Our friends had a good start
and were able to maintain it,
for with their eight wings
they could go just as fast
as could the Gargoyles. All
the way to the great rock the
wooden people followed them,
and when Jim finally alighted
at the mouth of the cavern
the pursuers were still some
distance away.
"But, I'm afraid they'll
catch us yet," said Dorothy,
greatly excited.
"No; we must stop them," declared
the Wizard. "Quick Zeb, help
me pull off these wooden wings!"
They tore off the wings,
for which they had no further
use, and the Wizard piled them
in a heap just outside the
entrance to the cavern. Then
he poured over them all the
kerosene oil that was left
in his oil-can, and lighting
a match set fire to the pile.
The flames leaped up at once
and the bonfire began to smoke
and roar and crackle just as
the great army of wooden Gargoyles
arrived. The creatures drew
back at once, being filled
with fear and horror; for such
as dreadful thing as a fire
they had never before known
in all the history of their
wooden land.
Inside the archway were several
doors, leading to different
rooms built into the mountain,
and Zeb and the Wizard lifted
these wooden doors from their
hinges and tossed them all
on the flames.
"That will prove a barrier
for some time to come," said
the little man, smiling pleasantly
all over his wrinkled face
at the success of their stratagem. "Perhaps
the flames will set fire to
all that miserable wooden country,
and if it does the loss will
be very small and the Gargoyles
never will be missed. But come,
my children; let us explore
the mountain and discover which
way we must go in order to
escape from this cavern, which
is getting to be almost as
hot as a bake-oven."
To their disappointment there
was within this mountain no
regular flight of steps by
means of which they could mount
to the earth's surface. A sort
of inclined tunnel led upward
for a way, and they found the
floor of it both rough and
steep. Then a sudden turn brought
them to a narrow gallery where
the buggy could not pass. This
delayed and bothered them for
a while, because they did not
wish to leave the buggy behind
them. It carried their baggage
and was useful to ride in wherever
there were good roads, and
since it had accompanied them
so far in their travels they
felt it their duty to preserve
it. So Zeb and the Wizard set
to work and took off the wheels
and the top, and then they
put the buggy edgewise, so
it would take up the smallest
space. In this position they
managed, with the aid of the
patient cab-horse, to drag
the vehicle through the narrow
part of the passage. It was
not a great distance, fortunately,
and when the path grew broader
they put the buggy together
again and proceeded more comfortably.
But the road was nothing more
than a series of rifts or cracks
in the mountain, and it went
zig-zag in every direction,
slanting first up and then
down until they were puzzled
as to whether they were any
nearer to the top of the earth
than when they had started,
hours before.
"Anyhow," said Dorothy, "we've
'scaped those awful Gurgles,
and that's ONE comfort!"
"Probably the Gargoyles are
still busy trying to put out
the fire," returned the Wizard. "But
even if they succeeded in doing
that it would be very difficult
for them to fly amongst these
rocks; so I am sure we need
fear them no longer."
Once in a while they would
come to a deep crack in the
floor, which made the way quite
dangerous; but there was still
enough oil in the lanterns
to give them light, and the
cracks were not so wide but
that they were able to jump
over them. Sometimes they had
to climb over heaps of loose
rock, where Jim could scarcely
drag the buggy. At such times
Dorothy, Zeb and the Wizard
all pushed behind, and lifted
the wheels over the roughest
places; so they managed, by
dint of hard work, to keep
going. But the little party
was both weary and discouraged
when at last, on turning a
sharp corner, the wanderers
found themselves in a vast
cave arching high over their
heads and having a smooth,
level floor.
The cave was circular in
shape, and all around its edge,
near to the ground, appeared
groups of dull yellow lights,
two of them being always side
by side. These were motionless
at first, but soon began to
flicker more brightly and to
sway slowly from side to side
and then up and down.
"What sort of place is this?" asked
the boy, trying to see more
clearly through the gloom.
"I cannot imagine, I'm sure," answered
the Wizard, also peering about.
"Woogh!" snarled Eureka,
arching her back until her
hair stood straight on end; "it's
den of alligators, or crocodiles,
or some other dreadful creatures!
Don't you see their terrible
eyes?"
"Eureka sees better in the
dark than we can," whispered
Dorothy. "Tell us, dear, what
do the creatures look like?" she
asked, addressing her pet.
"I simply can't describe
'em," answered the kitten,
shuddering. "Their eyes are
like pie-plates and their mouths
like coal-scuttles. But their
bodies don't seem very big."
"Where are they?" enquired
the girl.
"They
are in
little
pockets
all around the edge of this
cavern. Oh, Dorothy--you can't
imagine what horrid things
they are! They're uglier than
the Gargoyles."
"Tut-tut! be careful how
you criticise your neighbors," spoke
a rasping voice near by. "As
a matter of fact you are rather
ugly-looking creatures yourselves,
and I'm sure mother has often
told us we were the loveliest
and prettiest things in all
the world."
Hearing these words our friends
turned in the direction of
the sound, and the Wizard held
his lanterns so that their
light would flood one of the
little pockets in the rock.
"Why, it's a dragon!" he
exclaimed.
"No," answered the owner
of the big yellow eyes which
were blinking at them so steadily; "you
are wrong about that. We hope
to grow to be dragons some
day, but just now we're only
dragonettes."
"What's that?" asked
Dorothy,
gazing fearfully at the great
scaley head, the yawning mouth
and the big eyes.
"Young dragons, of course;
but we are not allowed to call
ourselves real dragons until
we get our full growth," was
the reply. "The big dragons
are very proud, and don't think
children amount to much; but
mother says that some day we
will all be very powerful and
important."
"Where is your mother?" asked
the Wizard, anxiously looking
around.
"She
has gone
up to the
top of
the earth
to hunt
for our
dinner. If she has good luck
she will bring us an elephant,
or a brace of rhinoceri, or
perhaps a few dozen people
to stay our hunger."
"Oh; are you hungry?" enquired
Dorothy, drawing back.
"Very," said
the dragonette,
snapping its jaws.
"And--and--do
you eat
people?"
"To be sure, when we can
get them. But they've been
very scarce for a few years
and we usually have to be content
with elephants or buffaloes," answered
the creature, in a regretful
tone.
"How old are you?" enquired
Zeb, who stared at the yellow
eyes as if fascinated.
"Quite
young,
I grieve
to say;
and all
of my brothers
and sisters that you see here
are practically my own age.
If I remember rightly, we were
sixty-six years old the day
before yesterday."
"But that isn't young!" cried
Dorothy, in amazement.
"No?" drawled the dragonette; "it
seems to me very babyish."
"How old is your mother?" asked
the girl.
"Mother's
about two
thousand
years old; but she carelessly
lost track of her age a few
centuries ago and skipped several
hundreds. She's a little fussy,
you know, and afraid of growing
old, being a widow and still
in her prime."
"I should think she would
be," agreed Dorothy. Then,
after a moment's thought, she
asked: "Are we friends or enemies?
I mean, will you be good to
us, or do you intend to eat
us?"
"As
for that,
we dragonettes
would love to eat you, my child;
but unfortunately mother has
tied all our tails around the
rocks at the back of our individual
caves, so that we can not crawl
out to get you. If you choose
to come nearer we will make
a mouthful of you in a wink;
but unless you do you will
remain quite safe."
There was a regretful accent
in the creature's voice, and
at the words all the other
dragonettes sighed dismally.
Dorothy felt relieved. Presently
she asked:
"Why
did your
mother
tie your
tails?"
"Oh,
she is
sometimes
gone for
several
weeks on
her hunting
trips, and if we were not tied
we would crawl all over the
mountain and fight with each
other and get into a lot of
mischief. Mother usually knows
what she is about, but she
made a mistake this time; for
you are sure to escape us unless
you come too near, and you
probably won't do that."
"No, indeed!" said the little
girl. "We don't wish to be
eaten by such awful beasts."
"Permit me to say," returned
the dragonette, "that you are
rather impolite to call us
names, knowing that we cannot
resent your insults. We consider
ourselves very beautiful in
appearance, for mother has
told us so, and she knows.
And we are of an excellent
family and have a pedigree
that I challenge any humans
to equal, as it extends back
about twenty thousand years,
to the time of the famous Green
Dragon of Atlantis, who lived
in a time when humans had not
yet been created. Can you match
that pedigree, little girl?"
"Well," said Dorothy, "I
was born on a farm in Kansas,
and I guess that's being just
as 'spectable and haughty as
living in a cave with your
tail tied to a rock. If it
isn't I'll have to stand it,
that's all."
"Tastes differ," murmured
the dragonette, slowly drooping
its scaley eyelids over its
yellow eyes, until they looked
like half-moons.
Being reassured by the fact
that the creatures could not
crawl out of their rock-pockets,
the children and the Wizard
now took time to examine them
more closely. The heads of
the dragonettes were as big
as barrels and covered with
hard, greenish scales that
glittered brightly under the
light of the lanterns. Their
front legs, which grew just
back of their heads, were also
strong and big; but their bodies
were smaller around than their
heads, and dwindled away in
a long line until their tails
were slim as a shoe-string.
Dorothy thought, if it had
taken them sixty-six years
to grow to this size, that
it would be fully a hundred
years more before they could
hope to call themselves dragons,
and that seemed like a good
while to wait to grow up.
"It occurs to me," said the
Wizard, "that we ought to get
out of this place before the
mother dragon comes back."
"Don't hurry," called one
of the dragonettes; "mother
will be glad to meet you, I'm
sure."
"You may be right," replied
the Wizard, "but we're a little
particular about associating
with strangers. Will you kindly
tell us which way your mother
went to get on top the earth?"
"That is not a fair question
to ask us," declared another
dragonette. "For, if we told
you truly, you might escape
us altogether; and if we told
you an untruth we would be
naughty and deserve to be punished."
"Then," decided Dorothy, "we
must find our way out the best
we can."
They circled all around the
cavern, keeping a good distance
away from the blinking yellow
eyes of the dragonettes, and
presently discovered that there
were two paths leading from
the wall opposite to the place
where they had entered. They
selected one of these at a
venture and hurried along it
as fast as they could go, for
they had no idea when the mother
dragon would be back and were
very anxious not to make her
acquaintance.
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