Part 18 (1/2)

So Jimmieboy staid close by Bludgeonhead's side and was very much entertained by all that went on around him. He saw the most wonderful birds imaginable, and great b.u.mble-bees buzzed about in the flowers gathering honey by the quart. Once a great jack-rabbit, three times as large as he was, came rus.h.i.+ng out of the woods toward him, and Jimmieboy on stooping to pick up a stone to throw at Mr. Bunny to frighten him away, found that all the stones in that enchanted valley were precious.

He couldn't help laughing outright when he discovered that the stone he had thrown at the rabbit was a huge diamond as big as his fist, and that even had he stopped to choose a less expensive missile he would have had to confine his choice to pearls, rubies, emeralds, and other gems of the rarest sort. And then he noticed that what he thought was a rock upon which he and Bludgeonhead were sitting was a ma.s.sive nugget of pure yellow gold. This lead him on to inspect the trees about him and then he discovered a most absurd thing. Fortyforefoot's extravagance had prompted him to make all his pine trees of the most beautifully polished and richly inlaid mahogany; every one of the weeping willows was made of solid oak, ornamented and carved until the eye wearied of its beauty, and as for the birds in the trees, their nests were made not of stray wisps of straw and hay stolen from the barns and fields, but of the softest silk, rich in color and lined throughout with eiderdown, the mere sight of which could hardly help being restful to a tired bird--or boy either, for that matter, Jimmieboy thought.

”Did he make all this out of sand? All these jewels and magnificent carvings?” he asked.

”Yes,” said Bludgeonhead. ”Simply took up a handful of sand and tossed it up in the air and whatever he commanded it to be it became. But the most wonderful thing in this place is his spring. He made what you might call a 'Wish Dipper' out of an old tin cup. Then he dug a hole and filled it with sand which he commanded to become liquid, and, when the sand heard him say that, it turned to liquid, but the singular thing about it is that as Fortyforefoot didn't say what kind of liquid it should be, it became any kind. So now if any one is thirsty and wants a gla.s.s of cider all he has to do is to dip the wish dipper into the spring and up comes cider. If he wants lemonade up comes lemonade. If he wants milk up comes milk. It's simply great.”

As Bludgeonhead spoke these words Jimmieboy was startled to hear something very much like an approaching footstep far down the road.

”Did you hear that?” he asked, seizing Bludgeonhead by the hand.

”Yes, I did,” replied Bludgeonhead, in a whisper. ”It sounded to me like Fortyforefoot's step, too.”

”I'd better hide, hadn't I?” said Jimmieboy.

”Yes,” said Bludgeonhead. ”Come here and be quick about it. Climb inside my coat and snuggle down out of sight in my pocket. We musn't let him see you yet awhile.”

Jimmieboy did as he was commanded, and found the pocket a very comfortable place, only it was a little stuffy.

”It's pretty hot in here,” he whispered.

”Well, look up on the left hand corner of the outer side of the pocket and you'll find two flaps that are b.u.t.toned up,” replied Bludgeonhead, softly. ”Unb.u.t.ton them. One will let in all the air you want, and the other will enable you to peep out and see Fortyforefoot without his seeing you.”

In a minute the b.u.t.tons were found and the flaps opened. Everything happened as Bludgeonhead said it would, and in a minute Jimmieboy, peering out through the hole in the cloak, saw Fortyforefoot approaching.

The owner of the beautiful valley seemed very angry when he caught sight of Bludgeonhead sitting on his property, and hastening up to him, he cried:

”What business have you here in the Valley of Fortyforefoot?”

Jimmieboy shrank back into one corner of the pocket, a little overcome with fear. Fortyforefoot was larger and more terrible than he thought.

”I am not good at riddles,” said Bludgeonhead, calmly. ”That is at riddles of that sort. If you had asked me the difference between a duck and a garden rake I should have told you that a duck has no teeth and can eat, while a rake has plenty of teeth and can't eat. But when you ask me what business I have here I am forced to say that I can't say.”

”You are a very bright sort of a giant,” sneered Fortyforefoot.

”Yes,” replied Bludgeonhead. ”The fact is I can't help being bright. My mother polishes me every morning with a damp chamois.”

”Do you know to whom you are speaking?” asked Fortyforefoot, threateningly.

”No; not having been introduced to you, I can't say I know you,”

returned Bludgeonhead. ”But I think I can guess. You are Anklehigh, the Dwarf.”

At this Fortyforefoot turned purple with rage.

”Anklehigh the Dwarf?” he roared. ”I'll right quickly teach thee a lesson thou rash fellow.”

Fortyforefoot strode up close to Bludgeonhead, whose size he could not have guessed because Bludgeonhead had been sitting down all this time and was pretty well covered over by his cloak.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BLUDGEONHEAD SHOWS JIMMIEBOY TO FORTYFOREFOOT. PAGE 174.]

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