the house, all the time. So as they went on they had something to wonder about, as to what had become of Teddy. Wooden thought he had missed the way, but this seemed impossible, as the road ran straight towards the sea. The Lord Chancellor thought that he might have tumbled off his horse, but this seemed more unlikely still, as he was clever enough to jump about on it and ride backwards. What Peggy thought she kept to herself. It was that Teddy had some clever plan in his head, which they would hear about all in good time, and had never meant to catch up the carriages all by himself. For of course he could easily have done so if he had liked, as he could go much faster than they could.

They went up the road over the hills, which you remember that the river had come through in a gorge, and when they came to the top of it they could see the sea a few miles away. The road ran straight down to it. They could see several specks on the road at a good distance off, but there was nothing that looked like the two carriages.

This was a disappointment, as they had quite expected to catch sight of the fugitives from the top of the hill, and to come up with them before they could reach the sea. If they had already got there, it seemed as if they must have escaped them after all.

But it seemed impossible that the carriages should have got so far ahead. They had not been more than half an hour behind them at the inn, and even if they had not gained on them since, they must have seen them on the road in front, if they had been there. So they must have left the straight road, and the question was what to do next.

As they were talking it over, Peggy thought she heard a cry in the wood on their right. She listened with all her ears, and then thought she heard another. She told Wooden, and all of them listened.

Yes, there was no doubt about it. The noise was some distance off, and could not be heard very plainly; but it kept on, and seemed to be somebody calling for help. They got off their horse and went into the wood, in the direction from which the call seemed to be coming. As they got farther in among the trees it became louder. It was like a woman calling “Help! Help!” every second or two, but in a strangled voice, as if there were something in the way.

Wooden called out “Coming! Coming!” and they ran on as fast they could.

They came to a little clearing in the wood, and there, sitting on the ground with her back against a great fir-tree, was Wooden’s unfortunate aunt. She had a handkerchief tied over her mouth, and a rope went round her body and tied her tight to the tree. Her hands were behind her, and seemed to be tied too, so that she could not free herself. Altogether, she was in a very sorry plight.

But she did not seem to have altogether lost her spirits, for when she saw them coming towards her she kicked her legs up and gave a little sort of crow, which sounded rather pathetic, coming through her handkerchief.

Wooden untied the handkerchief, murmuring sounds of distress and sympathy all the time, while Colonel Jim busied himself with the rope, and when he found he couldn’t untie it cut it with his sword. In a very short time, Wooden’s aunt was standing up free, shaking the pine needles off her skirts.

“I thought somebody would come if I yelled long enough,” she said, in quite a cheerful voice, which did her credit, as it showed she had a great deal of pluck, in spite of the numerous faults of her nature.

“But how did you come to be here, dear?” asked Wooden. “And what has become of mother?”

“Oh, yer mother’s all right,” said Wooden’s aunt. “She’s with the quality. I don’t like their ways of going on, so I asked them to kindly drop me anywhere that was convenient.”

“But why did they tie you up like this, dear?” asked Wooden.

“Oh, they thought we was playing Blind Man’s Bluff,” said her aunt.

It was all very well for her to take it in this light-hearted spirit, and Peggy rather admired her for it. But she must have had a very rough time, for her dress was all torn, and her wrists were scarred where the rope had bound them. As she spoke she was rubbing them, to restore the circulation, and she looked white, and as if she might faint at any moment.

Fortunately, there was a little pool of water quite near, and Colonel Jim, who showed himself kind and useful in this emergency, filled his helmet with water and gave it to her to drink, as she sat on the ground again with Wooden kneeling by her side and holding her.

“Ah, that’s better,” she said, smacking her lips, when she had had a good drink. “I’ve been looking at that pond and wishing I could get at it. Drat that Selim! I wish I could get at _him_! _I_’d mark him.”

She said these last sentences in her usual vigorous way, which showed that she was recovering; and when she had rested a little longer, they got her story out of her.

“They’d said we was going to be took to the palace,” she said, “and at first I didn’t think nothing of going such a long way round. None of us didn’t. But by-and-by Lady Grace says, ‘I wonder who’s in the first carriage,’ she says. ‘Oh, I’ll soon find that out,’ I says, and I pokes my head out of window and hollers out to the driver, ‘Hi, Mister! Who have you got in front there?’”

“Was that before or after you had passed the inn where they got some water?” asked the Lord Chancellor.

“Never you mind whether it was before or after,” said Wooden’s aunt. “I’m telling this story, and I’m going to tell it in my own way.”

This was not very polite of her, but she had been through a great deal, and her nerves were in an irritable state. The Lord Chancellor asked no more questions, and she finished her story to the end.

She said the coachman told her that it was the King who was in the first carriage, and advised her not to put her head out of window again as he had orders to hit anybody who did so with his whip.

This seemed such an extraordinary order for him to have received that the three dolls in the carriage began to suspect that there was something wrong, especially as they had now been driving for a long time, and when Wooden’s aunt had put her head out of window she had seen that they were getting near the hills, which she recognized. It was not exactly observant of them not to have suspected something before, but, as you know by now, dolls are apt to take everything that happens as a matter of course.

Well, by the time the carriages had reached the top of the hill, the three dolls had come to the conclusion that they were being run away with. Wooden’s aunt said she wasn’t going to stand that, and was going to ask Selim what he meant by it. She said she would jump out of the carriage as it was going, and run forward to the first carriage. The others said that the coachman would hit her with his whip, but she said she would run the risk of his missing her.

Well, as the carriages came to the top of the hill, she opened the carriage door quickly and jumped out, and ran forward to the first carriage. The driver shouted at her, and gave her a great cut with his whip, which unfortunately did not miss her, but hit her in the face, where there was still an ugly-looking mark. But she hardly felt it at the time, and ran forward to the first carriage, shouting out, “Hi, you there, Selim! Come out and show your ugly face!”

Oh, there was no doubt about the pluck of Wooden’s aunt, in spite of the numerous faults of her character.

The rest was soon told. Selim had been furious with her, and he and Rose had dragged her into the wood and tied her to the tree, and then they had gone off. But before they had left her, Rose had stood in front of her and laughed her scornful laugh, and said, “That’s for calling me Sawdust. Perhaps you’ll be sorry now for crossing the path of Rose, who never forgets and never forgives.”

This was one more thing against Rose.

The Lord Chancellor asked Wooden’s aunt if she had any idea where the carriages were going, and told her they could not see them on the straight road to Dollport. This was the name of the little town by the sea, where the dolls landed from “over there.”

“Well, silly,” said Wooden’s aunt, “if they ain’t on that road, of course they’re on the other one. It don’t take a pair of specs to see that.”

The Lord Chancellor, slightly annoyed at being addressed in this fashion, said stiffly, “I should have thought of that if I had been given time. We have delayed long enough. Let us at once take the road to Dollfort.” Now, Dollfort was the place in which the wooden soldiers of Toyland were trained. If Selim had gone there, it looked as if he expected the wooden soldiers to be on his side.

XVI

COLONEL JIM ATTEMPTS A RESCUE

The road to Dollfort turned to the right at the top of the hill, and ran for some way through the wood. When it got to the bottom of the hill there was a stretch of open country for about a mile; then there was another thick wood on another hill.

There was no sign of the carriages on the straight bit of road, but the pursuers had been some time freeing Wooden’s aunt and listening to her story, and could hardly have expected to catch them up yet. Wooden’s aunt was riding between Peggy and Wooden. She had nearly recovered from her disagreeable experience, and was inclined to like being on horseback. She said the motion reminded her of being in a small boat on a choppy sea.

When they had got about halfway between the two woods, Colonel Jim halted them with a sharp word of command. “Women and children behind!!” he said, and then ordered his men in front.

It was a good thing that this was done, for as they approached the second wood two armed wooden soldiers sprang out of it and levelled their rifles at them. They did not fire them, but it would have given Peggy and the dolls a nasty fright if they had been riding in front.

The wooden sentries challenged Colonel Jim, riding at the head of his little troop, with a “Halt!” and a “Who goes there?” He said “Friend!” but they did not say “Pass Friend!” as is the usual custom. They told him that the King had recently gone through to Dollfort, and had told them that they were to let nobody pass until they received further orders from the fort.

Now Colonel Jim engaged in the duties of his profession was quite a different person from the amiable but rather slow-witted person we have hitherto seen. He didn’t tell the sentries that Selim wasn’t the King at all, or engage in any argument with them. He said, “I’m an officer of the Royal Body Guard, so your orders can’t apply to me.” Then he gave them the password for the day, which, as you remember, was the word “pot-plants.”

Now, you must also remember that, although Selim had thought he might be followed in his flight, which was the reason why he had given orders to the sentries to let no one pass the wood, he could not have known that he would be immediately followed by a troop of Household cavalry, which is, of course, the special protection of a King or Queen. So he had naturally not warned the sentries of this, and as Colonel Jim spoke with authority, they were inclined to obey him.

“Well, I suppose it’s all right for you and your men,” said one of the sentries, “but what about these here civs?” He meant civilians.

The Lord Chancellor now showed considerable resource. The sentries had lowered their rifles, which, strictly speaking, they ought not yet to have done, so he pushed his way to the front, and said in an important voice, “I am the highest official of this country; this gentleman here is the Royal Head Bargeman; this lady is the one the King has asked to marry him, and this is her aunt; and this little girl is a human being, and therefore doesn’t come under your orders at all.”

“Oh, well, I suppose it’s all right,” said the sentry in a grumbling voice. “You can pass through, all of you, and if me and my mate thinks it isn’t all right afterwards, why we can shoot after you.”

“Have you got your rifles in order?” asked Colonel Jim in a sharp voice. “Let’s have a look at them.”

Because he was an officer, and had spoken in a voice of command, they obediently handed him their rifles to look at.

“Thank you,” said Colonel Jim, and handed the rifles to one of his men. “Now, you take these two and bring them along with us,” he said to another one. The surprised sentries found themselves prisoners, and made to walk by the side of the horses, which now proceeded at a foot’s pace up through the wood.

So far, all had gone well.

They kept a sharp look-out going through the wood, but saw no more soldiers. When they came to the edge of the wood they could see Dollfort across the open downs about a mile away.

Dollfort was a very fine toy fort, something like the one Peggy had seen driving into Dolltown, but much bigger. There were battlements all round it, with gates in them, and on the top of the fort was a large citadel. Outside the walls was a little town of dolls’ houses, where the families of the wooden soldiers lived. None but wooden soldiers occupied this fort, and of course that was why Selim had taken refuge there. He would tell them a great many lies and get them on his side.

The pursuing party remained in the shelter of the wood, where they could not be seen from the fort, even with a telescope, but they could see the fort themselves quite plainly, and the country that lay between. This was all open grass-land, and woolly sheep were feeding on it. There were no houses between the wood and the fort.

Colonel Jim at once announced that he was going to take his soldiers to the fort and summon Selim to surrender. The Lord Chancellor thought this was a dangerous proceeding, but Colonel Jim refused to listen to him. “I’m in military command here,” he said, “and that is what I am going to do.” No doubt he was in a hurry, not only because of the Queen being shut up there, in the power of Selim, but because his dear Lady Grace was also shut up there. But he did not say this. He left Mr. Noah in charge, and set off with his gallant little band. They watched them ride down the hill, and trot across the open road over the downs, and very fine they looked on their splendid black chargers, with the sun glittering on their helmets and cuirasses, and their white plumes waving in the breeze.

The two captured wooden soldiers had had their hands tied, but when Mr. Noah told them all about Selim’s wickedness, and about the Queen being still alive, they expressed such horror that he allowed them to be untied. They said that if the soldiers in the fort knew what had happened none of them would be on Selim’s side. They had only been prepared to obey him as King because he was of wood, but they were loyal to Queen Rosebud, and would be glad to have her reigning over them again. They were none of them pleased at the shutting up of all the Waxes, who had done them no harm, and rumours had come through to Dollfort that not only Waxes but some Woods also had been sent to prison, and this had pleased them still less. When the sentries were told that Wooden and her aunt had been two of the dolls in question, they were very interested, and said that their comrades would never fight for Selim, if it came to fighting. Whether this was true or not, you will soon see.

They watched the little troop of soldiers get smaller and smaller, and at last disappear among the houses outside the fort. Then they waited for a long time, while the sheep fed peacefully on the downs in the evening sunlight, and no other signs of life could be seen at all except the smoke rising from the houses round the fort.

They had finished talking, and had been sitting silent for about five minutes, when Wooden’s aunt, whose ears were very sharp, said suddenly, “Hark! What’s that?”

Nobody else had heard anything, but almost immediately Mr. Noah said, “There are guns firing.” And then Peggy distinctly heard some faint pops coming from the direction of the fort.

This was serious, because the life guardsmen had no rifles, but only their swords, and if they were being fired upon by the wooden soldiers it would be difficult for them to defend themselves.

“Look!” cried Peggy in great excitement.

Just where the houses began, a mile away, there was a flash of sun on bright metal, and no sooner had she spoken than they could all see that it was on the helmets and breastplates of the soldiers. Then they saw the life guardsmen galloping towards them, and directly they had got clear of the houses, they saw the scarlet and white of the wooden soldiers following them, and heard their guns shooting. But none of the horse-soldiers seemed to be hit, and on they came, galloping along the road, and on the grass on either side of it. The foot-soldiers came running after them, but of course they could not go nearly so fast, and presently Colonel Jim and his men galloped up the road into the wood.

By this time the wooden soldiers were about a quarter of the way between the fort and the wood. There seemed to be an enormous number of them. They had left off firing their rifles, but were coming on at a good pace. In not so very long they would reach the wood, and it really seemed as if they must capture not only Colonel Jim and his troop, but Peggy and the Woodens and all the rest of them. Peggy _was_ a little frightened then, for the red and white was coming towards them like a great wave, and all the soldiers had rifles, which they would certainly use if any resistance were offered to them.

Colonel Jim cast one hurried glance round him. “If we had axes,” he said, “we could make a barricade, and keep them at bay until we could send for reinforcements. As it is, I’m afraid we must clear out.”

“What, and leave my sister-in-law shut up there!” exclaimed Wooden’s aunt. “Never! If nobody else stays, I shall. I’ve got a sharp pair of nails, and I can give them a few scratches.”

Now, this was plucky of Wooden’s aunt, and loyal too. She had only mentioned Wooden’s mother, but no doubt she had had the Queen in her mind as well. But she had left out of account the military situation, not knowing much about that sort of thing, and her opinion could not be allowed to stand against that of Colonel Jim, who was quite as brave as she was, but knew when there was a chance of fighting successfully and when it was better to retreat.

“We shall have to go,” he said decidedly. “If they take us prisoners we can’t do any more good, but if we get back to Dolltown we can bring out reinforcements and take the fort. To horse, all of you!”

The wooden soldiers were now about halfway across the stretch of open country. They were not running so fast now, as they must have got rather winded with their first effort, but more and more of them were coming out of the fort, and it was quite plain that the little band in the wood would have no possible chance against them.

They untied the horses and ponies, and were just preparing to mount, when Wooden’s aunt said, “Hark! I heard a shout.”

She turned towards the interior of the wood, and they all listened. Yes, there was somebody shouting, and they heard the noise of a horse galloping furiously, besides. In a moment there came into sight, among the trees--who do you think? None other than Peggy’s faithful old Teddy.

XVII

THE BATTLE

Teddy galloped up to them and threw himself off his horse. One glance at the advancing wave of wooden soldiers showed him what the position was. There was no time to explain what he had been doing. Every moment was of value. “There’s cavalry and infantry coming up,” he said to Colonel Jim. “We can make a stand here. Better send one of your men back to hurry up the guns.”

But there was no necessity to do this, for as Teddy was speaking they could hear the noise of horses trotting along through the wood, and almost immediately a lot of lead soldiers made their appearance, and came rapidly towards them. They were Lancers, on bright bay horses, and very smart they looked with the little flags fluttering at the tops of their lances.

The Colonel of the regiment rode at the head of them. He came up to Colonel Jim, and saluted. “Just in time, eh, sir?” he said. Colonel Jim saluted, too, and said, “Are your men ready for a charge, sir? If so, we can keep them off till the guns come up.”

The Colonel of the Lancer regiment threw one glance at the approaching wooden soldiers. There were thousands and thousands of them, and only a few of his men could come up at a time, by the narrow road through the wood. But odds did not daunt him, and he at once gave the order to charge.

The Lancers who had gathered at the edge of the wood immediately charged down the hill, shouting and singing in the most gallant fashion, the Colonel at their head; and the others who were coming up behind quickened their pace and followed them. They spread out as they got into the open, so as to charge the whole front of the wooden infantry. Colonel Jim held his own little troop back, partly out of politeness to the Colonel of Lancers, partly because their horses were blown.

It had all happened so quickly that Peggy had not had time to be frightened yet. But the noise of the horses galloping and the men shouting got louder and louder, and the wooden soldiers had now got so near that their shouts could be heard too, as they stood to receive the shock of the cavalry. She suddenly shrieked, and clung to Wooden. “Oh, they’re not going to kill each other, are they?” she cried. “Do let’s go away!”

Wooden soothed her. “Of course they’re not going to kill each other, dear,” she said. “Soldiers don’t do that in Toyland. They only knock each other down; and whichever side knocks most down wins.”

This relieved Peggy’s fears a little, and in any case she was in the thick of it now, and had to see it through. She was really a plucky little girl, and by the time the cavalry got to the bottom of the hill she had partly recovered from her fright, and did not shut her eyes.

The cavalry rode gallantly at the thick mass of soldiers, with their lances levelled, and whenever they hit a wooden soldier, down he went. The wooden soldiers fired their rifles at them as they came down the hill, and knocked over a few. But the bullets, which were small peas, of a kind grown specially for rifle ammunition, were not big enough to do much damage against men and horses coming so fast. It was only when several bullets hit the same soldier, or his horse, that they were knocked over. But the foot-soldiers left off firing and began to use their bayonets when the cavalry got amongst them, and then they did knock over a large number of men and horses, though not nearly so many as the Lancers knocked over of them.

It was most fascinating to watch. The Lancers went on and on through the masses of infantry, and wherever they went, down fell heaps of wooden soldiers. And when they were knocked down they lay quite still on the ground, and took no further interest in the proceedings. But the farther in the Lancers went the less they became, as men and horses were bowled over in their turn. It was just as if they were being swallowed up in the great mass of red and white, and there were so many of the wooden soldiers that it soon became plain that in a short time the Lancers would all disappear.

Peggy watched the Colonel, who was always in front, fight his way steadily on, dealing lightning blows to right and left of him. But at last he went down, and the red coats were almost as thick as before, and still more were always coming up from the fort.

It was then that Colonel Jim rallied his little troop for a last gallant charge. Teddy had galloped back through the wood, while the Lancers were charging, to hurry up the guns. He now came tearing back, and said to Colonel Jim in a hurried voice, “The guns will be here in a couple of minutes. If you can keep them back till then we shall have them beaten.”

“I’ll try,” said Colonel Jim, looking at his little troop, which seemed almost nothing at all compared to the masses of soldiers advancing on them; and then he gave the word to charge.

It was a desperate effort. The shock of the Lancers’ charge had now spent itself. The wooden soldiers, who had been kept back by it for a time which was short measured by minutes, but of inestimable value to the defenders of the wood, were now forming at the foot of the hill. If they succeeded in getting to the top of it, the little party in the wood would be surrounded and taken prisoners. Could Colonel Jim’s handful of men save them?

The troopers were given instructions to form themselves into a line at the edge of the wood, and then to charge down the hill all together. They rode out of the shelter of the trees, and formed their line with as much coolness as if they were on parade. The foot-soldiers began firing again, and the bullets pattered on their cuirasses like hail, but had no effect upon these heroes, except to sting them up when they caught them in their faces, and to make their horses restive. Peggy could hear the bullets whistling and pattering amongst the leaves of the trees over her head, but she and the dolls had been withdrawn a little into the wood. Owing to the angle at which the wooden soldiers fired, there was no danger for them as long as the firing was from the bottom of the hill.

It took the life-guardsmen a very short time to form into line, and, as the wooden soldiers had halted to fire at them, the time was not wasted. The moment they were in line, Colonel Jim, who was in the middle, slightly in advance of the rest, gave the word to charge.

Down swept the splendid little band, in an irresistible charge. It was no good firing at them any longer, and the wooden soldiers stood with bayonets fixed to receive the shock. Wooden’s aunt, who had been getting more and more excited at what was happening, ran forward to the edge of the wood to watch, and Peggy and the others went with her.

The sudden leaving off of the firing made a lull, in which the noise of the horses’ hoofs could be heard thundering down the hill. When they reached the bottom, the shock of the encounter was just like hammer blows, as wood met metal.

The front line of wooden soldiers seemed to waver a little as the horsemen approached them. And no wonder! The wooden soldiers were brave enough, and they did not yet know that they were fighting in a bad cause, so there was nothing to make them cowards. But the first line of them, at least, must have known that they would all go down before the irresistible charge, and it spoke well for them that they stood and waited for it, instead of running away.

It was not only the front line that went down under the weight, but the second and third. It really looked for a moment as if that single line of heavy cavalry would push the opposing host back all by itself. And, so far, not a single man or horse of them had fallen.

But the impetus of the furious charge was bound to spend itself. A life-guardsman went down, and then another. But still they struggled on, Colonel Jim in front of them fighting desperately, as the Colonel of the Lancers had done. It was no longer a line of steel destroying everything in front of it as it swept on, but a few scattered horsemen, fighting gloriously against overwhelming odds.

But still they did advance, and for every horse and rider that went down a score or more of foot soldiers bit the dust.

“They’ll do it! They’ll do it!” yelled Wooden’s aunt, dancing about in a state of tremendous excitement.

Teddy, sitting on his horse, was no less excited. “They’re giving way!” he cried. And Peggy distinctly saw a quiver run through the mass of wooden soldiers, like wind passing over a field of corn.

At this very moment there was a roar and a rumble from the wood behind, and the artillery came galloping up, just in the nick of time. A great shout was raised, which struck terror into the hearts of the wooden soldiers down below. Before the first gun could be unlimbered and pointed at them, the great mass of red coats turned and broke. Colonel Jim, and all that was left of his little troop, took up the shout, and redoubled their efforts. They had it all their own way now. The enemy was flying, and not one wooden soldier tried to knock them down any more, but only to escape their blows, and get back in safety to the fort.

The big guns got to work. One of them was quite near to where Peggy and the Woodens were standing. It was quickly loaded with gunpowder and an enormous pea. She stopped her ears as it was fired, but the noise was not so bad as if it had been a real gun. She distinctly saw the great pea fall in the middle of the fleeing army, and then go bowling along, knocking over lots of soldiers before its force had spent itself.

Orders soon came, however, for the artillery to cease firing. More regiments of cavalry were coming up through the wood. As they arrived they were sent down to pursue the wooden soldiers, and also to ride round them, and cut them off from the fort. There was no necessity to knock down any more of them. If they were surrounded they would be obliged to surrender, and this would come to the same thing. The guns would be wanted to reduce the fort, and, until further supplies of ammunition came up, they did not want to waste it.

It was a pretty sight to see the cavalry galloping over the downs, outflanking the flying red coats, and presently getting between them and the fort. But a good many wooden soldiers who had only got a little way out when the rout began had already succeeded in making their way back. There would be plenty to defend the fort, if Selim should decide to try to hold it.

XVIII

THE SIEGE

The great contest that would be known in the history of Toyland as the Battle of the Downs had been fought and won. But Queen Rosebud was not yet set free, and Selim was not yet captured. There was still stern work to be done. Dollfort must be taken at all costs, and as it was one of the strongest forts in the country that would be no light matter.

The affair, however, was set in hand at once. The artillery limbered up and galloped down the hill and trotted across the downs, making a fine show. There were about twenty guns--quite enough to make a breach in the walls. But when they had done so, infantry would be required to pour in through the breach and complete the work that the guns had begun. The cavalry had already done their share, and would not be of much use for this task For in the valiant army of Toyland it was not customary to use horse-soldiers apart from their horses.

But Teddy, who seemed to have thought of everything, had asked for infantry to be sent from Dolltown, as well as cavalry and artillery, and almost as soon as the guns had thundered off down the hill the first detachment of foot-soldiers came up through the wood.

If they had had to march from Dolltown they could not have been there in time; but all the available conveyances had been used to bring them up. The first lot arrived in toy motor-cars, and then followed carriages and cabs and carts in quick succession, until quite enough men were there to overcome any resistance the fort might make.

Peggy, and the little group of civilian dolls watched the first regiment form up and march away towards their task at Dollfort. It was a regiment of wooden soldiers, and the Lord Chancellor said he thought that was a mistake, as they would not like fighting against their own sort. But Teddy, who came up to say a word to them now and then, laughed at this. “They are all loyal,” he said. “So will the soldiers at Dollfort be, when they know the truth.”

There was certainly no lack of eagerness shown by this fine regiment, as it marched down the hill with its flag at its head. Peggy was interested to see Captain Louisa marching with one of the companies. He had said that his men would follow him anywhere, and she was glad to see that he was prepared to fight on the side of the right.

When the first regiment had marched off, Teddy came up to them and said, “I think we might go now. You’d like to see the guns knock the fort down, wouldn’t you?”

Peggy said she should like it very much. She had always liked playing with her boy cousin with his soldiers, and this was just like one of the battles and sieges that they had arranged, only on an enormous, glorious scale. Since she had seen that there was no horrible bloodshed, but only fair and square knocking down, from which none of the soldiers would be much the worse afterwards, she had ceased to feel any alarm at the fighting, and was quite ready to see some more of it.

They rode across the downs towards Dollfort, and now Teddy had time to tell them how he had so luckily been able to bring up the troops, and spoil Selim’s little game.

He had been galloping along the road after the two carriages and must have nearly caught them up, when he had met Japhet, Mr. Noah’s third son. He had been just about to pass him with a wave of the paw, when Japhet had stopped him, and told him some most important news.

Now Japhet was a mild-mannered, studious young man, whose great hobby was the collection of wildflowers, which he pressed in a book. Whenever he was off duty on the royal Ark, he used to wander about the country picking flowers. Sometimes he went alone, and sometimes with a friend, who shared the same tastes. This friend was also in the royal service. In fact, he was none other than the driver of the carriage in which Selim had run away with Queen Rosebud. Japhet had made arrangements to meet him that very evening on the road between Dolltown and Dollfort, and have a good long ramble with him.

It was fortunate that it was just on this road that Japhet had arranged to meet his friend. Of course, if he had not come, Japhet would have known that it was because he was on duty; but he would not have known where he was going.

As the carriage passed, Japhet waved to his friend, and asked him where he was going. His friend said “Dollfort.” They both spoke under their breaths, making great movement with their mouths, and the driver also made a movement with his head towards the carriage behind him, and said in the same way, “I’ve got the old man with me.” This was how these two talked to each other about Selim, and was not meant for disrespect, as they would not have done it in public.

Teddy said, “Are you sure he said Dollfort and not Dollport?”

Japhet said he was quite sure, because he had jerked his thumb to the right, where Dollfort was. If he had meant Dollport, he would have pointed straight ahead.

Then Teddy had seen it all. Selim was not going to try to escape by sea, with Queen Rosebud, but was going to rouse the wooden soldiers of Dollfort, and perhaps try to get the kingdom back with their help. So Teddy turned sharp round, and rode back to Dolltown--but not along the road by which he had come--leaving Japhet standing there in considerable surprise.

When he had told his story, the Lord Chancellor asked him why he had not come back and told them what he had found out. He was annoyed about it. “If it had not been for our own extreme cleverness,” he said, “we might have gone off on a false scent to Dollport, and not known where they had gone to at all.”

Teddy grinned up at him rather impudently. “You wouldn’t have been much loss,” he said. “I knew it would take you about a month to start, if you started at all; and I wanted to take the short cut to the barracks. There was no time to be lost.”

“It’s as well you did,” said Mr. Noah. “The troops only came up just in the nick of time. Five minutes more, and the enemy would have been entrenched in the wood.”

As they rode across the downs, they passed heaps of soldiers lying on the ground, most of which were wooden soldiers of the attacking party; but some were men and horses of the Lifeguards and the Lancers. None of them were much damaged, but they hated lying there and doing nothing, and implored to be picked up.

But they were told that there wasn’t time for that. The ambulance corps would be sent out as soon as possible, and they must wait for that. The only soldier they did pick up was the Colonel of Lancers, who rode along with them, very glad for his horse to be on its feet again. He was proud of the charge that his regiment had made, but would not take any credit for his own share of it. He said that he had only done his duty as a soldier should.

When they arrived at the houses in front of the fort, the guns had already got to work. The cavalry had gone into the streets, and told all the inhabitants to come away, as in five minutes their houses were going to be knocked down. It was necessary to destroy them, in order to have a clear range at the walls of the fort, and as our little party came up the dolls’ houses of the town were toppling down in dozens as the guns fired at them. All the poor dolls who had been told to leave them were gathered in a body on a low hill to the right, watching the destruction of their homes, and it was sad to hear the wails and lamentations that arose from them; for they had not had time to bring anything away. Perhaps their possessions were not worth very much, but still, a home is a home to those who live in it. Be it ever so humble, there is no place like it, as the song says, and it was not nice for these poor people to see their homes knocked down by great peas as big as wardrobes. However, the houses would all be put up again as soon as the siege was over, and the poor dolls would not be any the worse off.

The hill on which the refugees were crowded was out of the line of fire, and our party went there to watch what was going on.