/ - 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
The Ten Travellers 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 by Jean de 
 BOSSCHERE 
 
 LONDON 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, LTD. 
 
 1921 
 
BOOKS WRITTEN AND 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY THE 
 
 SAME AUTHOR 
 
 B&Lle-Gryne 
 
 Dolorine et les Ombres 
 
 Metiers Divins 
 
 Max Elskamp 
 
 Edifices Anciens 
 
 Le Style de Leys 
 
 La Sculpture Anversoise 
 
 La Dialectique du Dessin 
 
 Twelve Occupations 
 
 O,uinten Metsys 
 
 The Closed Door 
 
 Le Bourg (shortly) 
 
 The City Curious 
 
 Illustrated by the Author 
 
 Christmas Tales of Flanders 
 Beasts and Men 
 Gulliver's Travels 
 
 PRINTED IN ENGLAND AT THE WESTMINSTER FRKSS. LONDON W. 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 I HEARD this fantastic story for the first time on a 
 summer evening, and I wish to share at once 
 the pleasure that it gave me with others, of all 
 ages and of all tastes. I must confess, though, that 
 when I had once begun re-telling it, I thought more 
 of the pleasure that it was giving myself than of the 
 pleasure that it would give to others. But we all know 
 that the joy we take in contemplating any work of 
 art must be measured by the joy that went to the 
 artist's creation of it. And certainly the Weird Islands 
 has given me long weeks of genuine happiness. I 
 wish I could have it with others ; I wish others could 
 have been there to help me while I worked, and while 
 my friend improvised on his violin tunes as curious 
 as Stravinsky's, and while my little green parrakeets 
 nibbled at my brushes. 
 
 In re- telling these adventures, I did not adopt the 
 form of a novel, because in that shape it would have 
 taken six volumes to describe Weird Islands, and 
 because I was able to employ another means of 
 description drawing, which can show immediately 
 people and objects in a way that it would take several 
 pages to describe. Until to-day no one has attempted 
 to combine these two mediums in a precise and 
 absolute manner. This is not a book in which the 
 drawings repeat and illustrate what the text has told. 
 Here, the author, when it seemed more suitable for 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 the story, has described characters and objects by a 
 drawing ; reserving writing to convey impressions, 
 sentiments, anger, melancholy, sadness, surprise and 
 joy or the impatience of the people concerned. And 
 thus the adventures and scenes are told by the draw- 
 ings as much as by the text. Each is the complement of 
 the other. That is the real character of these stories. 
 Weird Islands was never conceived without the 
 drawings. 
 
 I know that this method would not suit a novel, 
 where the main interest lies in the development of 
 character and incident. But it is as natural as it is 
 amusing in a story where the scenes are constantly 
 changing, and where the interest is found particu- 
 larly in what the queer people, at every step, meet in 
 the way of unexpected creatures and objects, fabu- 
 lous islands, conciliating and wicked monsters, and 
 creatures who are comic or poetical. I had to show 
 the ten travellers whose voyage had been recounted 
 to me, to show their costumes, their faces, their 
 weapons, and their musical instruments. And so I 
 drew ten faithful portraits (since psychology was 
 not concerned, nor symbolism, nor allegory, nor 
 philosophy). When one of the people met a 
 strange animal, or the Silent Island, or the Island of 
 Long Women, or cannibals, or the building Cyclops, 
 I have made drawings of these things and these 
 creatures instead of giving a long description of 
 them. 
 
 It is a legitimate method. Can we not imagine 
 /Esop telling his fables with drawings as well as 
 vi 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 words ; Apuleius tracing on his tablets images of 
 his metamorphoses ; Maundeville recounting his 
 voyages with manuscripts covered with sketches. 
 The interest invoked by such a book is not easily 
 exhausted. It is not necessary to read it again to 
 derive pleasure from it. It is enough to turn the 
 pages ; the images impress themselves on the mem- 
 ory. Weird Islands is not, of course, perfect of 
 its kind, perfect that is in comparison with what it 
 might be, with that ideal book which would be like 
 a familiar room, full of souvenirs, curious and strange 
 and tender. Souvenirs and portraits that one could 
 look at and touch at leisure ; souvenirs and portraits 
 that, touched or looked upon, would evoke memories 
 of emotions, pleasures and curiosities ; souvenirs 
 and portraits which each time one saw them would 
 reveal their mystery a little more. 
 
 vu 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 STORY OF THE CARPENTER'S SAW. THE 
 CARPENTER MEETS THE MUSICIANS 
 IN THE PARK. DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 CARPENTER'S COSTUME. PETER WITH 
 THE VOICE OF A FLY. PURCHASE OF 
 A SAW. THE CARPENTER'S BLUE HAT 
 
 ONE evening the Carpenter went out to take 
 a walk in the streets of London. He walked 
 in the direction of the Green Park in the hope 
 of finding some moths for his collection. Just as he 
 was approaching the Park railings he saw a little red 
 light, which went out as he looked at it. This inter- 
 ested the Carpenter so much that he at once hurried 
 
 SOME MOTHS FOR HIS COLLECTION 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 .}.;.!/: ;..:'; -through. -an opening in the railings, and saw, sitting 
 on some chairs and seats under the trees, several 
 most curious looking people. 
 
 Though it was a dark evening he could see that 
 one of them was very big and wore a mask ; this 
 was Bing. Another had a perfectly white face that 
 looked as though it was covered with flour ; he had 
 thick, black eyebrows and a little round patch of red 
 on each cheek ; this was Peter. Their costumes were 
 superb, sprinkled with stars and shining patterns so 
 that you could see them easily in the dark. 
 
 The Carpenter's costume was very simple. He 
 wore wide yellow trousers and a little black velvet 
 waistcoat over a rose-coloured shirt. He also wore a 
 very high blue hat. He was rather shy at approaching 
 this brilliant group of people, but they all greeted 
 him very kindly, and made him sit down beside them. 
 
 " We are discussing the final arrangements for 
 the voyage of the Blue Boat," said Peter, whose voice 
 was very little and thin like the voice of a fly. 
 
 " So they are going for a voyage in a Blue Boat," 
 thought the Carpenter to himself. " I think I should 
 like to go with them. I might find some butterflies 
 and moths for my collection." 
 
 " What is your instrument ? " Peter asked him. 
 
 Peter himself carried a yellow oblong box with a 
 long handle joined to it by tightly drawn strings, 
 which sang when you touched them. 
 
 " I will bring it when we start," answered the 
 Carpenter politely, having quickly decided to join 
 the young men on their voyage. 
 2 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 A girl young and pretty, who had been standing 
 near by, now came and sat down by the Carpenter. 
 She also was beautifully dressed in radiant colours, 
 and she, too, carried a box, but tier's was shaped like 
 
 A GIRL YOUNG AND PRETTY 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 the half of a pear, with a long tail. This box had 
 wires stretched across it, which made agitated little 
 sounds when they were touched. She called it a 
 mandoline. She had also a red leather case, which 
 contained Peter's toilet requisites, white flour, red 
 paint and some charcoal for his eyebrows. 
 
 She was very fond of Peter, and liked to see him 
 look nice. 
 
 ' Don't you think our Peter is very pretty ? " she 
 whispered to the Carpenter. " But don't forget that 
 he's my friend as well as yours." 
 
 This made everyone think that the Carpenter was 
 a friend of Peter's, and Peter himself, who was very 
 forgetful, immediately thought so too. So that was 
 all right, and, after some more very pleasant con- 
 versation, they joined hands and danced in a ring 
 round the biggest tree for luck. Then they said 
 goodbye to each other, after making an appoint- 
 ment to meet on Greenwich Pier the day after 
 next. 
 
 Next day, as soon as the big shops were open, the 
 Carpenter went shopping in a warm brown cloak. 
 
 He went into one of the biggest shops and asked 
 for an instrument. They pushed him very politely 
 into a lift, and when he stepped out on the next floor 
 he found himself surrounded by thousands of curious 
 objects made of wood and steel and iron. For instance 
 there were long rounded pieces of wood with a flat 
 piece of iron at one end of them. 
 
 1 That is a spade, Sir," said the shop assistant, in 
 a very decided voice, as he showed one to the 
 
 4 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Carpenter. The Carpenter did not like the look of 
 the spades, so he said : 
 " I will look round for myself, thank you," and 
 
 GAVE OUT A GRAVE, CONCENTRATED NOTE 
 
 moved away. He walked round and round the de- 
 partment and looked at everything. He had never 
 seen anything like these instruments, and he found 
 
 5 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 he knew only one kind by name. These were little 
 sharp-pointed things, flattened at one end, and he 
 knew that they were called nails. He had seen them 
 dotted about on people's walls to hang pictures on, 
 but how could one make music with them as Peter 
 did with his yellow box, or Peter's friend with her 
 great pear ? That was the puzzle. 
 
 THEATRICAL COSTUME SHOP 
 
 As the Carpenter's eye wandered round and round 
 the counters, he discovered a lovely thing, a long 
 thin blade with a lace edge, which, when struck, 
 gave out a grave, concentrated note. 
 
 Its clean shining surface fascinated the Carpenter, 
 though he did not know what it was called. He made 
 it ring again and again by tapping it with his ringers. 
 6 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 All this time several shop assistants were watch- 
 ing him, and giggling under their breath at his blue 
 hat and the ends of his yellow trousers, which were 
 all that showed under his big cloak. The Carpenter 
 did not see them. Nothing influenced him except his 
 dreams of butterflies, and now, with the prospect of 
 a voyage before him, these delightful dreams grew 
 and grew so that he saw the world filled with the 
 radiant colours of butterflies' wings. 
 
 The reason his hat was so high was because he 
 had bought it at a theatrical costume shop in Long 
 Acre. And it was blue because that was the colour 
 of his favourite butterfly. And what better reason 
 could you have ? 
 
 As he did not stop tapping the lace-edged saw to 
 make it sing, an assistant with a malicious eye came 
 up and told him the price of it. 
 " It is i6s. 6d." he said. 
 
 So the Carpenter paid the money at the desk. 
 
 THE FOLDING AEROPLANE. THE MEETING 
 AT GREENWICH PIER. A COLLECT- 
 ION OF INSECTS. THE FOLDING AERO- 
 PLANE HAS TWO SEATS. MELINDA 
 TAKES THE CARPENTER'S ARM 
 
 1 
 
 next day the Carpenter arrived at the pier 
 and found nearly all the other travellers there, 
 already, waiting to start. It was very early so 
 
 that the departure of the Blue Boat should not be 
 
 seen by too many people. 
 
 7 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 They were all dressed in brightly coloured costumes 
 as they had been when the Carpenter first met them, 
 and he saw that each one of them carried an instru- 
 ment, for they were all musicians. Bing was there, 
 wearing a mask, with his castanets tucked into his 
 belt. He pointed curiously at the saw, and asked : 
 ' Why, what have you got there ? " 
 The Carpenter did not know what it was called, 
 but he tapped the saw and made it sing. It sounded 
 like a gong, clear and hard. 
 
 Everyone looked at Peter and the Friend to see 
 what they thought of it. But these two were busy 
 measuring each other's hands. They had just come 
 to the conclusion that the Friend had 
 a shorter hand than Peter, and that 
 he, curiously enough, had a longer 
 hand than the Friend. They were 
 funny futile people with bird-like 
 brains. 
 
 The Carpenter stood smiling and 
 making his saw sound like a gong. 
 
 ' Quite so," said Flute, who was 
 always very wise and solemn, "we can 
 see what that is, but what about your 
 boxes ? Do they contain provisions ? " 
 ' They contain the finest part of my collection," 
 said the Carpenter, proudly. 
 
 He opened the boxes and they all crowded round, 
 exclaiming in admiration at the round heads and 
 slender hairy legs and rainbow coloured wings of 
 the Carpenter's splendid butterflies. 
 8 
 
 THE FRIEND HAD 
 A SHORTER HAND 
 
vVEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " Carpenter," said Peter, [this name was given to 
 him then], " what is that great box you have on your 
 
 PETER 
 
 back, which looks as though you were carrying one 
 of the walls of your house about with you ? " 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Carpenter, quite surprised at the question, 
 answered that it was his folding aeroplane, for he 
 was an expert and original aviator. 
 
 IT WAS HIS FOLDING AEROPLANE 
 
 At this news the whole party danced for joy. They 
 already possessed a Submarine, called the " Shark," 
 and a dirigible called the " Lemon of Gold," but 
 they had never dreamed of having an aeroplane as 
 well. 
 
 Even Flute, although he had acquired a great deal 
 of philosophy while bending over his melancholy 
 10 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 clarionet, looked excited. But the only sign he gave 
 of his pleasure was to nod his head in the eighty- 
 year-old way, though really he was only eighteen and 
 had not even got a moustache ! 
 
 The Friend advised Melinda, who carried a little 
 drum and lyre in her hands, to make friends with the 
 Carpenter, as she was so fond of clouds. But Melinda 
 was a selfish girl, so she only said to him : 
 
 ' Is there room in your aeroplane for two people 
 to sit in comfort ? ' 
 
 " Yes, of course there is," replied the Carpenter, 
 so kindly that Melinda smiled and slipped her hand 
 under his arm, and thought to herself that he was 
 almost as nice as one of his own butterflies. 
 
 THE BLUE BOAT AT THE QUAY. THE BOAT- 
 MAN TIES PLANKS ON HIS FEET. HE 
 FALLS INTO THE WATER. EACH OF THE 
 MUSICIANS PLAYS HIS FAVOURITE 
 PIECE ALL TOGETHER. THE POLICE 
 BOAT IS UPSET. THE MUSICIANS DO 
 NOT HEAR THE SIGNALS. THEY THINK 
 THE VOYAGE IS MAD AND DISORDERLY 
 
 AT that moment the Boatman arrived in a great 
 state of terror. He carried a lacquer box under 
 his arm, and wore a leather helmet in case of 
 rain. He had never been so near the water before, 
 and had no idea that it would look so dangerous. 
 But he smiled as bravely as he could and, sitting on 
 a drum, which belonged to one of the travellers, he 
 
 n 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 began to tie two large wide planks securely on to his 
 feet. 
 
 1 The sea," he observed, " has a bad habit of 
 rocking. I shall feel much steadier like this, and if I 
 fall in the planks will float." 
 
 READ BOOKS ON PRACTICAL NAVIGATION 
 
 This thought comforted him a little, and he ven- 
 tured along the gangway to get into the boat. But 
 the gangway must have been very slippery for 
 quite suddenly he stumbled and fell into the 
 river. The rest of the company rushed forward to 
 12 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 rescue him, but nothing was to be seen except two 
 shining planks on the surface of the water. How- 
 ever, they fished him out at last with the aid of a large 
 crochet hook. He was in a pitiable plight, but secretly 
 he thought that the accident might serve him in good 
 stead, if he could stay in bed for a while and read 
 books on practical navigation. 
 
 But, meanwhile the travellers were anxious to be 
 off. They had settled themselves in their places on 
 the boat. Peter sat on the bridge with Melinda and 
 the Friend, the Drummer, the Carpenter, and Bing 
 were on the deck, with Flute, who leaned against 
 the mast to play his clarionet. Sun-and-Moon, who 
 wore a dress covered with the sun, moon and stars, 
 sat on the top of the funnel and played on the bag- 
 pipes. 
 
 The submarine, called the " Shark," was steered 
 by its owner and captain, who was called Cod be- 
 cause he was dressed in a fish costume. The dirigible, 
 called the Lemon of Gold, which they had brought 
 with them to float over their heads and rescue them 
 in case of accident, had a crew of four men dressed 
 in black and white uniforms, and a captain who 
 never wore a hat so as to have his head clear for 
 giving orders. Everyone was ready to start, and the 
 musicians had begun to tune up their instruments. 
 
 They forced the Boatman aboard, and made him 
 hoist the sails. His attempt to do so was so grotesque 
 that the few spectators who were out early enough 
 to see were enchanted with pleasure at the sight. 
 But really there was nothing to laugh about. The 
 
 13 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 moment the Blue Boat lifted anchor a violent wind 
 caught the sails and sent her speeding on an uncon- 
 trolled and dangerous course towards the open sea. 
 The Shark followed like a little fish following a big 
 one, and the Lemon of Gold was tossed hither and 
 thither by the wind. 
 
 The musicians, who had not been able to persuade 
 their conductor to accompany them, were all playing 
 different tunes, and the mixture of music was alarm- 
 ing. 
 
 A crowd began to gather on the river bank ; most 
 of the people were laughing, but some, more kind- 
 hearted, were much concerned. The Blue Boat was 
 evidently going to be wrecked, and people would be 
 drowned. Some of them hurried away to telephone 
 for the Police, and presently a band of policemen 
 arrived in a motor boat. 
 
 But the course of the Blue Boat was so extraordin- 
 ary that it was dangerous to approach her. First she 
 swerved to the right and then to the left, and then 
 she stopped short and pirouetted round and round 
 and round. The wind laughed wildly at the amusing 
 game it was playing with this boat so nicely painted 
 blue, and carrying such frivolous company. Very 
 soon the Police-boat came too close, and bumped 
 itself so violently against the Blue Boat that it was 
 overturned, and all the policemen fell into the water. 
 Their legs and arms could be seen waving and kick- 
 ing, and then their heads, looking like little black 
 dots bobbing up and down as they swam towards 
 the shore. 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Blue Boat coursed onward through the water 
 with the speed of an express train, and, as the sea 
 came in sight, she went faster and faster. The music- 
 ians were playing all the time, leaning forward with 
 
 WAVING AND KICKING 
 
 the boat as people do on horseback, heedless of the 
 cries that reached them from all the boats they passed 
 in their mad career. Sirens giving the alarm did not 
 trouble them, nor yet the signals that were made to 
 them, nor the flags that were hoisted to warn them. 
 The people on other boats tried to attract their 
 attention by wireless telegraphy. But what was wire- 
 less telegraphy to a Blue Boat flying delightedly 
 through the water at an unheard of speed ? 
 
 But presently, as the sea began to stretch wider 
 and wider before the eyes of the voyagers, it became 
 gradually silent and deserted, until at last the Blue 
 Boat was all alone in the midst of the sea, far away 
 from land. 
 
 " This is beautiful," said Bing, and stopped waving 
 his castanets as he spoke. 
 
 " How I love the sea ! " cried the Friend, shouting 
 
 15 
 
BlNG 
 
 16 
 
 WEIRD'ISLANDS 
 
 to make her voice heard above 
 the noise of the wind and the 
 music. 
 
 1 It is a dream," sang Mel- 
 inda, rattling on her little 
 drum. 
 
 1 No, it is a cavalry charge," 
 shouted the Drummer, beat- 
 ing his big drum. 
 
 ' It is the crescendo," said 
 Peter, but his fly-like voice 
 was lost in the wind. 
 
 1 It is as rapid as Life it- 
 self," said Flute in a sad, deep 
 voice through the miserable 
 strains of his favourite funeral 
 march. 
 
 " We have wings," cried the 
 Carpenter, fingering his aero- 
 plane. 
 
 " We shall go all round the 
 World, only rather too quick- 
 ly," said Sun-and-Moon, who 
 wrote poetry, and whose fav- 
 ourite instrument was the bag- 
 pipes. 
 
 Everyone agreed with him 
 that the course of the boat 
 was too rapid ; they called to 
 the Boatman to reduce the 
 speed. 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE BLUE BOAT : THE BLUE BOAT STARTS 
 WITH THE MUSICIANS AND THE BOAT- 
 MAN ON BOARD. THE BOATMAN HIDES 
 HIMSELF IN A BARREL OF ORANGES. 
 FEARING A STORM, THEY CUT THE 
 RIGGING AND THE SAILS BLOW AWAY. 
 THE CARPENTER LEARNS THE NAME 
 OF THE INSTRUMENT HE HAS BOUGHT 
 
 I 
 
 Boatman was sitting near the rudder 
 looking extremely unhappy. He opened his 
 lacquer box and examined the instruments it 
 
 contained, with a puzzled 
 
 expression. Then he took off 
 
 his leather helmet, for he 
 
 was hot with perplexity, and 
 
 his forehead was covered with 
 
 big drops of perspiration. 
 
 There were big drops on his 
 
 cheeks as well, for he was 
 
 crying with pity for the 
 
 people who had embarked 
 
 on the Blue Boat, and most 
 
 of all for himself. 
 
 rni_ /r LACQUER Box 
 
 I he musicians on the 
 
 Bridge had stopped playing at last. There was no 
 more sound from the flutes or the violins, or even so 
 much as a whisper from the bag-pipes. But the wind 
 and waves grew louder and louder as they tossed and 
 buffeted the Blue Boat and the submarine and the 
 dirigible called the Lemon of Gold. 
 
 c 17 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 1 8 
 
 THE AEROPLANE, THE SUBMARINE, 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE BLUE BOAT AMD THE AIRSHIP. 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Boatman 's face was sadder than a sparrow's 
 in a shower as he shut the red lacquer box and said : 
 
 THE BLUE BOAT 
 
 ' It seems to me that there is going to be a storm. 
 Look at those clouds like big black buffaloes ! " 
 
 ' I suppose we shall be wrecked," said the Car- 
 penter, prudently slipping his big saw into the right 
 hand pocket of his yellow trousers. 
 
 20 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " Without a doubt," agreed the Drummer, cover- 
 ing up his drum with a large shawl. 
 
 " Without any doubt at all, at all," sighed Peter 
 in his little thin voice, thinner than the voice of a fly, 
 and he began to wrap up his violin in his sweater. 
 
 All four were as properly depressed as respectable 
 people should be when they are waiting for a storm 
 to come and wreck them. 
 
 But the Boatman was not only depressed, he was 
 dreadfully scared, and he had had sufficient experi- 
 ence to know that when 
 people are really scared 
 the best thing for them 
 to do is to hide. So, 
 without saying a word, 
 he went and hid himself 
 very carefully in a barrel 
 of oranges at the bottom 
 of the boat. He emptied 
 out the oranges and 
 crept inside. Then, feel- 
 ing greatly reassured, he 
 smoked a cigarette, and 
 soon afterwards fell into 
 a peaceful sleep. 
 
 Melinda, Bing, Flute, 
 the Friend, and Sun- 
 and-Moon followed his 
 example. They hid them- 
 selves. 
 
 There were now only THE BOATMAN 
 
 21 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 three people left on the Bridge : the Carpenter, the 
 Drummer, and Peter. They were too proud to hide, 
 but their noses grew longer, which was a sign of 
 their uneasiness. Peter, whose nose was quite short 
 in the ordinary way, took it between his finger and 
 thumb and pulled it longer still in his confusion. 
 
 * We must anchor the boat," said the Carpenter, 
 who had some common sense, though perhaps not 
 very much. So they lifted up the Blue Boat's anchor 
 and threw it with all their might into the green sea. 
 The boat stopped moving, but the sails flapped and 
 the mast creaked. 
 
 1 The sails will have to be lowered," said the 
 Carpenter ; the others stared at him in surprise and 
 admiration at his cleverness. " And perhaps the 
 mast will have to be cut down as well," he added. 
 Peter and the Drummer were speechless with ad- 
 miration. 
 
 The knots in the ropes that held up the sails were 
 a recent extraordinary invention of the Boatman's, 
 and no one could unfasten them. So the three took 
 their knives and ran hither and thither among the 
 ropes, cutting the knots one after the other until the 
 largest sail was cut adrift and flew up into the air like 
 a great white gull. 
 
 The " Shark " also was in great danger. 
 
 The wind blew in violent gusts, sometimes stop- 
 ping for a few seconds, only to start again more vio- 
 lently than ever. There was still a tiny sail at the 
 very top of the mast, and when the wind beat against 
 it the boat leaned right over the turbulent water, so 
 22 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 that the three voyagers had to cling tightly to the 
 brass rings fastened to the deck to prevent them- 
 selves from falling overboard. 
 
 SHARK " 
 
 Then there came a memorable scene. As no one was 
 brave enough to climb the mast and release the unfor- 
 tunate little sail, it was decided to cut the mast down. 
 
 " Give me your saw," said the Drummer to the 
 Carpenter. 
 
 " My what ? " said the Carpenter, who did not 
 understand. 
 
 " Your saw ! Give it me quick to cut down the 
 mast," said Peter, pulling it out of the Carpenter's 
 pocket. Although he was pleased to know the name 
 of his beautiful new instrument, the Carpenter pro- 
 tested angrily, thinking that they meant to do it 
 some harm. 
 
 " My saw ! No, you shan't have it," he cried in 
 great anxiety. But the others took no notice of him 
 and began to saw through the mast. 
 
 The Carpenter stamped with despair. 
 
 23 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE CARPENTER 
 
 " Oh, my saw, my beautiful saw ! " he cried with 
 tears in his eyes, " they are spoiling my beautiful saw ! " 
 
 When the mast was cut right through it flew away 
 with the little sail, not like a sea-gull but like an 
 immense white dragon-fly. 
 
 24 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 ENGINE TROUBLE. THE AEROPLANE RISES 
 FROM THE BRIDGE OF THE BLUE 
 BOAT. THE FAREWELLS. FLUTE LOOKS 
 AT THE REFLECTION OF THE AERO- 
 PLANE IN HIS LITTLE MIRROR. THE 
 CARPENTER'S SAW HANGS FROM THE 
 AEROPLANE. THE SUBMARINE IS 
 UNABLE TO CLOSE 
 
 WHILE they were watching the mast flying 
 away with the little sail, Bing came running 
 up to say that the Lemon of Gold had 
 disappeared. It must have got into difficulties with 
 the wind and been swept away, perhaps wrecked. 
 
 " Now there is no one to rescue us and we shall be 
 drowned," said Flute dolefully. But none of the 
 others were really troubled. 
 
 " I expect they have gone off to have some adven- 
 tures on their own," said Peter placidly. 
 
 " I'm sorry they've gone though," said Flute 
 dreamily. " It was nice to watch the Lemon of Gold 
 winding its way in and out of the clouds." 
 
 So there was the adventurous Blue Boat stranded 
 in the middle of the stormy sea, without mast or sails 
 or even a captain to steer it, and only Cod's sub- 
 marine left to keep it company. 
 
 " We ought to have brought a motor boat in case 
 of emergencies, as I suggested," complained Flute. 
 
 " Motor boats smell horrid, and besides they are 
 not romantic," said Peter. 
 
 " That doesn't matter so long as they are useful," 
 
 25 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 said Flute. But Peter took no notice. He only lifted 
 his black eyebrows and bunched up his mouth into 
 a round O, as he caressed it with the bow of his violin. 
 
 MELINDA 
 
 The Friend began to part his thick hair with an 
 ivory comb which she took out of her leather case. 
 26 
 
" Flute is quite right," pouted Melinda. " A motor 
 boat would have saved us from the danger we are 
 in." 
 
 " We might make one," suggested the Drummer, 
 twisting his moustaches into corkscrews as he spoke. 
 " We could take the motor from the Carpenter's 
 aeroplane." 
 
 " Never ! " said the Carpenter. His saw was safe 
 back in his pocket, but he was quite determined that 
 no one should be allowed to borrow any of his pos- 
 sessions again. 
 
 They began to feel hungry, and as they could 
 never think of more than one thing at a time, they 
 forgot their danger and brought out some pepper- 
 mints and chocolate biscuits for lunch. 
 They regretted that the Lemon of 
 Gold should have disappeared just 
 when it was so lovely to watch, wind- 
 ing its way among the clouds. And 
 indeed the dirigible had vanished with 
 its elegant crew of four men in black 
 and white uniforms, and its Captain, 
 hatless, so as to have his head freer 
 for giving orders. But the Lemon of 
 Gold was to be seen again, and later 
 you will read the authentic account 
 of its reappearance. The look of the 
 bridge cleared of all incumbrances 
 gave Melinda a wonderful idea : " Dear 
 Carpenter, " she said, " do let us go on a 
 scouting expedition in your aeroplane 
 
 ITS CAPTAIN, 
 HATLESS 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 and see if we can discover land or some other boat 
 to rescue us. The deck is clear enough to fly off 
 from." 
 
 " There 's no need of that," said the Carpenter 
 proudly. "My aeroplane can rise from anything, 
 a narrow roof, a mantelpiece, or even the point 
 of a needle, if it could hold itself there a single in- 
 stant." He brought the aeroplane out of its box and 
 unfolded it. Fortunately the writer of this book 
 possesses a drawing of the aeroplane, so there is no 
 need to describe it in detail. It is only necessary to 
 tell you that the pair of wings that you see at the sides 
 of the little boat turn on their own axle, and when 
 the pilot sets these wings in motion the machine 
 mounts perpendicularly like a balloon or a lift. 
 
 The travellers were lost in admiration. The aero- 
 plane was painted with the colours of butterflies 
 wings, and its shape was that of a lovely insect. 
 
 "It is alive ! " said Bing, drawing back a little. 
 The machine began to vibrate as though it was 
 humming a tune to itself. Several of the travellers 
 withdrew into their cabins with anxious expressions. 
 But Melinda was not in the least frightened. 
 
 "It is lovely ! " she said. " Dear Carpenter, let 
 us go at once." As she spoke she climbed into the 
 second seat of the aeroplane, and began to play softly 
 on her silver-stringed lyre. 
 
 Seeing that the aeroplane was quite harmless, 
 everyone came on deck again, and Cod, watching 
 from his Submarine, wished that he had brought an 
 aeroplane instead. 
 28 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Carpenter would not leave without his collect- 
 ion of butterflies and his saw, which he fastened to 
 
 COD 
 
 his belt by a cord so that he would know at once if 
 anyone tried to steal it. Melinda took with her her 
 
 29 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 lyre, her little drum, and a looking-glass, for she 
 was extremely vain. 
 
 Everyone helped to load the aeroplane with pro- 
 visions : two boxes of chocolate biscuits, two buns, 
 a few shrimps, a tomato, and some cherries, two 
 bottles of fresh water, and one of cider. Then the 
 Carpenter made the wings of the aeroplane turn 
 with terrific rapidity, and, after a touching farewell, 
 allowed it to rise up into the air like a pretty basket 
 of flowers being drawn up to Heaven by a string. 
 
 Sun-and-Moon recited a poem of farewell, and 
 Bing stood bowing stiffly like a marionette, the 
 Drummer beat out a doleful song on his drum, the 
 Friend waved her pocket handkerchief, while Peter 
 shouted encouragement to the voyagers, though his 
 voice was much too tiny to carry so far. 
 
 Flute stood apart and predicted disaster. At the 
 same time he pretended to be quite indifferent ; so 
 
 he stood with his back to the 
 rest as though he was not 
 watching the flight of the aero- 
 plane. But as a matter of fact 
 he could see all that was 
 happening behind him, by look- 
 ing in a hand glass which he 
 wore on a cord hung round his 
 neck. He always used this glass 
 when he was very curious, and 
 wanted to pretend that he did 
 not care for anything except 
 LOOKING IN A HAND GLASS philosophy. 
 
 30 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 When the machine was fairly high up in the 
 air the front propeller began to turn, and the 
 aeroplane set off in an oblique line. Then the 
 side wings stopped turning. The course became 
 horizontal, and the aeroplane 
 began to circle round the 
 boat in circles that grew 
 larger and larger. 
 
 " What is that bright spot 
 that follows the aeroplane 
 wherever it goes ? ' the 
 Friend asked Peter. But Peter 
 was feeling rather upset by 
 the wind, so he only said, 
 without looking : 
 
 " I see nothing." 
 
 The Friend made a face at 
 him and asked the Drummer, 
 who said : 
 
 " It is the Carpenter's saw 
 shining against the black 
 clouds." 
 
 "It is a good thing it is 
 tied to a cord or it would be 
 lost," said Flute, shaking his 
 head wisely. 
 
 " Perhaps he will think one 
 of us has stolen it from him," 
 said Peter remorsefully. 
 
 " Oh, no, he will feel it 
 hanging from his pocket," DRUMMER 
 
 3 1 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 said the Friend consolingly, kissing him on the tip 
 of his nose. 
 
 The aeroplane was gradually disappearing from 
 view. Even Cod, who had been following its flight in 
 his submarine, had to return at last to the Blue Boat. 
 He did not dare to go very far away, because he had 
 no provisions except a box of preserved fruit, which 
 
 he was unable to open. 
 
 He had no initiative, but 
 he floated very prettily on 
 the water in his submarine, 
 though he could not make it 
 dive as he had forgotten to 
 bring the cover that kept the 
 water out. 
 
 And now, reader, I am 
 puzzled to know what to tell 
 you next. The Lemon of 
 Gold is lost and wandering 
 somewhere in the sky, the 
 Blue Boat is stranded in an 
 unknown part of the ocean, 
 Melinda and the Carpenter 
 have just disappeared in an 
 aeroplane. I know the story 
 of all their separate adven- 
 
 THE LEMON OF GOLD tures, but which am I to tell 
 
 you first ? 
 
 I think perhaps it had better be the story of what 
 Melinda and the Carpenter discovered. 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE CARPENTER AND MELINDA. WHAT 
 THE CARPENTER AND MELINDA 
 SAW. THEY SEE A LITTLE GREEN 
 ISLAND. MELINDA COAXES THE 
 CARPENTER BY THE PROMISE OF 
 MARVELLOUS INSECTS. BUT PERHAPS 
 THERE ARE SAVAGE BEASTS. THE 
 CARPENTER FISHES UP A COCK OF 
 GILDED WOOD WITH HIS SAW. THEY 
 DISCOVER A FIRE ON THE SEA. THE 
 COCK FALLS INTO THE SEA OR ON AN 
 ISLAND. MELINDA AND THE CARPEN- 
 TER SULK. THE AEROPLANE LANDS 
 ON SOME PALM TREES IN A PERFUMED 
 ISLAND. THE SINGING BIRDS 
 
 "M BELINDA was delighted when the Blue Boat 
 \ /I disappeared from view, and they were alone 
 
 in the vast sky. 
 
 " This is a real voyage," she said. 
 
 " No," said the Carpenter in the serious tones of 
 a real explorer, " this is a scouting expedition, noth- 
 ing more." 
 
 " But we have provisions on board," said Melinda ; 
 " the Blue Boat is at anchor and cannot move away. 
 Why should it only be a scouting expedition ? ' 
 
 " Because if we are away too long our friends on 
 the Blue Boat may get hungry and thirsty. Then we 
 should be conscience-stricken." 
 
 " They have cakes and chocolates and plenty of 
 mixed sweets." The Carpenter took off his hat, 
 
 D 33 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 folded it up, and sat upon it. Bareheaded he looked 
 even more honest and sincere than usual, and when 
 he said " I promise you a real voyage later on," 
 Melinda knew that he would keep his promise. 
 
 " THIS is A REAL VOYAGE " 
 
 " Oh, very well," she said, " but you might at least 
 slow down so that we can see the surrounding coun- 
 try." The Carpenter looked at her with a frightened 
 expression, thinking that she must have gone sud- 
 denly crazy, and wondering if her's was a dangerous 
 case or simply sad. 
 
 1 There is no surrounding country," he said gently. 
 " We are in the midst of a sea appallingly desolate." 
 
 34 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Melinda put her hand on his shoulder and 
 pointed downwards. 
 
 " Look there ! " she said. 
 
 The Carpenter looked down, and saw in 
 the middle of the desolate ocean a round 
 green spot no bigger than a grain of dust 
 in a sunbeam. 
 
 " That must be a wonderful place, 
 judging by its shape," she said, searching 
 her mind for arguments to persuade the 
 Carpenter to descend. But the Carpenter 
 wanted to go back at once to the Blue 
 Boat to tell their friends what he and 
 Melinda had discovered. By straining their 
 eyes they could see several more round green spots 
 not far from the first. They evidently formed a 
 group of islands. 
 
 " Dear Carpenter, let us go down a little closer, 
 so that we can see what sort of islands they are," 
 pleaded Melinda. The Carpenter consented to de- 
 scend a little, and Melinda grew more and more 
 excited. 
 
 " Oh, look ! " she cried, " I am sure I can see tall 
 trees. They are really marvellous islands." 
 
 " We will guide the Blue Boat this way," replied 
 the Carpenter, beginning to turn the 
 aeroplane. " I only hope we shall be 
 able to find it again safely." 
 
 " Some of the trees are as yellow 
 as gold, and some are as green as 
 apples ! ' " LOOK THERE 1 " 
 
 35 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 We will visit them with our friends," said the 
 
 Carpenter, and turned 
 the aeroplane com- 
 pletely round. 
 
 " No doubt they are 
 swarming with insects." 
 
 The front propeller 
 of the aeroplane stopped 
 abruptly. 
 
 " There are sure to be 
 rare and beautiful but- 
 terflies." 
 
 The aeroplane turned 
 right round again and 
 descended with the 
 downward flight of a 
 swan. Melinda smiled 
 to herself at her victory. 
 
 The islands grew 
 larger every minute. 
 The largest was circular 
 in shape and the coast 
 line was girdled with 
 palm trees growing to- 
 gether so thickly that 
 their branches inter- 
 laced and made a green 
 covering which hid 
 whatever might have 
 been living on the 
 INSECTS earth below. 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " Oh, yes," repeated Melinda, " there are certain^ 
 to be lovely insects." And then she added as another 
 thought occurred to her, " and perhaps wild beasts 
 and fierce men as well ! ' 
 
 The Carpenter turned sharply 
 in his seat with a startled face. 
 He had never for a moment 
 supposed that there might be 
 wild beasts or fierce men on the 
 islands they were about to visit. 
 He was so upset at the sudden 
 thought that he would have to 
 protect Melinda from all these 
 dangers that he left the aeroplane 
 to take care of itself, and it took 
 a wild plunge towards the earth 
 without his being aware of it, 
 shaving in its flight a tall steeple 
 which had a golden cock on the 
 top of it. The Carpenter's saw, 
 which all this time had been 
 hanging below the aeroplane, 
 struck against the steeple and 
 fixed itself into the cock like a 
 knife in a loaf of bread. The aeroplane rebounded 
 so violently at the shock that it rose into the air 
 again at a giddy speed, and the cock was torn 
 away from the steeple and remained hanging on the 
 saw. It was made of gilded wood and very heavy, so 
 that it pulled at the cord attached to the Carpenter's 
 belt. He discovered his miraculous catch and showed 
 
 37 
 
 LOVELY INSECTS 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 it to Melinda, and they were both 
 so exultant that they forgot their 
 fright at the erratic behaviour of 
 the aeroplane. The Carpenter be- 
 gan to pull the cord up very care- 
 fully in case the cock should fall 
 off. But at this critical moment in 
 his life, as he was about to draw a 
 golden cock out of the air like a 
 fish, Melinda interrupted him by 
 pulling at his arm and directing 
 his attention towards a red and 
 purple flame that was glowing 
 brightly out at sea. The Carpenter 
 looked at it in astonishment, and 
 Melinda could see a reflection of 
 the flame in each of his round 
 eyes, in each eye a little picture of 
 a fire. 
 
 " What can that fire be and 
 where is it burning ? " she said. 
 
 " I do not know what sea this 
 is, so I cannot tell you what land it can be where 
 that fire is burning/' replied the Carpenter. 
 
 * But perhaps it isn't a fire, perhaps it is a con- 
 flagration." 
 
 1 That's it perhaps," said the Carpenter. 
 " Or it may be it is not on land at all, it might be 
 a boat burning, or it might even be a volcano in 
 eruption ! " said Melinda in a frightened voice. 
 " Or it might be just a gentleman burning some 
 
 38 
 
 His MIRACULOUS CATCH 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 old letters, 
 or a baker 
 opening 
 his oven," 
 said the Carpenter, trying to chase the 
 troubling idea of a'conflagration, or still 
 worse, of a red and purple volcano, 
 from Melinda's mind. But Melinda did 
 not like being treated as if she was a 
 baby and likely to be frightened of giants 
 and wild beasts or volcanos or fires, or 
 anything else for the matter of that. 
 
 "Or perhaps it is only a useless col- 
 lection of insects being burned," she 
 said to revenge herself. 
 
 The Carpenter stopped looking at 
 the fire, and turned round to make sure 
 that his collection was still safe. And 
 then he remembered his wonderful new 
 catch. But alas, there was nothing now 
 at the end of the cord. The cock had 
 fallen off, either into the sea or into the 
 larger of the two islands over which the 
 aeroplane was now hovering. 
 
 The Carpenter grew pink with vexa- 
 tion. He would have cried, 
 but he knew that Melinda was 
 such a tease she would never 
 stop laughing at him. 
 
 Melinda herself was sulk- 
 
 VOLCANO IN ERUPTION 39 
 
PINK WITH VEXATION 
 
 WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Carpenter decided to sulk, 
 too, for at least as long as she 
 did. So for the next five minutes 
 they sulked, looking at each other 
 every few seconds to see if a smile 
 were possible. But both their 
 faces remained grave, and five 
 minutes seemed a very much 
 longer time than usual. They 
 were both perplexed ; they wanted 
 to stop sulking, but they were 
 too proud. Meanwhile the aero- 
 plane, left to itself, drifted gently 
 over one of the islands until it 
 
 reposed delicately on the tops of the palm trees. 
 It was like a dream to sit on the topmost branches 
 
 of a forest, where the green branches stretched away 
 
 on either side as far as the eye could see, and hundreds 
 
 of hidden birds were singing at the close of day. 
 
 It was now dusk, and the sky, where it touched the 
 
 sea, was swept with pale colours, rose and green, 
 
 primrose and violet. Melinda 
 
 leant to vards the Carpenter, 
 
 and they kissed each other and 
 
 forgot their sulking. 
 
 The air was filled with the 
 
 scent of flowers and vanilla 
 
 trees. Melinda and the Car- 
 penter felt as though they were 
 
 in Paradise. The sweet voices 
 
 t)f the birds gave them a feeling 
 
 40 
 
 MELINDA HERSELF WAS 
 SULKING 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 of safety, nevertheless they spoke 
 in low voices, partly for fear that 
 there might be less kindly crea- 
 tures hidden beneath the trees, but 
 still more because everything was so 
 beautiful that they did not want to 
 talk loudly. The sky was now a deep 
 violet and night was falling fast. 
 
 " We cannot venture under the 
 trees before day," said Melinda. 
 ' There are sometimes serpents under 
 trees on islands." 
 
 They both shuddered. 
 
 " There will be plenty of time to-morrow. We 
 had better dine now," said the Carpenter. 
 
 So they had supper. It was a charming meal, small, 
 dainty, and varied. They drank cider to make them 
 sleep. For cider is a very strong drink. But there 
 are few people so unpoetic as to be able to sleep on 
 a bed of tree tops, when the birds that have sung all 
 day give place to the birds of night, still more lovely 
 and mysterious. 
 
 
 SINGING 
 
 SERPENTS 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE CONCERT : A MUSIC LESSON. A 
 WORLD OF BIRDS. THE BIG PELICAN 
 AND THE PEACOCK. THE BIRDS WITH- 
 OUT HATS OR ARMS. 
 
 SO as they did not want to sleep, Melinda gave 
 the Carpenter his first music lesson, and he 
 accompanied the pieces she played on her lyre 
 by taps on his saw. The silver strings of the lyre 
 trembled under Melinda 's fingers like roses when a 
 warm breeze is passing, and every now and then the 
 Carpenter struck his saw like a gong. 
 
 Suddenly the foliage of the palm tree stirred as 
 though a wind had swept it, and the branches bent 
 under the weight of thousands of splendid birds, 
 who had stopped their own singing and come to 
 listen to the music of the lyre and gong. 
 
 More birds came every minute. They rose to the 
 tree tops like bubbles rising to the surface of the 
 water, until it was no longer a forest of palm trees 
 but a forest of birds, a thousand shapes and colours. 
 Every beak was turned towards the musicians as they 
 listened, and their delight knew no bounds. 
 
 Melinda and the Carpenter were somewhat dis- 
 tracted by their radiant audience. They went on 
 playing, however, and tried to remember as they 
 played what was the correct behaviour for a young 
 lady and gentleman sitting in an aeroplane on the 
 crest of a forest and suddenly surrounded by birds 
 come to listen to their music. 
 
 They need not have troubled themselves for there 
 
 42 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 was no ceremony. As soon as the concert was over 
 the birds disappeared very quickly, as though fear- 
 ing to be questioned. But, of course, they did not go 
 
 His FIRST Music LESSON 
 
 until they had applauded the music, with their beaks 
 as they had no hands. Their applause sounded like 
 thousands of hailstones falling on a glass roof. Then 
 they vanished, and the murmur of the sea was the 
 only sound that could be heard. 
 
 43 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 At last Melinda said in a 
 low voice : " This must be 
 the Island of Birds." 
 
 ' And it seems as though 
 there are only birds living 
 here," said the Carpenter 
 in a tone of relief. " Birds," 
 he added, " are well known 
 to naturalists as perfectly 
 harmless creatures." 
 
 " I should like their opin- 
 ion on my music," said 
 Melinda dreamily. The Car- 
 penter could not help 
 thinking that it had been 
 partly his music, but he 
 
 remembered how depressing it had been to sulk and 
 
 decided to be amiable. 
 
 * Shall I ask that big Pelican, whose head was 
 almost human. He was extremely enthusiastic by 
 the look of him," he suggested gently. 
 
 1 The peacock looked more intelligent," said 
 Melinda. 
 
 * But surely peacocks are not very musical ? ' 
 
 " Oh, Carpenter, you did not see how he admired 
 me ! " said Melinda. 
 
 " I will question the peacock," said the Carpenter, 
 4 and ask him if he does not think you are the prettiest 
 of all the pretty girls in the world." 
 
 ' But suppose he has never seen any other girls ? ' 
 said Melinda a little anxiously. 
 
 44 
 
 THEY APPLAUDED THE Music 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " He will say you are as beautiful as a peacock, 
 said the Carpenter. 
 
 BIG PELICAN, WHOSE HEAD WAS ALMOST HUMAN 
 
 Melinda looked at him attentively, but the Car- 
 penter turned his face away so that it was hidden by 
 the shadow of the leaves. 
 
 " But how do you know that the birds can speak at 
 all ? " she said, fearing that perhaps she would never 
 know the peacock's opinion. 
 
 45 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Carpenter came near to her and whispered : 
 ' Quite close to me just now I saw a bird with 
 
 great round eyes and a crest say to another with a 
 
 long neck. * She is 
 like Tuta.' He said 
 nothing more and 
 his tone was indiff- 
 erent, and the other 
 replied in the same 
 uninterested voice : 
 1 He is like Tuty.' " 
 ' There's no 
 doubt they can 
 speak then," said 
 Melinda. " So you 
 can ask the peacock 
 whether he admires 
 me. But it's a pity 
 they have no 
 hands." 
 
 " That's quite 
 natural," said the 
 Carpenter. 
 
 1 I dare say, but 
 
 how can they say, ' how do you do ? ' if they can't 
 
 shake hands," said Melinda, defying the Carpenter 
 
 to answer the question. 
 
 ' They have no hats," replied the Carpenter 
 simply. 
 
 ANOTHER WITH A LONG NECK 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 ZOOLOGY OF THE PARROT : THE PARROT 
 FIEND GETS ANGRY. HE PROVES THAT 
 HE IS NOT A BIRD. HE DIVIDES ALL 
 LIVING BEINGS INTO TWO CLASSES. 
 THEY HEAR ABOUT TUTY AND TUTA. 
 
 ""W" "W" T*ELL, anyway, we are going to make the 
 
 %/%/ acquaintance of birds who can talk," said 
 T T Melinda. " But why have they all gone 
 away ? " Suddenly close beside her she heard a very 
 unamiable laugh. Then a voice said : 
 
 " You won't hear them talk, vain young woman ; 
 they will not come near you." It was not a loud 
 voice, but it was very hard and arrogant. It reminded 
 the Carpenter of the harsh noise the saw had made 
 when it cut off the mast of the Blue Boat. He was 
 nearly as frightened as Melinda, and they held hands 
 tight to reassure each other. 
 
 " I expect it is only a tiny animal," said the Car- 
 penter under his breath. 
 
 "It is you who are the animal," said the voice 
 angrily. They held their breath and did not stir. The 
 moon rose above the tree tops at that moment, 
 touching the leaves with silver, and lighting up the 
 pictures of butterflies on the aeroplane. 
 
 " So these animals like insects," said the saw-like 
 voice again. The Carpenter's hand held Melinda's 
 a little tighter. They neither of them said a word, 
 but they were both thinking: " Perhaps it is a ser- 
 pent," and their hearts beat loudly. 
 
 But presently, as the moonlight grew stronger, 
 
 47 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 they saw that it was not a serpent but a parrot with 
 black and white feathers and two little black horns. 
 He looked less frightening than his voice, but his 
 wicked little black eyes were full of malice. 
 
 " I came to give you some 
 advice," said the Parrot 
 Fiend, for it was he. 
 
 "Why, Melinda, he 
 speaks quite well." 
 
 " Well, you can speak, 
 can't you," said the Parrot 
 Fiend, "You speak a good 
 deal too loud. Speak lower. 
 That's my first advice to 
 you." 
 
 " I am afraid you are 
 not a truthful bird." said 
 Melinda mockingly. " You 
 said that I should not hear 
 
 birds speak, and you are speaking to us yourself." 
 Her fears had left her when she saw that the parrot 
 was quite small, and she was too frivolous to see that 
 this was a serious situation. " You're a nice fraud to 
 come giving people advice ! ' 
 
 " Sir ! " said the Parrot, with surprising and dig- 
 nified politeness, " will you please beg this lady not 
 to insult me." 
 
 Melinda burst out laughing, and the Carpenter, 
 very much embarrassed, began to fidget with his hat, 
 first taking it off and then putting it on and then 
 taking it off again and rolling it about in his hands. 
 
 THE PARROT FIEND 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Parrot Fiend did not wait for him to say any- 
 thing, but went on. 
 
 " In the first place I am not an ordinary Parrot, 
 and in the second, no one in his senses would con- 
 fuse parrots with birds. Birds are animals like horses, 
 monkeys, tortoises and 
 men." 
 
 " Then where do you 
 class the insects ? " said 
 Melinda, much amused 
 at the Parrot's grating 
 voice, which, as he grew 
 more and more angry, 
 became as shrill as the 
 high notes of an organ. 
 " Do you count them as 
 animals or as parrots ? " 
 
 "As animals, " replied 
 the Parrot Fiend more 
 politely, for he liked the serious turn the conver- 
 sation seemed to be taking. 
 
 " For my part," said the Carpenter, " I don't 
 agree with you at all." 
 
 " You must classify infallibly," began the Parrot, 
 but Melinda interrupted him. " What does that 
 mean ? " she asked. 
 
 " It means that you must classify as I do of course." 
 said the Parrot irritably. " There is only one really 
 reliable, natural and scientific way," he went on. 
 '* Creatures must be divided into two groups, the 
 superior, that is to say parrots, who eat pure grain, 
 
 E 49 
 
 ALL KINDS OF JUMBLES 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 uncrushed with all the aroma of creation in it, and 
 the inferior, composed of animals who eat all sorts 
 of food that has been ground, handled and mixed, 
 with every artificial device, like the cakes made by 
 
 TUTA AND TUTY WERE WRECKED ON THE ISLAND 
 
 Tuta and the bread made by Tuty, all kinds of 
 jumbles, such as puddings, blancmange, jam and 
 clarified honey." 
 
 ]" But the lovely insects nourish themselves on 
 flowers," said the Carpenter. 
 
 " The inferior or animal class," continued the 
 Parrot severely, " is divided again into two, Large 
 
 50 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 and Small. It is quite unnecessary to trouble about 
 the smaller kind, they are so soon eaten up them- 
 selves by the birds and other animals. And that is 
 exactly what I am complaining about ! J shouted 
 the Parrot Fiend, suddenly forgetting his zoological 
 discourse. " Since those two animals, Tuta and Tuty 
 were wrecked on the Island. . . . 3 
 
 " What sort of animals, large or small ? " inter- 
 rupted Melinda eagerly. 
 
 " Large, like you," said the Parrot Fiend, and 
 went on. " Since they have come here everything 
 has gone wrong. They make all kinds of dishes of 
 sugar and flour for the birds, who have grown so 
 lazy that they won't give themselves the trouble to 
 catch insects. The Round Island. ..." 
 
 1 The Round Island," whispered the Carpenter to 
 Melinda. " Make a note of that." 
 
 THE PARROT'S ADVICE. THE ROUND 
 ISLAND OR THE ISLAND OF THE CUBIC 
 BIRDS. THE CRUEL BALIGOORS AND 
 COOMASIS. THE CARPENTER AND 
 MELINDA LEARN OF THE EXISTENCE 
 OF THE BLACK CAVALIER. THE 
 MAGIC DIAMOND. 
 
 "^T^HE Round Island," continued the Parrot, 
 
 glaring at the interruption, is full of noisy 
 
 JL and voracious insects. Every day, owing to 
 
 the indolence of the birds, there are more of them. 
 
 In the afternoon, just when the Parrots want to sleep, 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 they wake up and dance in the heat of the sun, making 
 such an insupportable din that sleep becomes im- 
 possible. At all other times of the day the birds 
 gossip so loudly that I am obliged to take my family 
 away to a secret cave to be able to speak of serious 
 things at all. In the forest one cannot hear himself 
 speak." 
 
 " So you don't like the birds ? " said Melinda. 
 " They prevent me from sleeping," said the Parrot. 
 , " And you don't like the insects," 
 said the Carpenter. 
 
 " They prevent me from sleeping," 
 said the Parrot, while two little flames 
 of anger shone at the end of his horns. 
 " Then why do you stay on this 
 island ? ' 
 
 " It's my island," said the Parrot 
 crossly. " The others are only in- 
 truders." 
 
 " You might emigrate to the other 
 island that I have seen quite close to 
 this one." 
 
 The Parrot sidled away along the 
 branch and appeared terrified. 
 
 " The Island of the Baligoors and 
 Coomasis ! " he gasped. 
 
 " What sort of island is that ? " asked Melinda and 
 the Carpenter, both together. 
 
 " The Island of the Baligoors and the Coomasis!" 
 repeated the Parrot, forgetting all his arrogance in 
 his terror. " The Baligoors and Coomasis strangle, 
 
 52 
 
 TWO LITTLE 
 FLAMES OF ANGER 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 7 
 
 To THROW STONES AT THEM 
 
 53 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 K 
 
 THE ARROWS RETURN TO THEIR 
 
 54 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 OWNERS WITH THEIR PREY 
 
 55 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 hang, and behead everything that is not Baligoor or 
 Coomasi ! ' 
 
 1 Do they ever come over here ? " inquired the 
 Carpenter in some alarm. 
 
 4 Oh, no, they cannot fly," said the Parrot with 
 more confidence. 
 
 ' But have they no boats ? " said the Carpenter, 
 feeling far from reassured, and beginning to examine 
 the propeller of his aeroplane. 
 
 The Parrot ignored the mention of boats, as he did 
 not know what they were. 
 
 ' But mightn't they swim across to this island ? ' 
 persisted the Carpenter. 
 
 ' Their paws are too short," returned the Parrot 
 quite gaily. " Sometimes," he went on, " the birds 
 fly over their island to throw stones at them, ruby 
 stones, emerald stones, little gold nuggets and other 
 dust. But they take care to fly very high because the 
 Baligoors have murderous bows and arrows, and the 
 arrows return to their owners with their prey if they 
 so much as touch it, and even if they miss return 
 just the same so that they can be used again next 
 time." 
 
 ' Alas, poor Parrot ! " said Melinda, quite touched. 
 1 Then you are condemned to live here always." 
 
 " Oh, yes," said the Parrot, " but I should not 
 mind if only someone would take away Tuta and 
 Tuty, who prevent the birds from doing their duty 
 and catching the insects. Perhaps that machine of 
 yours might carry four persons ? " he added, with a 
 sly look. 
 
 56 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " Is that the advice you came to give us, charm- 
 ing Parrot ? " asked the Carpenter. 
 
 "No, that was just a little counsel by the way," 
 said the Parrot. I came to warn you of the Black 
 Cavalier, who haunts this island. The birds think 
 that it was sent by the Golden God 
 that they worship, but personally 
 I think it must be something to 
 do with those Baligoors." Here the 
 Parrot scowled. " Anyhow, it is 
 very dangerous, and will probably 
 attack you suddenly, and attempt 
 to kill you. In any case it won't 
 allow you to take away Tuta and 
 Tuty, or even see them if it can 
 help it." 
 
 '" Can it hear us now, do you 
 think ? " asked Melinda in a fright- 
 ened whisper. 
 
 " Possibly," replied the Parrot, 
 " but it wouldn't be able to under- 
 stand you if it did." 
 
 "Is it big? "asked Melinda again. 
 ' I don't know." 
 
 " Then you have never seen it ? " 
 said the Carpenter. 
 
 " No," said the Parrot humbly," 
 because when it begins to purr all 
 the birds, and even the parrots, 
 hide themselves and shut their 
 eyes." SHUT THEIR EYES 
 
 57 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 * It purrs, then ? " said the Carpenter. 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed, louder even than that insect of 
 yours," said the Parrot, pointing to the aeroplane. 
 
 It was nearly dawn. The moon had vanished and 
 faint streaks of light were appearing in the east. 
 
 " I must be going," said the Parrot Fiend, condes- 
 cendingly. " Your conversation has been more or less 
 interesting, and I have quite enjoyed our little chat. I 
 shall be grateful if you will remove Tuta and Tuty, 
 and in return I will give you this magic diamond. 
 You can discover its uses for yourselves. Farewell, 
 and beware of the Black Cavalier!" So saying, the 
 Parrot Fiend disappeared among the leaves. 
 
 THE BLACK CAVALIER: MELINDA AND 
 THE CARPENTER EXPLORE THE 
 ISLAND. THE CARPENTER DISCOVERS 
 AN INSECT. MELINDA PLUCKS SOME 
 FRUIT, BUT IS PREVENTED BY THE 
 BIRDS. THE CARPENTER WISHES TO 
 SAW OFF THE HORSE'S HOOFS. HE 
 DECIDES TO ATTACK THE BLACK 
 CAVALIER BY AIR. 
 
 IT was day. The sea was lightly veiled in rose 
 and golden mists. The dew made the leaves of 
 the palm tree look as though they were made of 
 silver. The dew had silvered the aeroplane as well, 
 and the Carpenter wiped it with a large silk hand- 
 kerchief, and then folded it up and put it back into 
 its box so that no harm should come to it while they 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 explored the island. Melinda had climbed into the 
 centre of the tree while he was doing this, and was 
 startled by a sudden cry. She turned round to see 
 what was the matter, and saw the Carpenter stand- 
 ing on a branch just above her, holding in his hand a 
 small box at which he was staring in speechless 
 amazement. 
 
 " What have you found ? " asked Melinda curiously . 
 
 " I haven't found anything," gasped the Car- 
 penter, " but I don't know what has happened to 
 my aeroplane ! " He held up the funny little box as 
 he spoke. " This is all there is left ! " His voice was 
 so full of tears that he could hardly speak. " I just 
 touched it by accident with that diamond the Parrot 
 gave us, and it shrank and shrank and shrank and 
 now we shall never be able to get away from this 
 island, for who could sit in an aeroplane that size, 
 much less make it fly ? ' 
 
 They both burst into tears of despair. 
 
 " Oh, that horrible Parrot," sobbed Melinda ; " I 
 knew he meant us some harm." In her rage she picked 
 up the diamond meaning to throw it far away into 
 the depths of the forest, but it somehow slipped out 
 of her hand and fell on to the tiny box which the 
 Carpenter had laid on one of the leaves of the palm 
 tree. Instantly the box began to grow. It grew and 
 grew and grew, until it was exactly the same size as 
 it had been before, and then it stopped. Melinda and 
 the Carpenter stared at one another with round eyes. 
 
 " I'm sorry I said the Parrot Fiend was horrible," 
 said Melinda remorsefully. 
 
 59 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 ' He has given us a wonderful present," said the 
 Carpenter. " Now I need never carry my aeroplane 
 about on my back. I can always make it small enough 
 to put in my pocket." He made the aeroplane small 
 again as he spoke, and slipped it into his pocket. 
 
 INTO THE FOREST BELOW 
 
 " Let me carry the diamond," said Melinda. " I'll 
 take great care of it." So the Carpenter handed her 
 the diamond, and they packed up the rest of their 
 belongings and clambered down the tree trunk into 
 the forest below. It was like coming into a wide 
 60 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 green palace. The tree trunks were shining green and 
 yellow pillars. One or two birds were walking to and 
 fro, taking an early morning stroll. The travellers 
 kept themselves well hidden, and looked about them 
 with interest. 
 
 The birds were mostly cubic in shape, though 
 some were rounder than others. Their feet were like 
 forks, with two prongs. Their heads were more 
 ordinary, but many of them had human noses and 
 mouths instead of beaks. Whatever the Parrot might 
 say, he was much more like an ordinary bird than 
 they were. 
 
 But, though very strange, the birds were not, in 
 any way alarming, and their harmless behaviour and 
 the peaceful morning made the travellers feel much 
 more confident. 
 
 The Carpenter poked about in the soft green moss, 
 which covered the ground, and found that it was 
 swarming with curious insects. A great many were 
 new to him, and one particularly puzzled him. It 
 was very small and black, and not in the least like 
 any insect he had ever seen before. It was amusing 
 itself by running up and down the stems, and over 
 the flowers of a small plant, as though in search of 
 prey. 
 
 Melinda watched the Carpenter condescendingly 
 as he bent over his interesting discovery. She did 
 not mind the delay in their journey round the island, 
 as she thought that the capture of a tiny insect could 
 not possibly detain them long. She was sitting close 
 to a tall, slender plant, bearing fine red fruit, which 
 
 61 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 looked so inviting that she at once started to pick it. 
 
 But no sooner was her hand stretched out to do so 
 
 than a bird pounced down on 
 her with a loud cry, and 
 pinched her ear with its beak, 
 and shook her roughly with its 
 wings. Then it let her go, and 
 picked all the fruit and stowed 
 it away in its body, which was 
 a square-shaped box, after which 
 it left her by the bare tree, 
 robbed of its bright fruit, shoot- 
 ing ferocious side glances at her 
 as it went. 
 
 ' We are discovered ! " cried 
 Melinda piteously. But the Car- 
 penter was too much occupied 
 to pay any attention to her. 
 At the very moment, indeed, 
 when the fierce bird had at- 
 tacked Melinda, the Carpenter's 
 fingers had closed over the 
 little insect he so much desired 
 to capture. At first it felt quite 
 soft under his fingers, but then 
 suddenly it became hard, and 
 he was so much surprised at 
 
 this that he let it slip away. 
 
 PICKED ALL THE FRUIT 
 
 62 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 It vanished for a moment, and when he caught 
 sight of it again it had become larger. It looked like 
 a little black triangle which had a large white eye with 
 a black pupil. As it ran hither and thither to 
 escape the Carpenter's fingers it grew larger and 
 its appearance became more and more extraordinary. 
 
 63 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Its legs had grown longer, and it now appeared to 
 have two heads. Suddenly it stopped running and 
 stung the Carpenter with a kind of spear it was hold- 
 ing, and then ran away again. The Carpenter ran 
 after it in hot pursuit, followed by Melinda, who did 
 not dare to leave him. 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The strange creature went on growing and as it 
 grew it became evident that this was the Black 
 Cavalier itself. The Carpenter hesitated, and Melinda 
 tried to hold him back. They stood close together while 
 the Black Cavalier, still growing rapidly, began to purr. 
 
 F 65 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Carpenter quickly took the diamond from 
 Melinda, and managed to touch the Black Cavalier 
 with it, but the magic was not strong enough to have 
 any effect on so terrible a creature. Already it had 
 grown as high as the Carpenter's blue hat, but the 
 sting did not grow at all and remained quite short. 
 66 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Black Cavalier was busy stinging the Car- 
 penter's hat, thinking it to be a live thing, and soon 
 itjhad to bend down to reach the hat with its short 
 sting, and soon it was too tall to touch the Carpenter 
 at all, and soon it was taller than the tallest of the 
 palm trees, and still it grew. 67 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 HlS SAW PASSED THROUGH THE HOOF WITHOUT LEAVING A TRACE 
 
 68 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Carpenter tried to cut through the hoofs of 
 its horse, but his saw passed through the hoof with- 
 out leaving a trace. 
 
 " No doubt I can kill it higher up," said the Car- 
 penter, looking upwards. He could only see the 
 Cavalier's legs, the rest of it was now far out of sight 
 above the palm trees. 
 
 " If only you could overcome it," said Melinda, 
 "we should be masters of the island." The Carpenter 
 went on sawing the hoof of the Cavalier without any 
 result ; it was always unmarked where the saw had 
 passed through. 
 
 THE BLACK CAVALIER CASTS HIS SHADOW 
 OVER THE ISLANDS : THE CAVALIER 
 SHOOTS UP AND SWELLS. THE AERO- 
 PLANE MOUNTS TOWARDS HIS HEAD. 
 THE CAVALIER'S EYE IS LIKE A BIG 
 WINDOW. THE CAVALIER MELTS LIKE 
 A SNOW MAN. 
 
 IT was not difficult to discover the Black Cavalier. 
 He had stretched up at least a hundred yards 
 above the level of the forest, and his snorting and 
 purring filled the air like a thunderstorm. At times 
 it would stop purring to look round with its great 
 white eye. During one of these pauses it heard the 
 aeroplane rising towards it, and began to wave its 
 ridiculous little sting. It had become so immense 
 that it blotted out part of the sky, and darkened the 
 chain of islands with its shadow. 
 
 69 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 
 DARKENED THE CHAIN OF 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 ISLANDS WITH ITS SHADOW 
 
 7 1 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The aeroplane rose straight upward, aiming for 
 the Cavalier's eye. As it approached the Cavalier 
 opened its great mouth and swallowed the aeroplane, 
 
 SWALLOWED THE AEROPLANE 
 
 which flew out of its ear a moment later unharmed. 
 The sting was hardly large enough to be seen, but 
 the Carpenter's saw was just as useless. Then the 
 Carpenter thought of a plan. The Cavalier's eye was 
 bigger than a captive balloon, and its black pupil was 
 72 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 like a great round window. The Carpenter gave 
 Melinda one of the bags of sand, which he had brought 
 for ballast, and told her to empty it when he said 
 " Hop." 
 
 Then came a fight memorable in the histories of 
 cavaliers and aeroplanes. The Carpenter tried to 
 steer the aeroplane into the pupil of the Cavalier's 
 eye, and the Cavalier turned its head hither and 
 thither, and bent its tower-like neck this way and that 
 to keep its eye safe from harm, trying at the same 
 time to crush and swallow the aeroplane once and 
 for all. But its hour had come. It lost sight of the 
 aeroplane for a moment, and the Carpenter, seizing 
 his opportunity, dived into its 
 eye like an eagle entering its 
 nest. 
 
 1 Hop ! ' he cried, and, 
 quick as thought, Melinda 
 emptied the bag of sand. As 
 soon as the sand touched its 
 eye, the Black Cavalier crump- 
 led up and melted away like a 
 snow man. In a few seconds 
 it was no taller than the palm 
 trees, then it was as small as 
 the plants below in the forest, 
 and then it was so small that 
 it disappeared under the grass 
 and was nothing but a tiny black 
 insect just as it had been when 
 the Carpenter discovered it. MELTED AWAY LIKE A SNOW MAN 
 
 73 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The aeroplane returned to earth once more, but 
 this time with more assurance. It dropped down on 
 to the island again perpendicularly, like a heavy 
 feather falling. 
 
 TUTY AND TUTA : THE CARPENTER AND 
 MELINDA DISCOVER THE DWELLING- 
 PLACE OF TUTY AND TUTA. CURIOUS 
 CONVERSATION OF THESE TWO 
 PEOPLE. THE ROPE DANCER. THE 
 TWO WOODEN MONSTERS. THE BIRDS 
 PURSUE THE TWO TRAVELLERS. 
 
 MELINDA and the Carpenter jumped out 
 when it reached the ground, and sat down to 
 rest among the scented flowers and ferns 
 under the trees. The birds were singing sweetly 
 somewhere out of sight. The travellers felt very 
 happy, and pleased that they had conquered the 
 Black Cavalier. They were hungry, as you may 
 imagine, and ate an enormous breakfast of buns 
 and cherries and chocolate biscuits. When they had 
 finished, the Carpenter ardently desired to chase 
 the brightly coloured butterflies that were flying 
 about, and even settling on the cherry he was eating, 
 but he saw that Melinda was in a great hurry to go 
 on and find Tuta and Tuty, and he was too polite to 
 ask her to wait. 
 
 There was a rustling sound in the leaves near by, 
 and the head of the Parrot Fiend appeared. He 
 evidently had not yet heard of the defeat of the Black 
 
 74 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Cavalier, for he still looked scared, and without say- 
 ing a word he pointed to a stone balustrade that 
 stood near by, unnoticed by the travellers, and once 
 again disappeared. They immediately jumped up 
 and leant over it and saw beneath them two radiant 
 and beautiful people. 
 
 ALL THEIR POSSESSIONS 
 
 Evidently they were Tuta and Tuty. Their dwell- 
 ing was open to the sky, for it never rained on the 
 Round Island, and from above you could see all 
 their possessions, small chairs and tables, and deli- 
 cate crockery, everything necessary to a well-set-up 
 establishment. It was round in shape like a circus, 
 and carpeted with flowers and moss. There was a 
 flower garden, a kitchen garden, an orchard, a stable, 
 and a mill, busily grinding corn. 
 
 " That is where they grind the flour for the cakes 
 they give to the birds," said Melinda. While they 
 
 75 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 stood looking down at the neat and prosperous house- 
 hold beneath them, they saw some cubic and spherical 
 birds busily employed with a cage at the other end 
 of the balustrade. Some of them were stretching a 
 
 BIRDS BUSILY EMPLOYED WITH A CAGE 
 
 cord from one end of the circus to the other. When 
 this was done they opened the cage, and out jumped 
 a lovely red squirrel, dressed as a rope-dancer. He 
 sprang on to the silver cord, light as a feather, and 
 began to dance with great agility. He leapt into the 
 air and turned three or four somersaults before he 
 touched the cord again, and performed a thousand 
 more graceful tricks. 
 
 Melinda and the Carpenter applauded so loudly 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 that they attracted the attention of the two little 
 people for whom the entertainment had been organ- 
 ised. They looked up and stared at the travellers, 
 but they did not seem at all surprised to see them. 
 Melinda and the Carpenter made signs that they would 
 like to talk to them, but all the answer they got was 
 the following disheartening conversation : 
 
 " Those are humans," said Tuta. 
 
 " Yes," said Tuty. 
 
 " Have you been introduced to the young girl ? " 
 said Tuta. 
 
 " No, Mrs. Tuta." 
 
 " Have you been intro- 
 duced to the young man ? " 
 said Tuty. 
 
 " No, Mr. Tuty." 
 
 So, as it seemed that 
 none of them had been 
 introduced, Tuta and 
 Tuty showed no further 
 interest in the travellers, 
 and did not even deign 
 to look upwards again. 
 They were not in the 
 least curious, indeed 
 they could not imagine 
 anything outside their 
 own home. They were ^^ AND TuTA 
 
 not adventurous like the voyagers in the Blue Boat, 
 and it is difficult to conjecture how they ever got 
 wrecked on an island at all. 
 
 77 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE LION WAS SHOWING HIS TEETH, BUT THE CHIMERA HAD LONGER CLAWS 
 
 78 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The squirrel was still dancing on the rope, but 
 suddenly he missed his footing and fell to the ground. 
 Luckily there was a soft carpet of moss beneath, so 
 that he could not have been badly hurt. 
 
 Melinda gave a little shriek, and pinched the Car- 
 penter's arm, for the squirrel had fallen at the very 
 feet of a big, yellow lion with red jaws, and a 
 ferocious looking Chimera. The Lion was 
 showing his teeth, but the Chimera had longer 
 claws, and they both looked very alarming. 
 They had evidently been posted there by the 
 birds to prevent Tuta and Tuty from 
 leaving the island if they wanted to 
 do so, although they did not seem to 
 want to do anything of the sort. The 
 dancer lay quite still as though he had 
 fainted, and the monsters 
 did not move either. The 
 birds who had brought 
 the cage had settled 
 down to a game of 
 knuckle-bones, and no- 
 ticed nothing wrong. 
 At last one of them 
 looked round at the 
 travellers, and saw by 
 the expression on their 
 faces that something had 
 happened. They got up 
 and saw the dancing 
 squirrel lying quite Still FIGURE-HEADS OF WRECKED SHIPS 
 
 79 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 on the moss. Then one of them waved his claw in a 
 signal to someone at the other side of the circus and 
 a surprising thing happened. The two monsters began 
 to move backwards through an open doorway just 
 
 THEY WERE FOLLOWED BY A CLOUD 
 
 behind them. As they moved they made loud rumbling 
 and creaking sounds as though something wooden 
 were being dragged over stones ; then the door closed 
 behind them with a clang. 
 
 " Those two monsters are made of wood, they 
 are only figure-heads of wrecked ships," cried the 
 Carpenter, and he and Melinda burst out laughing. 
 In an instant they were followed by a cloud of cubic 
 and spherical birds, whose wings darkened the air 
 so that they could not see where they were going. 
 Thousands of claws threatened them, and thousands 
 of clacking beaks deafened them with a tremendous 
 80 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 uproar. They were pushed down a flight of stone 
 steps, and through a narrow passage, where they 
 passed the wooden monsters who had been dragged 
 away from their post of guarding Tuta and Tuty. 
 
 OF CUBIC AND SPHERICAL BlRDS 
 
 The Carpenter managed to draw a wooden nail out 
 of the Chimera as he passed, and kept it ever after- 
 wards in memory of the Round Island. 
 
 They ran along the passage as fast as they could, 
 trying to get away from the birds, and find the aero- 
 plane, which they had carelessly left lying on the 
 grass by the side of the balustrade. At last they 
 reached the end of the passage and found that they 
 had outdistanced the birds and emerged on the 
 beach. The birds were still making a fearful din, but 
 the sound seemed to be in the distance, and suddenly 
 
 G 81 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 it stopped and there was silence, a mysterious silence, 
 almost worse than the noise. 
 
 The Carpenter had been scratched on the cheek 
 and on the forehead, and Melinda bound up his face 
 with his silk handkerchief. It was the same one he had 
 used to wipe the dew off the aeroplane, and it was 
 still wet, but she had nothing else. 
 
 ' I think we will leave this Island of Cubic Birds 
 as soon as may be," said the Carpenter, ruefully, 
 feeling his head. 
 
 " Where shall we go ? " asked Melinda, eager for 
 more adventures. 
 
 "We have enough provisions for two days," said the 
 
 Carpenter thoughtfully, "and we can add fruit to that." 
 
 ' You will pick it," said Melinda, remembering 
 
 how she had been attacked by the bird who had 
 
 caught her picking fruit. 
 
 " Certainly," replied the Carpenter. " And thus 
 supplied," he went on, " we can go and look for the 
 Blue Boat and our companions." 
 
 THE BOATMAN IS FOUND AGAIN : THEY 
 DECIDE TO LEAVE THE ISLAND. THEY 
 SEE A BROWN SPHERE DANCING ON 
 THE PLAIN. THE BOATMAN COMES OUT 
 OF HIS BARREL. 
 
 WHILE they stood on the sea-shore making 
 plans, their attention was attracted to a 
 curious, round, brown thing, which seemed 
 to have been stranded by the waves on some rocks 
 a little way out to sea. Melinda saw it first. 
 82 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " Look, there, on the rocks ! " she cried, pointing 
 it out to the Carpenter. As she spoke the rising tide 
 shifted the strange object from its resting place, and 
 set it bobbing up and down on the water. 
 
 " It is coming towards us," said the Carpenter, 
 and indeed it was bobbing closer and closer as the 
 waves crept up the beach. At 
 last they could see that it was 
 a helmet covering a head, and 
 the head emerged from a cask, 
 and the head was the head of 
 the Boatman ! 
 
 The cask came nearer and 
 nearer until it floated ashore. 
 The Boatman stared at them 
 but did not speak, then he 
 laughed very happily with his 
 mouth wide open like a baby, 
 and held out his hands full of 
 little star fish. 
 
 " At last ! " he said when 
 he had done laughing. 
 
 " Dear Boatman ! ' said 
 Melinda and the Carpenter, ' how glad we are to 
 see you. As there is a third place in our aeroplane 
 you may hope to escape death from privation." 
 
 The Boatman was so overcome that he could only 
 reply : 
 
 " At last, at last ! " 
 
 " Hadn't you better come out of that barrel ? ' 
 said the Carpenter, gently, but firmly. And as he 
 
 83 
 
 IT FLOATED ASHORE 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 seemed to be stuck fast they pulled him out, head 
 first. He stood on his head for a moment to recover him- 
 self, and then embraced his friends with tears of joy. 
 
 " Dear friends," he said, " I have been waiting 
 here for you. I saw your indescribably valiant fight 
 with the Black Cavalier. A parrot with a malicious 
 eye told me that you were frivolous and impudent, 
 and that the cubic birds would drive you to the coast 
 at your first nonsensical mistake." 
 
 "How nice it is that we have found each other," 
 said Melinda. She and the Boatman began to play 
 with the star fish he had found. But the Carpenter 
 was looking thoughtful. 
 
 " Boatman, where is your boat ? " he asked rather 
 severely. 
 
 " I'll tell you all about it," said the Boatman, and 
 he sat up on his heels and told them his story. 
 
 THE FATE OF THE WRECK AND COD : THE 
 BOATMAN'S STORY. THE FIRE ON THE 
 BOAT. THE BARREL FLOATS ON THE 
 SEA. COD AND FLUTE FLEE ON THE 
 SUBMARINE.BING AND SUN-AND-MOON 
 ON CASKS, PETER, THE FRIEND, AND 
 DRUM SEEK REFUGE ON THE WRECK. 
 PROCESSION OF THE CASTAWAYS. 
 
 " Ik JIT Y lacquer box," began the Boatman, "must 
 
 I %/ 1 have been out of order, as the storm which 
 
 A. T JLit foretold, never appeared. And yet the 
 
 clouds looked so black I thought they would break 
 
 over our heads. The wind blew the smoke of my 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 cigarette so violently upwards 
 that the sparks whirled about 
 in the air, and it must have 
 been one of those sparks that 
 set fire to the Blue Boat. 
 
 " Fire ! " cried the listeners, 
 both together. " Was the 
 Blue Boat burnt ? " 
 
 " Most of it was," replied 
 the Boatman. " It must have 
 been badly made, for as soon 
 as the middle part was burnt 
 the rest of it fell to pieces." 
 
 " And you left it to burn, 
 and lay in your barrel with- 
 out moving hand or foot to 
 try and stop it, you detestable 
 creature ? ' cried Melinda, 
 breathless with anger. 
 
 " Well, you see, I didn't 
 know quite what was hap- 
 pening. I thought that the 
 cries on deck were on account 
 of the storm, and I thought 
 the red glow of the flames 
 was lightning." 
 
 "Alas! "said Melinda. "So 
 you did not move. You did 
 nothing ? " 
 
 " No," said the Boatman 
 simply. 
 
 SET FIRE TO THE BLUE BOAT 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 ' Then how were you saved ? ' 
 ' When the boat fell to pieces I stuck fast in the 
 barrel, and floated safely away on the water, which 
 
 by that time was fairly calm." 
 
 " Is that all ? " cried the Car- 
 penter, as the Boatman did not 
 go on. " Don't you know what 
 happened to the others ? ' 
 
 " No," said the Boatman 
 calmly, " that is not all. I was 
 so upset that I was obliged to 
 smoke one cigarette after an- 
 other to calm myself." 
 
 " But our friends the music- 
 ians, the pride and joy of 
 Fairyland, what has become of 
 them ? " cried Melinda, dancing 
 with impatience. 
 
 " Cheer up ! " said the Boat- 
 man, seating himself on a wet 
 rock. " They are all safe as far 
 as I know ! Keep quiet, and I 
 will tell you all about it. Cod 
 was quite unhurt in his sub- 
 marine, but he could only 
 rescue one person, so he fished 
 out Flute, who climbed into 
 his place with supreme indiffer- 
 ence. Then Cod sailed round 
 about the wreckage and helped 
 FLUTE the rest to arrange for themselves 
 
 86 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 as best they could. Half of the Blue Boat was still 
 untouched by the fire, so Peter, the Friend, and the 
 Drummer, settled themselves on that. The rest of the 
 boat was still burning. Bing and Sun-and-Moon 
 followed my example and found a couple of barrels, 
 which they tied together with a long waist belt so that 
 they could keep each other company. 
 
 " Why, of course ! " said the Carpenter suddenly ; 
 " that was what we saw burning out at sea ! ' 
 
 1 Then it wasn't a volcano after all," said Melinda. 
 
 ' It was therefore necessary," continued the Boat- 
 man, taking no notice of the interruption, " to get 
 away as quickly as possible. Peter arranged that the 
 half-boat should be towed by Cod in the submarine, 
 so Cod threw him a rope, and Peter, in his turn, threw 
 one to Bing and Sun-and-Moon, who threw one to 
 me. And so we started off in a long procession to 
 discover land." 
 
 THE WHALES : THEY ARE ATTRACTED BY 
 THE NASAL SOUND OF THE CLARIONET. 
 THE WHALES LAUGH. THE WATER- 
 FALLS. THEY DO NOT KNOW WHERE 
 THE OTHER CASTAWAYS ARE. 
 
 OW that is what I call a real adventure!" 
 cried Melinda, clapping her hands. "Oh, 
 how I wish I had been there too." 
 " Wait a bit," said the Boatman. "As we floated 
 away, Flute began to play a favourite funeral march 
 of his and the squeaky notes of his clarionet attracted 
 
 8? 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 FLUTE BEGAN TO PLAY 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 COD, THE CAPTAIN 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 PETER, THE FIDDLER 
 
 90 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE FRIEND AND DRUM 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 SUN-AND-MOON AND BING 
 
 92 
 
THE BOATMAN AND THE WHALES 
 
 93 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 a family of whales. It was a very nice family, but it 
 came too close. We were surrounded by mountains 
 of shining black flesh. There were vast numbers of 
 them, a whole dynasty I should think. 
 
 WAVE THEIR TAILS ABOUT 
 
 " Flute stopped playing in alarm, but the whales 
 had already caught sight of us all strung out in a row 
 behind the Shark, and they were tremendously 
 amused at what they saw. Unfortunately their peals 
 of laughter made them wave their tails about, so that 
 
 94 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 the water round us was churned into enormous 
 spouts and cataracts of water, and we were tossed 
 up and down, one moment high in the air and the 
 next in the depths of the sea. The ropes came untied, 
 everything was in confusion, and we were all dis- 
 persed in different directions, each one followed by 
 a playful whale, who amused himself by rolling us 
 over and over in the water. 
 
 I don't know when the other whales got tired of 
 the game. The one who was innocently sporting with 
 my barrel did not tire of it till evening, when he 
 abandoned me on those rocks, from which I was able 
 to watch you fighting and vanquishing the Black 
 Cavalier. 
 
 " Is that all you know ? " asked the Carpenter. 
 
 " That's all," said the Boatman. 
 
 They sat silently on the beach for a little while, 
 each wondering what had happened to their friends. 
 
 THE GOLDEN COCK: THOUSANDS OF 
 BIRDS WORSHIP THEIR GOD. THE 
 BOATMAN FIRES HIS PISTOL. HE TAKES 
 A SOUVENIR OF HIS FIRST SHIPWRECK 
 
 THE Carpenter gave the Boatman a whole bun 
 to assuage his hunger, and then suggested 
 that they should explore the sea to find their 
 comrades. But first they would have to find the aero- 
 plane, so they plunged once more into the forest of 
 palm trees. 
 There was still no sound from the birds ; the 
 
 95 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 island was completely silent, but they went crouching 
 for fear that some of the birds might be watching 
 for them. They walked like this a long distance 
 through the silent forest, until at last they came to 
 an open space, and then they knew : ,why everything 
 
 THEY WALKED LIKE THIS 
 
 had been so quiet. All the cubic and spherical birds 
 were there, crowded together, bowing towards the 
 ground in an attitude of worship. They were ranged 
 in circles round a brilliant golden object ; they were 
 worshipping their Golden God, who had at last come 
 to the island to visit them. 
 
 All of a sudden the Carpenter touched Melinda's 
 arm, and said in an excited whisper : 
 
 " Don't you see ? It's the beautiful wooden cock 
 I nearly caught with my saw ! ' 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 And it was indeed the same wooden cock that his 
 saw had cut from a steeple, and which had afterwards 
 fallen on the Island of Birds. 
 
 The Boatman had to have all this explained to 
 him, and immediately wanted to possess the Golden 
 Cock as a souvenir of his first wreck, or rather, though 
 he would not have confessed it, of his first voyage. 
 In the midst of the silence that reigned over the 
 island, he placed a cap in his pistol, and fired into 
 the air. The birds rose from the ground with flutter- 
 ing wings in a great commotion, thinking that the 
 god had made the noise to proclaim its anger. They 
 flew high up into the blue sky with terrified cries 
 circling round and round the island, but not daring 
 to return. 
 
 The Boatman did not lose a moment in seizing 
 the Golden Cock, while the others looked round 
 for the aeroplane. They discovered it lying under 
 some ferns, and hastily unfolded it and mounted to 
 their places. The aeroplane rose slowly owing to the 
 additional weight of the Boatman, and the Carpenter 
 was afraid they would not get very far. 
 
 They flew out over the sea for a little way to escape 
 discovery by the birds, and then looked anxiously at 
 the earth below. They saw that the archipelago con- 
 tained at least five or six islands, and the Carpenter 
 proposed that they should visit each in turn to try 
 and discover their friends, and find out which of the 
 islands were habitable and which were not. 
 
 " Let us begin with the one we are flying over 
 now," said Melinda. 
 
 H 97 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 J 
 
 98 
 
 FIRED INTO THE AIR 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The others agreed and the aeroplane descended 
 as light as a feather on the island next to the Island 
 of Cubic Birds. 
 
 COD HUNG : AGONY OF THE TRAVELLERS. 
 UNFORTUNATE COD ! THEY DISCOVER 
 THE PERPETRATORS. 
 
 1 
 
 sun was shining brightly as they alighted 
 on the next island, and the earth glittered as 
 though it had been sprinkled with diamond 
 dust. The trees that fringed the beach were covered 
 with red and purple flowers, and the sand was as 
 yellow as gold. 
 
 But though the island was so beautiful, they felt 
 anxious and depressed as though something was 
 wrong, or just going to be wrong. They did not tell 
 each other what a gloomy effect the island was having 
 on them, but set out at once to explore, for their 
 stock of provisions was running low, and it was very 
 necessary to find some more food. The trees looked 
 as though they might bear fruit, so they walked away 
 from the sea towards the forest. Presently they found 
 themselves on the bank of a wide river, which cut 
 the island into halves, so that they were standing on 
 a little island and looking across the river at a bigger 
 one. 
 
 * We might as well cross over," said the Carpenter, 
 beginning to unfold the aeroplane again as he spoke. 
 But the Boatman was staring across the water with a 
 terrified expression. 
 
 99 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " What is the matter ? " asked the others. The 
 Boatman pointed, and they saw the body of Cod, 
 
 COD, HANGING ON A BRANCH 
 
 hanging on a branch of a dead tree on the other side 
 
 of the river. 
 
 100 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " Unfortunate Cod ! " they cried, wringing their 
 hands with grief at the sight. Suddenly Melinda 
 caught sight of some curious beings, more or less 
 
 YOU CAN SEE THEY HAVE POINTED HEADS 
 
 human in appearance, lying asleep under the trees 
 quite close to them. 
 
 " What horrid looking things ! " she cried. " They 
 are armed with bows and arrows." 
 
 " And knives ! " said the Boatman, getting behind 
 
 101 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 a rock. Then the Carpenter began to tremble with 
 fear, and said in a desperate way : 
 
 " We are on the Island of Baligoors and Coomasis. 
 I recognise them by the description the Parrot gave 
 us on the Island of Birds. You can see they have 
 pointed heads and sloping shoulders just as he 
 described." 
 
 " Unfortunate us ! ' cried Melinda, remember- 
 ing the terrible things the Parrot had told them 
 about the Baligoors and Coomasis. 
 
 * We cannot use the aeroplane to cross the river," 
 said the Carpenter. " The noise of the engine might 
 awaken these creatures, and then they would attack 
 
 us." 
 
 * We must wade across," said the Boatman, so 
 he took off his shoes with the planks to find out the 
 depth of the water. But it was much too deep to 
 wade, and there were no rocks or stones to give foot- 
 hold. 
 
 " Oh, unfortunate Cod ! " they cried. " What 
 shall we do ? ' 
 
 THE PIGWING : AN AMBASSADOR. THE 
 ANIMALS OF THE ISLAND. THE BALI- 
 GOORS SLEEP IN THE DAYTIME. 
 
 WHILE they sat mournfully by the river bank, 
 wondering what to do, a Pigwin'g came and 
 sat on a branch above their heads. A Pigwing 
 is a kind of guinea pig with long wings that roll up 
 like the spring of a watch when the animal is not 
 1 02 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 flying. The Carpenter looked with interest at this 
 creature, which he was inclined to regard as an in- 
 sect. It was certainly rather larger than the ordinary 
 
 run of insects, but his travels had taught the Car- 
 penter to expect unusual things on a voyage. 
 
 The Pigwing sat looking at them for a few moments, 
 out of the corner of his eye. He was the ambassador 
 sent out by the animals, who lived on the island, to 
 
 103 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 assure the strangers of their readiness to be friendly 
 and helpful if help were needed. He seemed satisfied 
 at last with his observations, and came down to a 
 lower branch, bowing and stretching out his arms 
 in welcome. 
 
 ' Have you any bows and arrows, Sirs and 
 Madam ? "he asked. 
 
 " No, Mr. Pigwing," they replied. 
 
 The Pigwing lifted his left arm above his head. 
 At this signal a host of animals appeared from all 
 sides, some from the trees, some from the river, and 
 some from holes in the rocks and burrows in the 
 ground. 
 
 Melinda drew a little closer to the other two, but the 
 animals looked so friendly that she was not really afraid. 
 ' Have you any knives ? " asked the Pigwing. 
 ' Only these, Mr. Pigwing," said the Boatman 
 and the Carpenter showing him their pocket-knives, 
 which were not very large. After a few minutes' 
 reflection, the Pigwing lifted his other arm. All the 
 animals began to move towards them, and did not 
 stop until the Pigwing lowered his arm. They were 
 now quite close, but none of them spoke. Even the 
 Pigwing was silent. 
 
 * Can we do anything for you, my dear friends ? ' 
 inquired the Carpenter politely. 
 
 " Thank you, no. We like looking at you," replied 
 the Pigwing. A big giraffe with a horn spoke. 
 
 " You are very like the Baligoors and Coomasis," 
 he said, " except that you are not asleep, and can 
 even see by daylight," 
 104 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 A BIG GIRAFFE WITH A HORN SPOKE 
 
 105 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 1 06 
 
 THEY ARE ASLEEP, REPLIED 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE PlGWING, SMILING 
 
 107 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " They look less cruel than the Baligoors," said 
 a small tortoise with long paws. " Except the little 
 one there, " he added, pointing at Melinda, who was 
 so vexed that she asked the Boatman for his pistol. 
 
 ' Don't quarrel with them whatever you do," 
 said the Carpenter in a prudent whisper, and the 
 Boatman nodded his head in agreement. " They are 
 kind and friendly, whereas the Baligoors are certain 
 to attack us if they see us." 
 
 Melinda saw that he was right, and tried to forget 
 that she had been insulted. 
 
 * But aren't you afraid of being so close to these 
 cruel creatures," the Carpenter asked, pointing to 
 the Baligoors, asleep under the trees. 
 
 1 They are asleep," replied the Pigwing, smiling. 
 
 " But if they wake up ? " 
 
 1 They cannot wake up unless someone goes and 
 shakes them, and even then they could not see till 
 nightfall. They have red eyes ! " he added, as though 
 that explained everything. 
 
 BUILDING A BRIDGE. THE GIRAFFE AND 
 THE TORTOISE SPEAK. ALL THE AN- 
 IMALS HELP TO BUILD THE BRIDGE. 
 COD'S DRESS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM 
 THE TREE. COD DRESSED IN A GREAT 
 CLOAK. NEWS OF FLUTE. HOW COD 
 ESCAPED DEATH. 
 
 WHEN the Carpenter heard this he at once 
 began scheming to free the animals from 
 their cruel enemies, as he had freed the 
 108 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 birds from the Black Cavalier. He told his plans to 
 the Pigwing, whose wings uncurled with horror. 
 
 " But there are more than a thousand of them ! " 
 he cried when he had strength to speak, " and they 
 are all as strong as lions and ten times as fero- 
 cious ! ' 
 
 " Oh, poor Cod, unfortunate Cod ! " they cried. 
 
 " The fish is your friend?*' asked the Giraffe, 
 pointing to Cod. 
 
 " Yes, yes, our dear friend, Cod ! ' 
 
 " Alas for your poor friend ! " said the Tortoise. 
 " They will eat him for their supper this evening ! ' 
 
 " No ! " they cried all at once. " We will at least 
 give him a burial worthy of the Captain of the Shark." 
 
 But they had yet to cross the river, and the Pig- 
 wing feared that the noise of the aeroplane might 
 waken even the Baligoors. 
 
 " But, cheer up," he said, " we will make a bridge. 
 We have still some hours before they wake." 
 
 Then all the larger animals waded into the river, 
 carrying rocks and stones, which they placed in a 
 line from bank to bank. Then they stood on the 
 rocks while the smaller animals handed them clay 
 and gravel and branches and strips of seaweed to fill 
 up the gaps and make the bridge firm and steady. 
 The birds flew across with mud and grasses in their 
 beaks, and the Tortoise tied the smaller rocks to- 
 gether with bindweed. Last of all, the Beaver arrived 
 with branches, which were laid across the bridge 
 from one side to the other. Then it was finished, and, 
 in much less time than it takes to tell they had all 
 
 109 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 MAKE THE BRIDGE 
 
 110 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 FIRM AND STEADY 
 
 III 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 run across to the foot of the tree where Cod was 
 hanging. 
 
 The Boatman took the planks from his feet and 
 climbed the tree, and cut the cord that held Cod's 
 body. 
 
 THE BEAVER ARRIVED 
 
 And now, what do you think ? It was not Cod at 
 all. It was only his fish costume, stuffed full of grass 
 and leaves, like a fish in a glass case. The travellers 
 did not know whether to laugh or to cry. 
 
 " They have probably eaten him already," said a 
 little black elephant with hedgehog spines. 
 
 " But what is this ? " said the Boatman, who had 
 been examining the fish costume. He showed them 
 a small piece of paper which he had found in Cod's 
 pocket. They read : 
 112 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 IF SOME CHARITABLE 
 SOUL READS THIS, HE 
 WILL FIND THE UN- 
 FORTUNATE OWNER 
 OF THIS COSTUME IN 
 THE GROTTO ON 
 THE SMALL ISLAND. 
 ENTRANCE UNDER 
 RED PINE: ' 
 
 \ 
 
 7 T (Signed) ' || 
 COD, Captain of Shark 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 ^/^ 
 
 CUT THE CORD THAT HELD COD'S BODY 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Boatman hastily tied the planks on to his feet 
 again, and they all ran back over the bridge to the 
 small island, and searched for the red pine. When 
 they found it, the Carpenter crept underneath it to 
 the grotto, while the others waited 
 outside. At last he came out again 
 with Cod, who was wrapped up in 
 the Carpenter's brown cloak. 
 
 " What has happened to Flute ? " 
 asked Melinda, when they had all 
 recovered from the excitement of 
 
 WRAPPED UP IN THE 
 
 CARPENTER'S BROWN 
 
 CLOAK 
 
 meeting again. 
 
 " He has found a country, which 
 gives him complete satisfaction," re- 
 plied Cod. 
 
 "It evidently didn't satisfy you," 
 remarked the Carpenter, " or you 
 wouldn't have come away." 
 
 " I will tell you all about it," said 
 Cod. " Some hours ago," he began, 
 " a sudden night fell over all the 
 islands. I could see the cause. You were righting in 
 the air with a vast, black cavalier, whose shadow 
 was thrown across the sea. I immediately boarded 
 the Shark again, leaving Flute behind on the island, 
 where we had taken refuge from the storm, and 
 steered in all haste towards the point where your 
 battle was raging. It was so dark that I could hardly 
 see where I was going, and when I came to the shore 
 of this island I thought it was the one over which 
 you were fighting, so I jumped ashore. Twelve men 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THEIR RED BYES SHONE LIKE FIRE 
 
 116 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 with red eyes caught me and dragged me near to 
 the spot where you found me. They were very fer- 
 ocious, and their red eyes shone like fire. They cut 
 the collar of my costume with a large knife, taking 
 no notice of my struggles and cries, and then drew 
 me out of it, growling like bears all the time. They 
 must have thought it was my real skin, for their own 
 were covered with scales and feathers. Then they 
 began to flourish their knives and I thought that my 
 end had come. But just at that moment you con- 
 quered the Black Cavalier, and the light shone once 
 more. The red-eyed creatures seemed to be suddenly 
 powerless. They staggered away with their hands to 
 their eyes, and left me free to do as I pleased. So it 
 was you who saved my life, dear Carpenter," he 
 ended, embracing the Carpenter with tears of gratitude. 
 
 THE ISLAND OF SILENCE OR FLUTE'S 
 ISLAND. TOWARDS THE ISLAND. FIRST 
 ENCOUNTER ON THE ISLAND. THE 
 CARPENTER, MELINDA, COD, AND THE 
 BOATMAN LEAVE THE ISLAND OF 
 BIRDS. A COOMASI IS DROWNED. BAD 
 WEATHER. 
 
 COD then had to tell them all about Flute. 
 " Flute is an odd creature," he began. 
 "No, not odd, he is only a philosopher," 
 said Melinda, who did not know what " philosopher" 
 meant. 
 
 " At this moment," Cod went on, "he is sitting 
 
 117 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 under a tree, reading old picture-books or playing 
 on his clarionet to charm the serpents." 
 
 " Serpents ? " cried Melinda a little anxiously. 
 
 " Quite harmless," said Cod reassuringly. 
 
 " But what does he live on ? " asked the Carpenter, 
 who was occasionally practical. 
 
 " The birds bring him bread and fruit, and the 
 storks bring him water," replied Cod. 
 
 " Let us go at once ! " cried all three together. 
 " We have never been so hungry in all our lives ! ' 
 
 They made ready to leave the Island of Baligoors 
 at once. But first of all they took leave of the kindly 
 animals, who had done so much to help them in their 
 troubles. The Carpenter promised to come back 
 some day with an army and free the island from 
 Baligoors and Coomasis. In the meantime dusk was 
 falling, and it was dangerous to stay. The animals 
 began to say good-bye one after another, and went 
 off to their homes, for very soon the Baligoors would 
 wake up. 
 
 Cod launched the Shark, and he and the Boatman 
 got into it, while the others took flight in the aero- 
 plane. And then they set out in the cool of the even- 
 ing to find Flute's island. The sea was calm and blue, 
 and the day was not yet over, but before they had 
 gone far, they felt again the strange uneasiness that 
 had come over them when they landed on the island. 
 Suddenly they knew that something horrible was 
 near them, and the Boatman, turning round, saw a 
 hideous Coomasi, crouched ready to spring on the 
 tail of the Shark. He gave a loud cry, and the Coomasi 
 118 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 kaped upon him in a flash, and they fell together 
 into the sea. Happily, the planks the Boatman had 
 tied to his feet caught in the sides of the Submarine 
 
 THEY FELL TOGETHER INTO THE SEA 
 
 and held him safely above the water, while the Coo- 
 masi fell right in and did not reappear for some 
 moments. 
 
 Then the Boatman showed great presence of mind. 
 
 119 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 While the Carpenter was 
 pulling him back into the 
 boat he handed him his 
 pistol. Unfortunately the 
 ammunition had got wet, 
 but as it happened, there 
 was no need of any 
 weapon. The Coomasi 
 could not swim ; his arms 
 were too short, and, after 
 coming to the surface 
 once more, he disap- 
 peared for good. The 
 travellers continued on their way rejoicing, but as 
 the twilight deepened, the sky grew cloudy, and the 
 sea went black. The Boatman had lost his lacquer 
 box, but they needed nothing to tell them that 
 there was going to be a storm. 
 
 COMING TO THE SURFACE ONCE MORE 
 
 THE STORM. THE AEROPLANE IS PUT 
 ABOARD THE SUBMARINE. THE 
 TRAVELLERS CATCH HOLD OF THE 
 AEROPLANE. THEY PREPARE TO DIE. 
 MELINDA FAINTS, THE WIND HOWLS. 
 
 EVERYONE knows how a storm comes up. 
 The clouds gathered fast and thick, the wind 
 blew gustily, and the sea was black and threat- 
 ening. The Carpenter alighted on the submarine 
 and folded the aeroplane into its box. Then he touched 
 the box with the magic diamond to make it grow 
 120 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 small enough to put in his pocket, but instead of 
 growing smaller it grew bigger and bigger until it 
 nearly covered the submarine. 
 
 " The diamond has gone mad," said the Car- 
 penter, unhappily. " What are we to do ? " 
 
 " I know," said Cod, with unusual sense for him, 
 " if we sit one on each corner we shall keep it bal- 
 anced. I should never have got all of you into the 
 submarine. I think your diamond has a great deal of 
 
 sense." 
 
 He was quite right. When they had taken their 
 places, one at each corner of the box, the submarine 
 steadied itself on the waves, and the wind did not 
 catch them, especially as when it blew very fiercely 
 they crouched down over their knees as Chinese 
 people do when they pray. But the storm grew so 
 violently that presently all their ingenuity went for 
 nothing. For the waves threw the submarine and the 
 box and the four passengers into the air and the 
 wind dashed them down into the sea again. They 
 all clung to one another and the box and the sides of 
 the submarine, thinking that the end was near. 
 Sometimes the box was tilted to one side so that they 
 looked like fish displayed on a slab in a fishmonger's 
 shop, and then it would right itself only just in time 
 to save them from drowning. 
 
 " Whoever survives this " shouted Melinda, 
 
 trying to make herself heard above the storm. 
 
 " No one will survive this ! " shouted the Car- 
 penter, dismally in reply. 
 
 " Let us tie ourselves to the box," suggested the 
 
 121 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THREW THE Box A^JD THE FOUR PASSENGERS INTO THE AIR 
 
 122 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Boatman, who liked tying himself on to things almost 
 as much as he liked tying them on to himself. So, 
 with great difficulty, they all managed to tie them- 
 selves on to the corners of the box. The Boatman 
 unfastened one of his planks and used the string to 
 tie himself on with ; the Carpenter used the cord 
 that he had brought for his saw ; Melinda used her 
 little silk sash ; and Cod, who had nothing in the 
 world except the Carpenter's brown cloak, had to 
 content himself with holding on tightly to a ring on 
 the box. 
 
 In spite of the wind it was very hot. 
 
 " Perhaps it is the end of the 
 world ! " said Melinda. 
 
 It seemed as though she was 
 right ; at a moment when the 
 Shark was almost overturned 
 by the force of the wind, an 
 immense wave hurled itself right 
 over them, and rilled the Sub- 
 marine with water, for Cod, as 
 you may remember, had left the 
 lid, which covered the opening, 
 at home. The Shark immedi- 
 ately sank beneath the waves, 
 and Melinda fainted. The Boat- 
 man wept because he could not 
 hide himself as he generally did 
 in time of danger. The Carpen- 
 ter held his collection of butter- 
 flies up above his head so that 
 
 His COLLECTION OF BUTTERFLIES 
 UP ABOVE HIS HEAD 
 
 123 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 it should not be caught by the angry waves. Cod, 
 who had no initiative, just waited to see what would 
 happen. The box was still floating somehow or 
 other, and looked very like the four of diamonds 
 from a pack of cards with its four passengers 
 clinging one to each corner. It was a strange voyage. 
 Melinda, having recovered, felt sure that it was 
 nothing but a dream, but it was queerer than any 
 dream she had ever had before. The thunder growled 
 like a bad-tempered ogre, the wind screamed and 
 moaned, red and yellow lightning made jagged open- 
 ings in the black clouds, and the rain poured down 
 on the sea. Meanwhile the box still floated and the 
 wind and the waves played catch with it. 
 
 LAND ! ! AN IMMENSE WAVE WASHES THE 
 RAFT ON TO THE ISLAND. THEY SPEND 
 THE NIGHT ON A HILL. NO WIND AND 
 ALWAYS SUN. THE SILENT ONES 
 UNDER THEIR TREES. THEY HAVE 
 FLAT HOUSES AND NO KITCHENS. 
 THEY LIVE ON FRUIT AND NUTS. 
 
 BUT Fortune had not deserted them. Suddenly 
 Cod placed his hands round his mouth to 
 make his voice carry further, and shouted : 
 "I see land. I think it must be the Island of 
 Silence ! " 
 
 " Is it far ? " shouted the others, but their voices 
 were drowned in a whirlpool of water and spray. 
 When the wave had passed, the lightning gave them 
 124 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 a brief glimpse of the land Cod had pointed out. 
 But it was still far distant, and the box was being 
 tossed about like a cork, up into the air and down 
 again into the sea. A huge wave came, huger than 
 any that had come before, and lifted them right out 
 
 THEY WERE ON FLUTE'S ISLAND 
 
 of the water. They dropped like a stone, and there 
 was a shock, which knocked the breath out of their 
 bodies. Instead of falling back into the sea they had 
 been thrown on to dry land. 
 They were on Flute's Island, the Island of Silence. 
 
 125 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 They cried for joy, but no one could have distin- 
 guished the tears from the sea water running down 
 their faces. 
 
 The Carpenter, fearing that they might be swept 
 away from land as suddenly as they had been thrown 
 on to it, prudently suggested that they should not 
 unfasten themselves from the box until they had 
 walked further inland. In this way three of them 
 still fastened to the box, while Cod held up the 
 fourth corner, they climbed to the summit of a little 
 hill. The storm was still at its height, and showed no 
 signs of abating, and they were tired and hungry 
 and wet to the skin. Melinda lay down under a rock 
 and went to sleep : the Carpenter put one of his 
 precious boxes under her head for a pillow, and 
 covered her with his large silk handkerchief. 
 
 Then he and the other two lay down and slept. 
 As they slept the storm, not touching this hill, gradu- 
 ally died down over the sea. 
 This storm marked the end 
 of the second day of their 
 travels. 
 
 The next morning they 
 woke up, feeling brave and 
 strong again, and set out at 
 once to explore the island. 
 First of all they stood on 
 the little hill for a while to 
 spy out the land. They 
 could see no traces of the 
 
 AND WENT TO SLEEP 
 126 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 AT THE RIGHT SIDE OF EACH OF THE MEN SAT A ROW OF SONS 
 
 127 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 1 Wind is unknown here," said Cod, who knew 
 the place. " The sun shines all the time just enough 
 to keep the inhabitants pleasantly warm." 
 
 The whole of the island seemed to be covered with 
 palm trees, set at equal distances from one another. 
 
 FLAT BUILDINGS 
 
 In the circle of shade under each tree sat a silent and 
 motionless human being ; the men had great bushy 
 masses of hair standing out round their heads, the 
 women wore their hair falling over their shoulders, 
 so that it almost entirely covered them. Each of them 
 had a large open book, which they were either read- 
 ing or pretending to read. At the right side of each 
 of the men sat a row of sons, placed according to 
 size, the biggest being nearest to his father. At the 
 right side of each of the women was a row of daugh- 
 ters, arranged in the same way. The children sat 
 128 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 thus till the hour for recreation, their elders never 
 moved at all during the daytime. 
 
 " Are there no houses ? " asked Melinda. 
 
 Cod pointed out some broad, flat buildings, rather 
 like cucumber frames. 
 
 " They only use their houses for sleeping in," he 
 said, " so it would be useless to build them higher." 
 
 " Then are their kitchens underground ? ' 
 
 " They do not need kitchens. They live on fruit 
 and nuts, especially nuts." 
 
 HOW THE SILENT ONES LIVE. A BIRD 
 SINGS IN THE SKY. THEY ARE FED BY 
 THE GALIPODES. STORKS BRING 
 THEM FRESH WATER. THE YOUNG 
 SILENT ONES CATCH FLIES. THE 
 TRULY WONDERFUL PEACOCK. PUN- 
 ISHMENT OF VARIOUS FAULTS. 
 
 
 A 
 
 ^\HE island was so quiet that it seemed to be 
 listening to a single bird singing somewhere 
 in the sky, the only sound to listen to. The 
 travellers had noticed already that the palm trees, 
 which sheltered the Silent Beings, were planted at 
 regular intervals like the trees in a nursery garden, 
 and now they saw that a notice board was fastened 
 to each one, inscribed with some pretty and serious 
 name, such as Jack Robinson, 103 Palm Tree Walk, 
 Island of Silence. 
 
 Not one of the Silent Beings turned their heads 
 to look at the strangers as they passed by ; indeed 
 
 K 129 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 they seemed unaware of their presence. It need 
 hardly be said that Melinda was extremely offended 
 at this inattention towards her. 
 
 The bird, who had been singing, grew tired and 
 flew to earth, and another took his place. They 
 noticed that the new bird had flown out of a thick 
 wood in the middle of the island. Cod told them that 
 some of the trees there were bread-fruit trees, and 
 some bore nuts, and that one at least bore the fruit 
 of Eternity, which the very oldest and wisest of the 
 Silent Ones were sometimes allowed to eat, but no 
 one else. Cod also showed them little fountains 
 standing here and there, whose clear water sparkled 
 like diamond rings. 
 
 They saw tall storks standing near the fountains, 
 filling great pitchers, which they then fastened on 
 their backs. 
 
 " Those are the distributors of water ! " said Cod. 
 He spoke in a whisper, so as not to offend the people, 
 who worshipped silence. 
 
 " Why is each pitcher fitted with pipes and a tap ?" 
 asked Melinda, who was sometimes very observant. 
 
 " You will see," said Cod. The stork nearest them 
 unfastened a tray, which had been hanging from his 
 belt, and placed on it tall drinking glasses, which 
 had been fixed to the sides of the pitcher. Then he 
 filled them with water from the tap at the end of the 
 pipe, which was passed over his shoulder from the 
 pitcher on his back. He then walked from tree to 
 tree, placing fresh water in the cupboards, which 
 stood in front of each of the Silent Beings. These 
 130 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THOSE ARE THE DISTRIBUTORS OF WATER 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 cupboards were made of palm leaves, and looked 
 rather like green lanterns. They held all the things 
 that their owners wanted to preserve from the dust 
 and heat. 
 
 As the travellers followed the storks back again to 
 
 the drinking fountains 
 they met the Galipodes. 
 The Galipodes were very 
 clean and white like 
 polished ivory, and they 
 wore little hats made of 
 pastry. Their arms were 
 so short that they could 
 not reach their beaks, and 
 so could not touch the 
 provisions they were 
 carrying wrapped deli- 
 cately in palm leaves. 
 
 The travellers stood 
 near by one of the palm 
 trees and watched one of 
 the Galipodes come and 
 place a fine red and yellow 
 apple in the green cup- 
 board. They saw that he 
 wore a label round his 
 neck, bearing the same 
 name and address as the 
 one on the notice-board 
 
 ^^ of the Silent Being he 
 
 LITTLE HATS MADE OF PASTRY was serving. 
 
 132 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " Each one has a Galipode to serve him and his 
 family," said Cod. " And there is one stork for every 
 eight families." 
 
 " That is very obliging and useful of the birds on 
 this island," interposed the Boatman. 
 
 " In return," Cod went on, " the young Silent 
 Beings, who have only taken half vows, spend some 
 of their time in making traps for the animals, who 
 harm the birds. The Silent Beings and the birds 
 simply exchange services, and there is great sym- 
 pathy between them. The young birds are punished 
 for small faults by being set to catch flies for the 
 Silent Beings ; the young Silent Beings on their side 
 expiate their faults by carrying the train of the Presi- 
 dent of the Birds. But, of course, if they are very 
 bad, they are sent away to the Country of Marion- 
 ettes. 
 
 The President of the Birds was naturally a large 
 peacock. He happened to be crossing the island at 
 that very moment in a most majestic fashion. He was 
 an exceptional bird, even for a peacock, and it seemed 
 impossible that he could be as intelligent as he was 
 beautiful. 
 
 " We will ask this peacock if he thinks you are 
 pretty," said the Carpenter to Melinda, remember- 
 ing her vanity on the Island of Cubic Birds. But 
 his joke came to nothing, for Cod hastily reminded 
 him that no questions were allowed on the Island of 
 Silence. He added that it would be better if they 
 talked less even among themselves. 
 
 " Tell me, all the same," said the Carpenter, " why 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 LITTLE HORN OF LEAVES WHICH COVERS THEIR FACES 
 
 134 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 it is that the children who carry 
 the Peacock's train wear that little 
 horn of leaves which covers their 
 faces ? ' 
 
 " Their punishment is a purely 
 personal matter," replied Cod, "so 
 there is no need for other people 
 to see them and make them feel 
 humiliated." 
 
 The Boatman thought to himself 
 that this would be an excellent way 
 of hiding. One would only need 
 larger leaves and more of them. 
 
 AN EXCELLENT WAY 
 OF HIDING 
 
 BREAKFAST. THE TRAVELLERS FIND 
 FLUTE AGAIN. THEY BREAKFAST 
 SITTING FACING THE SEA. MELINDA 
 WANTS TO SPEAK TO A SILENT ONE. 
 
 | 
 A 
 
 ^\HE travellers had not breakfasted, and were 
 almost overcome with hunger and weariness, 
 but so great was their curiosity that they 
 walked on and on until they came to the last Silent 
 Being of all. 
 
 ' Oh ! " cried Melinda. 
 
 * Goodness gracious ! " exclaimed the Carpenter. 
 
 * How in the world ? " began the Boatman. 
 They all stopped short, open-mouthed with sur- 
 
 prise, before the last of the Silent Beings. 
 
 " You may well be surprised ! " said Cod, for it 
 was Flute ! 
 
 135 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 He could see who they were, 
 but he did not make the slightest 
 movement to greet them, and 
 Cod would not let them ap- 
 proach him. All three began 
 asking so many questions that 
 he could not answer them all. 
 
 " He has taken the whole vow. 
 He must not move or speak," 
 he explained when, at last, he 
 could hear himself speak. 
 
 " Then we have lost one of 
 our friends ! ' cried Melinda, 
 and fainted away. But this was 
 partly because she was so 
 hungry. 
 
 Cod told them that they could 
 not sit under any of the trees 
 without taking at least half a 
 vow of silence, but if they sat in 
 a row on the beach, facing the sea, the birds would 
 consider them as guests, and serve them with break- 
 fast. S^ they revived Melinda with a palm leaf full 
 of water, and all went and sat in a row on the sea- 
 shore. 
 
 Melinda was longing to speak to one of the Silent 
 Beings. Silence always made her feel so nervous that 
 she wanted to scream. She was therefore greatly 
 relieved when it was suddenly broken by the crow- 
 ing of a cock, which made such a shrill sound in the 
 midst of the stillness that it seemed as though the 
 
 IT WAS FLUTE 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 sky was being rent asunder. Then a cuckoo sang 
 his two monotonous notes six times. 
 
 At this double signal from the cuckoo and the cock, 
 the Silent Beings moved at last and opened their 
 
 SEAGULLS 
 
 green cupboards for the food the storks and the 
 Galipodes had placed there. The kindly creatures 
 then brought food and drink for the strangers on the 
 sea-shore. It was a pretty sight for the seagulls play- 
 ing on the rocks to see four people sitting in a row, 
 looking out over the water, eating red and yellow 
 fruit, and drinking fresh water out of high cups. 
 
 137 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE PURSUIT. MELINDA DISCOVERS TWO 
 SILENT ONES WHO SPEAK. PURSUIT 
 IN THE VALLEY. THE SILENT ONE 
 ENTREATS MELINDA. MELINDA USES 
 HER LITTLE ELECTRIC TORCH. THE 
 SILENT ONE AND MELINDA GO 
 THROUGH A CUPBOARD. A MARION- 
 ETTE'S CORPSE. A PROCESSION. 
 
 "^T^HEN do they really never speak ? " asked 
 Melinda, for the hundredth time, though Cod 
 A had assured her a hundred times that they 
 never did. 
 
 " If they did," he said, " they would have to go 
 away to the Country of Marionettes, where the 
 people are only agitated dolls, who fill their lives 
 with music and vain sounds." 
 
 " That must be much more amusing than it is 
 here ; at any rate, if there is music," replied Melinda, 
 but suddenly she stopped speaking for, just behind 
 the hill where they were sitting, she saw two young 
 Silent Beings talking together in whispers. 
 
 " I can speak to those two anyway," she thought 
 to herself. " They will have no excuse for not answer- 
 ing me." She got up and walked away from her com- 
 panions without being noticed. At first she went 
 slowly, as though she was only taking a stroll with 
 no particular object, but when she came to a curve 
 in the hill, which hid her, she began to run, and ran 
 as hard as she could towards the two Silent Beings. 
 One of them took to his heels the moment he caught 
 
 138 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 sight of her, and immediately disappeared, so that 
 Melinda never knew what became of him. The other 
 one ran in the opposite direction across a clear space, 
 and Melinda did not think twice, but followed him 
 as fast as her feet would carry her. 
 
 The Silent Being took care to run through thickets 
 and crevices in the hills, so that no one else should 
 see him and find out that he had broken his vow. He 
 jumped over streams and pushed through bushes 
 and brambles, Melinda in hot pursuit, until they 
 reached a deep valley, which appeared to mark the 
 boundary of the Silent Country, for here the birds 
 were singing. The young Silent Being was beginning 
 to slacken his speed ; he was now only a few paces 
 in front of Melinda. Once or twice he even threw 
 himself on his knees and looked back towards her 
 with imploring eyes, stretching out his hands in a 
 gesture of supplication. But each time, as Melinda 
 did not stop running, he jumped up again, and ran 
 on as before. 
 
 " Even if he is discovered," thought Melinda, 
 " he will only have to carry the Peacock's train for a 
 few days with a little horn of leaves on his head. 
 There's nothing to make such a fuss about." 
 
 She did not know that, a much graver fate awaited 
 the Silent Being at the end of the valley. But he 
 knew only too well, and every now and then he tried 
 wildly to escape by climbing up the steep rocks that 
 shut them in. But all his efforts were in vain, and at 
 last the valley ended in a dark tunnel. 
 
 There was nothing to guide Melinda but the sound 
 
 139 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 ONCE OR TWICE HE EVEN 
 
 of his footsteps in front of her, but she went on, 
 though she was beginning to be frightened. For a 
 few minutes she heard the footsteps ahead of her ; 
 then they stopped, and the tunnel was absolutely 
 silent. Melinda ran on, hoping to find the end of it, 
 but having nothing now to guide her she continually 
 knocked her head against the slimy walls, for the 
 tunnel ran in twists and curves. Then, to her great 
 joy, she remembered that the Carpenter had given 
 her a new electric torch to take care of. She pulled 
 it out of her pocket, and held it in her outstretched 
 hand, so that its rays lit up the darkness, which 
 surrounded her. Just in front of her she was surprised 
 to see a large cupboard, the door of which was closed. 
 She opened it, and saw the terrified face of the young 
 Silent Being, blinking under the rays of the electric 
 torch. 
 
 Melinda tried to catch hold of him, but he escaped 
 her by stepping backwards, and when she jumped 
 into the cupboard to follow him she found that he 
 had disappeared, and while she searched the dark 
 140 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THREW HIMSELF ON HIS KNEES 
 
 corners of the cupboard for him the floor suddenly 
 began to sink, carrying her down with it. 
 
 She found herself in a meadow starred with white 
 daisies. She turned to shut the cupboard door, but 
 there was no cupboard, no trace of a cupboard. She 
 might have thought that she had been dreaming but 
 for the young Silent Being, who was lying at her 
 feet. She bent over him, and found that he was a 
 Silent Being no longer ; he was now only a little 
 marionette in a faint. His face was still quite drawn 
 with terror. Melinda tried to revive him, but she 
 had never been taught how to revive a fainting 
 marionette. 
 
 She shook him. Played on her lyre. Beat on her 
 drum ; but still he did not move, so she gave it up 
 at last in despair, and looked round her for help. 
 
 The country she found herself in was more beauti- 
 ful and less simple than the one she had left. It was 
 all nicely painted and varnished, and the sun was 
 shining brightly on the green trees and fields, and 
 the red roofs of little houses in the distance. She 
 
 141 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 longed to explore it, but she could not go away and 
 leave the unconscious Marionette, so she stayed in 
 the meadow and sat for a long time holding his head 
 on her lap. 
 
 She was beginning to wonder if the country was 
 inhabited at all when she heard sounds coming 
 towards her, confused noises of bells and drums, 
 deep whistles, and shrill cries that made her think 
 of a Punch and Judy show. 
 
 ; ., I ; 
 
 MARIONETTE IN A FAINT 
 
 142 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE ISLAND OF THE MARIONETTES. THE 
 DEAF AND DUMB MARIONETTES. 
 LOUD NOISES. THE EXTREMELY 
 SOLEMN HORSEMEN. MELINDA WISHES 
 TO WRITE : THREE MARIONETTES 
 PREVENT HER. MELINDA IS FURIOUS. 
 TWO MARIONETTES PICK UP THE 
 CORPSE. 
 
 JL 
 
 sounds grew louder and louder, and 
 presently a procession appeared in sight. 
 Some of the persons in this procession were 
 
 on horseback, some on foot ; all were gaily dressed 
 
 and wore high-pointed, broad-brimmed hats. In 
 
 some ways they re- 
 
 sembled the Silent 
 
 Beings, for the two 
 
 countries were very 
 
 closely connected, and 
 
 it was the privilege of 
 
 all good Marionettes 
 
 to acquire voices and 
 
 become Silent Beings 
 
 themselves. That is to 
 
 say that they became 
 
 able to speak, and no 
 
 longer wanted to do so, 
 
 instead of being dumb 
 
 and longing for a voice 
 
 as they did when they 
 
 were Marionettes. 
 
 BROAD-BRIMMED HATS 
 
 143 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The Marionettes consoled themselves for being 
 dumb by making tremendous noises with bells, 
 whistles, trumpets, and drums, which they played 
 
 THEY DID NOT WANT HER TO WRITE 
 
 upon with shrill cries and clattering gestures. The 
 more serious ones rode on wooden horses or geese, 
 or simply on sticks, which had the head of a horse, 
 lion, or goose at one end, and a little wheel at the 
 other to run along the ground. These cavaliers were 
 all extremely dignified and majestic. 
 144 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Melinda tried to attract their attention by whist- 
 ling through her fingers, but not a head in the pro- 
 cession turned at the sound. It was evident that they 
 could not hear any more than they could speak. 
 They might, however, be able to read, so she took a 
 little piece of paper and a pencil out of her pocket 
 and began to write on it, using the head of the 
 fainting Marionette as a writing table. 
 
 The Marionettes, at that moment, caught sight of 
 her, and three of them left the procession and came 
 running towards her, solemnly waving their arms. 
 It seemed as though they did not want her to write, 
 and when she tried to go on, making signs that she 
 would show them what she had written, one of the 
 three dolls snatched the paper out of her hand, and 
 tore it into tiny pieces. Tears of anger and fright 
 came into Melinda's eyes ; she began to wish that 
 she had not run away from reasonable, every-day 
 people. She turned to look again for the passage on the 
 hill by which she had come, but the hill was smooth 
 and bare, and there was no trace of an opening. 
 There was no escape that way ; she could only 
 resolve to explore the country round in the hope of 
 discovering some way of getting back to the Boat- 
 man and the Carpenter, who would be in a terrible 
 state of anxiety at her disappearance. 
 
 Before setting out she decided to mark the place 
 where the tunnel had been in case it appeared again, 
 so she took another piece of paper and attached it to 
 a branch close at hand. Instantly a Marionette rushed 
 up as before, snatched the paper and tore it up into 
 
 L 145 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 tiny pieces. Melinda stamped her foot with rage, 
 and tried to hit the impertinent little things, but 
 they dodged and twisted so quickly that there was 
 no catching them, laughing all the time with their 
 
 THEY DODGED AND TWISTED so QUICKLY 
 
 big mouths wide open. She did once succeed in 
 snatching one of their hats off, but the Marionette who 
 had lost it only laughed louder still, and took another 
 hat out of one of his pockets. She stopped at last and 
 sat down and cried like a little girl lost in a wood. 
 She would not have despaired so much if she had 
 known that Peter and the Friend and the Drummer 
 were watching a theatrical performance quite near by. 
 146 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 While she was still crying, two more Marionettes 
 came up carrying a long, narrow, cardboard box. 
 One of them had a bell without a clapper, which he 
 
 Two MORE MARIONETTES CAME UP 
 
 swung to and fro. When they came closer, Melinda 
 saw that the box was covered with drawings and 
 signs, which she thought must mean " Repairs and 
 Decorations." There was a drawing of a hammer 
 knocking in a nail and another of a brush painting 
 
 147 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 an eyebrow on a mask with black paint. She was not 
 mistaken. The two Marionettes opened the box and 
 took out two or three dolls tied together like a bundle 
 of asparagus. Then they picked up the Marionette, 
 who had once been a Silent Being, and tied him in 
 with the others and put them all back in the box and 
 shut the lid. They then picked it up and ran off with 
 it, staring at Melinda as they went, but not as though 
 they were surprised to see her. 
 
 A PLAY. MELINDA FINDS THE FRIEND, 
 PETER, AND DRUM. THEATRE IN A 
 PIT. ACTORS UNDER UMBRELLAS. THEY 
 ACT BLUE-BEARD. MELINDA ADVISES 
 THEM TO USE GLASS UMBRELLAS. 
 
 A FEW minutes later one of them came back, 
 and to Melinda's joyful surprise he was lead- 
 ing the Friend by the hand. Melinda stopped 
 crying and laughed for joy, but though the Friend 
 embraced her very affectionately she did not say a 
 word. She had grown accustomed to living in the 
 country of dumb show and only speaking in the 
 evenings when she was alone with Peter and the 
 Drummer. 
 
 She led Melinda to a high wall close by and through 
 a little door, which closed to behind them and Melinda 
 found herself in a great round hall, which had no 
 ceiling. Two rows of chairs were placed all the way 
 round it, and just beyond the chairs the floor was 
 sunk to a depth of about ten feet, so that the people 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 sitting in the chairs had to bend down to see what 
 was happening below. 
 In the midst of a profound silence Melinda was 
 
 -J'tB. 
 
 MELINDA STOPPED CRYING AND LAUGHED FOR JOY 
 
 shown to a seat near to Peter and the Drummer, who 
 were both in the audience. Peter saluted her gravely, 
 and took no further notice of her. He seemed quite 
 absorbed in what was going on beneath him. The 
 Drummer bowed and smiled, but he made a sign 
 
 149 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 that she must not make any dis- 
 turbance by talking. 
 
 Melinda leant over in her chair and 
 saw that a play was being acted ; the 
 actors looked like people in the street 
 seen from a first floor window, their 
 heads seemed enormous and their 
 bodies very small. But it was quite 
 easy to follow the action of the play 
 by their gestures and by their bright 
 clothes, and Melinda did not take 
 
 HE SEEMED QUITE ABSORBED l ong to guess fatf fl^y WC re acting 
 
 the play of " Bluebeard and His Seven Wives." The 
 Marionettes sitting near her were moved to tears by 
 the performance, and this as well as a light shower, 
 which had begun to fall, made it necessary for the 
 actors to put up umbrellas. Soon the tops of the 
 umbrellas were all that could be seen from above, 
 and the umbrellas were so large that the actors them- 
 selves could hardly see one another. 
 
 Each umbrella had a round spot of colour painted 
 on it, and all the colours were different. 
 
 ' That is an invention of Peter's," whispered the 
 Friend in Melinda's ear. She was quite as proud of 
 the invention as Peter himself, and Peter was as in- 
 terested in the play as if he had been the author. 
 
 * What invention ? " asked Melinda. 
 ! The umbrellas, of course." 
 
 '* But one can see nothing," said Melinda, im- 
 patiently. 
 
 * But Peter was careful to put a colour-sign on 
 150 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 every umbrella," continued the Friend with an 
 admiring look at Peter. 
 
 " But what do the colour-signs mean ? ' asked 
 Melinda, whispering so as not to disturb the others, 
 whose attention was rivetted on the play. 
 
 " You need only look there," replied the Friend, 
 and pointed to a row of figures painted on the wall 
 of the sunken stage. These drawings represented 
 the characters in the play, Bluebeard, the seven 
 wives, Sister Anne, and the two brothers. Under 
 each figure was painted a round spot of colour, and 
 Melinda saw that these colour-signs corresponded 
 with the ones on the umbrellas, so that the audience 
 could tell which actor was 
 
 
 
 playing under each umbrella. 
 
 Although the performance 
 was certainly very original, 
 Melinda found it too vague 
 to please her. She leant across 
 to Peter and remarked : 
 
 " You might, at least, have 
 had the umbrellas made of 
 glass so that one could see 
 the actors. 
 
 Peter's face lit up, and he 
 shook Melinda warmly by 
 the hand. 
 
 44 It is a magnificent sug- 
 gestion ! " he said," and I shall 
 certainly make use of it." 
 
 This was the second time PLAYING UNDER EACH UMBRELLA 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 152 
 
 ALL THAT COULD BE 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 J3 ossc 
 
 SEEN FROM ABOVE 
 
 153 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 HURRIEDLY PICKED IT UP 
 
 that Melinda had assisted in 
 an important undertaking. 
 The first time was when 
 she had proposed a visit to 
 the terrible Island of Bali- 
 goors, where they had found 
 and rescued Cod. 
 
 At this moment a large 
 object fell at Drummer's 
 feet, who hurriedly picked 
 it up and hid it under his 
 clothes. They had all seen 
 that it was a Marionette's 
 head, but said no word, as 
 they did not know how far 
 it might not be criminal to 
 have the head of a Marion- 
 ette in one's pocket. 
 
 THE MARIONETTES' FIRE. THEY SPEAK 
 OF THE BALIGOORS. WHY MELINDA 
 COULD NOT WRITE. THE SAILORS 
 FEED THEIR FIRE WITH SLEEPING 
 MARIONETTES. 
 
 WHEN the performance was over, the 
 travellers left the hall in the midst of a 
 crowd of Marionettes, but as soon as 
 possible they managed to walk away together and 
 congratulate each other on being together again. 
 
 Melinda told them how Flute had found a coun- 
 try which was entirely to his satisfaction. 
 
 154 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " And the Captain ? " asked the Drummer. 
 
 11 Who do you mean ? " said Melinda. 
 
 " The master of the Blueboat, who floated away 
 in a barrel, of course," said the Drummer. 
 
 " He is with Flute and Cod and the Carpenter in 
 the Island of Silence," replied Melinda. " The Car- 
 penter, too, is well, and so is Cod except that the 
 Baligoors stole his pretty fish costume and he has 
 nothing to wear except a warm, brown cloak ! ' 
 
 " Who are the Baligoors," asked everyone at once, 
 and so Melinda had to tell them the story the reader 
 has already been told in the preceding chapters of 
 this truthful history. None of them had seen any- 
 thing of the fight between the Carpenter and the 
 Black Cavalier. 
 
 " At that time we must have been on the Island 
 of Long Women," said the Drummer, and then it 
 was Melinda's turn to ask questions. 
 
 " Bing and Sun-and-Moon are still there," said 
 the Friend in a disgusted voice. Melinda felt a little 
 ashamed of not having asked for news of them be- 
 fore, but as it seemed to be a sore subject for the 
 others she did not ask for more information, but 
 simply said " Ah ! " and changed the subject. 
 
 " The Marionettes on this Island," she began 
 rather angrily, " have no manners at all. Twice when 
 I wanted to write they snatched away the paper and 
 tore it into tiny pieces." 
 
 " That is not surprising," said Peter, laughing at 
 her cross little voice. " Anything written makes 
 them remember a terrible tragedy that was the end 
 
 155 
 
A POST ON THE 
 BEACH 
 
 WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 of some of their comrades, and they 
 regard all writing as a danger. We have 
 to hide our notebooks and pencils, and 
 even hide ourselves when we want to 
 write our diaries." 
 
 Peter said " our diaries," but, as a 
 matter of fact, he was the only one who 
 troubled to take notes on his journey. 
 
 " Do you know anything about the 
 tragedy ? " asked Melinda. 
 
 " I know more or less what happened, " 
 said Peter. " One of the Marionettes on 
 horseback told me about it by signs, 
 and I understood pretty well. One day, 
 a long time ago, the Marionettes found 
 a shipwrecked mariner, cast up by the 
 sea on the shore of their Island. They 
 treated him with great kindness and 
 consideration, fed him well, and gave 
 him a nice suit of Marionette clothes. 
 After a while, however, he wanted to 
 return to his own country, so he set up 
 a post on the beach with a piece of 
 white paper pinned on to it for a signal. 
 Soon afterwards the signal was noticed 
 by a passing ship, which landed on the 
 Island and carried him away. But before 
 he went he wrote a message on the 
 paper, the first writing the Marionettes 
 had ever seen, very likely nothing more 
 
 than a message of gratitude and farewell. 
 
 156 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " One night, a little 
 while afterwards, an 
 old Marionette, fish- 
 ing on the rocks by 
 moonlight, saw a 
 party of men land 
 their boat on the 
 beach near to where 
 the paper was still 
 fluttering on the post. 
 It seems that the 
 strange men went up 
 to it and read it, and 
 saw that the man who 
 wrote it had been 
 rescued. Then they 
 started to make a fire, 
 and as there was not 
 much wood to be 
 found, they picked up some Marionettes who were 
 peacefully sleeping under some trees close by, and 
 tossed them into the flames to make the fire burn 
 more brightly. They were only stupid sailor-men, 
 and could not imagine that a Marionette might have 
 feelings. They thought the Marionettes were only 
 cast-off toys, and they built the fire high up, making 
 it sparkle and crackle, while they sat round it, laugh- 
 ing and talking. 
 
 ' And now nothing will convince the Marionettes 
 that the castaway had not left a written order for 
 those men to burn their brothers and sisters, for it 
 
 157 
 
 STUPID SAILOR-MEN 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 was directly after reading the paper that they 
 committed the dreadful crime of throwing noble 
 Marionettes into the fire." 
 
 ALL THE TRAVELLERS RE-UNITE. THE 
 CARPENTER WITH THE AEROPLANE 
 FINDS MELINDA. THEY RETURN TO 
 THE ISLAND OF SILENCE. FLUTE BE- 
 GINS THE CONCERT. THE VIOLIN 
 ACCOMPANIED BY THE MANDOLINE. 
 THE SEA MURMURS ALONE IN THE 
 DISTANCE. 
 
 "^ ^HEN, of course, I can understand their 
 terror at seeing me write," said Melinda. 
 JL " But they might have seen that I wasn't a 
 bit like those stupid, cruel sailors." 
 
 ' But we are not judged very kindly on these 
 Islands, dear Melinda," said a voice at her elbow. 
 She looked round, and saw that it was the Carpenter, 
 who had come to look for her in his aeroplane. " Re- 
 member what the Tortoise with the long paws said 
 about you on the Island of the Baligoors," went on 
 the Carpenter in a winning voice. 
 
 Melinda shook her two fists at him for reminding 
 her of the tortoise, who had said in such a shameless 
 way that she was the only one of them who looked 
 as cruel as the Baligoors. She was very pleased to see 
 the Carpenter again, however, and the others greeted 
 him like a long-lost brother, for although they had 
 only known him for a very short time, and his 
 
 158 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 journey with them had been almost an accident, they 
 had all become quite attached to him, because he was 
 so gentle and good-tempered. 
 
 TORTOISE WITH THE LONG PAWS 
 
 They wanted to show Melinda and the Carpenter 
 all the wonderful things that could be seen in the 
 country of Marionettes, but the Carpenter, who was 
 growing wiser and wiser with experience, insisted 
 that they should hurry back to the Island of Silence 
 while the daylight lasted. So he and Melinda flew 
 off in the aeroplane. The other three embarked in 
 their half-boat, which they had learnt to manage 
 very cleverly, and steered it towards the spot where 
 they saw the aeroplane descend. 
 
 It was a lovely night when they all arrived on the 
 
 159 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Island of Silence. They sat in a row on the beach 
 facing the sea, and supped together on bread and 
 fruit, and watched the stars overhead. 
 
 There were now eight of them together again, 
 because they sat so near Flute that he became one of 
 the party, and could hear their conversation. In spite 
 of his vows, he must have felt a great curiosity about 
 his friends' adventures . They were too tired to talk very 
 much, however, but just sat quietly, listening to the 
 sound of the waves, and the nightingale that was singing. 
 Presently Flute began to play on his sad clarionet, 
 for his vows did not forbid music. The nightingale 
 at once stopped her song and flew away to bed. 
 Flute's tune was very melancholy, so Melinda 
 began to beat a gay dance on her 
 little drum as a protest, and the 
 Drummer followed suit. Then every- 
 one began to play, and as you may 
 remember they had not brought their 
 conductor with them, everyone played 
 a different tune. They were very clever 
 musicians. The Carpenter, whose 
 knowledge of music was confined to 
 the one lesson Melinda had given him 
 in the palm tree on the Round Island, 
 could not pretend to understand their 
 music, so he said nothing for fear of 
 appearing ignorant. The only part he 
 really liked was the sweet song Peter 
 played on his violin, accompanied by 
 THEIR CONDUCTOR the Friend on her weeping mandoline. 
 1 60 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 By the time the concert was ended the moon had 
 risen, and the moonlight threw delicate green and 
 
 PETER PLAYED ON HIS VIOLIN 
 
 silver reflections on the bright costumes of the 
 musicians. Even Cod looked beautiful for Melinda 
 
 M 161 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 had fastened a little garland of flowers on the warm, 
 brown cloak, which was all he had to wear. 
 
 They spent the rest of the night recounting to each 
 other all their separate adventures. Peter began, his 
 voice whispering through the air like a breeze. 
 
 THE ISLAND OF LONG WOMEN. BING AND 
 SUN-AND-MOON. THEY MEET TWO 
 OF THE TRAVELLERS AGAIN. THE 
 LENGTH OF THESE TWO. FIVE CAST- 
 AWAYS LAND ON THE ISLAND OF LONG 
 WOMEN. DESCRIPTION OF THE WOMEN 
 AND MEN OF THE ISLAND 
 
 ONE of you will have forgotten the flock of 
 whales, whose gambols separated us, as we 
 set out from the wreck of the Blue Boat," 
 he began. " When the whale, who was playing with 
 our half -boat grew tired of his game, we found our- 
 selves quite close to an island. The sea was calm by 
 then, and we were drifting gently towards the land, 
 when we suddenly became aware that our friends, 
 Bing and Sun-and-Moon, were getting into diffi- 
 culties. The whale, who had been following them, 
 was still playing delightedly with their two barrels 
 joined by a rope. She was a very gentle creature like 
 all whales, and had done them no harm so far, but all 
 of a sudden she took it into her head to dive under 
 the rope, so that when she came up again she lifted 
 the barrels clean out of the water, one on each side 
 of her back, like a donkey carrying baskets. The 
 162 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 LIKE A DONKEY CARRYING BASKETS 
 
 163 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 whale seemed quite unconscious of her burden, and 
 they did not dare to cry out, for fear she should be 
 frightened and dive under the water with them, but 
 when they happened to pass close by our boat, Bing 
 began playing very softly on his castanets, and Sun- 
 and-Moon on his bag-pipes. We did not particularly 
 want to attract the whale's attention, so the Drummer 
 stood up, and, taking out his knife, made a dumb 
 show of cutting a rope with it. Sun-and-Moon, who 
 is simply a lunatic, could think of nothing but the 
 splendid adventure of riding in a barrel on the back 
 of a whale, and, as he told us afterwards, he was 
 comparing his immediate impressions with those of 
 his childhood when he had ridden on an elephant 
 at the Zoo. He must have decided that his present 
 experience was the more wonderful of the two, for 
 nothing could distract him, and he had wisely con- 
 fided his destinies to Bing, who was more practical. 
 
 Bing understood the Drummer's signs at once, 
 and cut the rope that held the two barrels together, 
 so that they slipped down the sides of the whale into 
 the water. The whale noticed nothing, and swam 
 steadily away, her mind occupied, no doubt, with 
 pleasant memories. We hastened to rescue Bing and 
 Sun-and-Moon. I was never so struck by the extra- 
 ordinary length of our two friends, as when they 
 came out of their barrels ; they seemed endless, like 
 macaroni. 
 
 There were now five of us on the half-boat, and 
 we only just managed to keep our balance. Fortun- 
 ately the current was driving us steadily towards the 
 164 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE EXTRAORDINARY LENGTH OF OUR Two FRIENDS 
 
 165 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 land, and very soon we felt the keel scraping over 
 sand. We jumped out and pulled the boat to shore. 
 
 We were immediately surrounded by a crowd of 
 strange people, who were evidently the inhabitants 
 of the Island. They seemed pleasant people, and 
 were not bad-looking, though very thin, except that 
 the women had enormous feet. 
 
 The women were, in fact, altogether gigantic, 
 taller even than Bing and Sun-and-Moon. They 
 wore huge earrings, half hidden by their hair, which 
 was very thick and quite straight and reached down 
 to their knees. Their wide belts were ornamented to 
 match their earrings. Their noses turned up a little 
 at the end, and their mouths were too large, but they 
 had long, graceful necks and pretty dimples, and their 
 hands were long and shapely. 
 
 They wore short, simple dresses and sandals 
 mounted on wooden clogs, it is difficult to guess 
 why, unless it was to make them look still taller. 
 
 They were gentle creatures, except when they 
 thought fit to lose their tempers, but they were alto- 
 gether a great deal too big ; and the worst of it was 
 that the men were unusually small, much smaller 
 than I am. They, too, were very gentle, and they had 
 nice little round heads, neatly finished with a little 
 square beard and a moustache as small and round as 
 a farthing. They had small feet, and their costume 
 consisted of a very wide sash and a round hat and 
 neat little shoes. When they went for walks with the 
 ladies they made themselves taller by hoisting them- 
 selves on stilts. 
 166 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 HOISTING THEMSELVES ON STILTS 
 
 167 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " The Island itself was very lovely . . ." 
 
 " Horrible you mean ! " interrupted the Friend. 
 
 " Very well, then, I will tell my story without 
 comment," said Peter. " The others will be able to 
 judge afterwards what sort of Island it was." 
 
 "You know perfectly well that it was horrible," 
 the Friend persisted. She had begun to brush Peter 's 
 clothes with a little ivory brush as she spoke. 
 
 " Oh, do let me go on ! " said Peter. 
 
 " Well, then, try to be truthful," snapped the 
 Friend. 
 
 TWO MARRIAGES. A BANQUET. THE TWO 
 BETROTHED LONG GIRLS. THE FRIEND 
 IS ANGRY. DELEGATION OF PATRI- 
 ARCHS AND AMBASSADORS. THE CHAR- 
 IOTS. BING AND SUN-AND-MOON 
 REPLY. 
 
 ""\ 7 rRY we ^' tnen " continued Peter, "every- 
 
 \/ one on the Island seemed pleased to see us. 
 
 T It was obvious that the Long Women were 
 
 most attracted by Sun-and-Moon, who is thin and 
 
 long, and Bing, who is long and stout. They did not 
 
 have to bend their heads very much to talk to them, 
 
 and they had to bend right down to talk to their own 
 
 menfolk. 
 
 " They welcomed us with great hospitality and a 
 gorgeous banquet was held in our honour. Two little 
 men stood, one on each side of the Friend to serve 
 her. They stood because if they had been seated they 
 1 68 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 would have been too small. 
 Four Long Women served 
 the rest of us out of silver 
 dishes. One of them, a pretty 
 girl with bright eyes, seemed 
 to have fallen in love with 
 Bing. The poor dear had 
 evidently noticed that her 
 feet were much larger than 
 his, for she had put on a 
 long skirt and taken off her 
 clogs, to try and hide them. 
 It was touching to see how 
 much she admired Bing for 
 being so stout and tall. As I 
 have said, she was quite 
 pretty. . . ." 
 
 " Pretty ! No ! " inter- 
 rupted the Friend again. 
 " Not even if she had tied 
 back her carroty hair, and 
 not allowed it to fly about 
 all over the place ! " 
 
 "Sun-and-Moon," Peter 
 went on in his gentle fly-like 
 voice, " was no less admired. 
 A dark girl only a head or 
 so taller than himself, began 
 to worship him as soon as 
 she set eyes on him. When 
 he played on the bag-pipes 
 
 SUN-AND-MOON 
 
 169 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 after the banquet she fainted right away, so intense 
 was her admiration. 
 
 " Another of them stationed herself beside the 
 Drummer, but he began to beat on his drum with all 
 his might, and made such a horrible noise that he 
 scared her away, and made everyone else extremely 
 uncomfortable . ' ' 
 
 " It was the only way to get rid of her," 
 said the Drummer. " She looked like an 
 enormous skinny doll." 
 
 " She was quite pretty you must admit, " 
 said Peter. 
 
 " A great monkey ! " said the Drummer, 
 crossly. 
 
 " I myself " Peter began again. 
 " Be quiet ! " cried the Friend. " You 
 had another silly doll to look after you. 
 She was all pink, except her flaxen hair. 
 A stupid, nonsensical puppet ! ' 
 
 " Perhaps you will go on with the story, 
 dear Friend," said Peter indulgently. But 
 the Friend shook her head and kissed him 
 on the forehead, while she stroked his hair. 
 She had a heart of gold, and she was very 
 seldom cross. 
 
 ' You may have guessed what happened, " 
 Peter went on, " according to the custom 
 of the Island of Long Women, next day 
 Bing and Sun-and-Moon were ceremon- 
 AN ENORMOUS iousl y sought in marriage. 
 SKINNY DOLL " A delegation arrived at the door of the 
 170 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 house which had been lent us. They came in big low 
 chariots, very comfortably arranged, with books and 
 elegant provisions, chess boards, and even billiard 
 tables. You see the delegation had to wait for a reply 
 from Bing and Sun-and-Moon, and according to the 
 custom of the country they were given two days to 
 consider it. The two girls came as well, both on the 
 same chariot, magnificently dressed and covered 
 with flowers. 
 
 " When the foremost chariot drew up at our door 
 a hundred little dancers immediately jumped out of 
 it and began to perform a marvellous and compli- 
 cated ballet, to the accompaniment of music played 
 by a hundred musicians, who came in the second 
 chariot. 
 
 " When this was over, more chariots arrived with 
 people carrying symbolic banners. These people 
 formed themselves into two ranks, between which 
 the oldest and wisest men in the country came for- 
 ward to meet us. The old men made signs, which 
 we could not understand, and then bowed low in 
 salutation and remained bent almost double as 
 though they were playing honey pots. It was quite 
 painful to watch them, for they refused absolutely 
 to get up. Presently some of the younger men came 
 and held them up, or they would have fallen over." 
 
 Everyone looked at Bing and Sun-and-Moon, 
 who thought they were to reply at once to the pro- 
 posals that had been made to them, so they both 
 said " Yes ! We will," as loudly as they could. But 
 still the old men did not get up, and someone 
 
 171 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE FOREMOST CHARIOT 
 
 172 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 DREW UP AT OUR DOOR 
 
 173 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 explained to them that they must approach and kneel 
 on the ground so that they could look into the faces 
 of the old men, and state their names and positions. 
 
 BOWED Low IN SALUTATION 
 
 Bing was first. 
 
 " I am Bing," he said. " I generally live in London. 
 I play on the castanets, and sometimes wear a mask. 
 I was wrecked in the Blue Boat and that is how I 
 find myself on this Island." 
 
 Then it was the turn of Sun-and-Moon. 
 * I am Sun-and-Moon," he announced. " I am 
 the most eminent poet and player on the bagpipes 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 DANCING AND Music STARTED AGAIN 
 
 in London, and I have many more titles besides, I 
 was wrecked in the Blue Boat with Bing, and that is 
 how I find myself on this Island." 
 Then they were asked to decide before the sun 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 set on the following day, whether or no they would 
 accept the two girls in marriage. The old men stood 
 up again and gave them each a sheet of purple silk, 
 fringed with gold, on which they were to write their 
 
 BLEW LOUDLY ON THEIR SILVER TRUMPETS 
 
 answer. Then the dancing and music started again, 
 and the old men retired to their chariots, leaving 
 two heralds, dressed in green, with silver trumpets, 
 standing at the door of our house. The chariots 
 stayed near by, and the people in them were as 
 comfortable as though they had been at home. It 
 was like a big camp, with a crowd of holiday-makers. 
 Bing and Sun-and-Moon asked us for our advice, 
 but the Friend and I refused to have anything to do 
 176 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 in the matter. You see, we knew quite well that 
 nothing we could say would prevent them from 
 marrying the pretty Long Women. 
 
 We were right ; they wrote " Yes ! ' in large 
 letters on the purple silk, and signed their names, 
 though they knew that their consent would prevent 
 them from ever leaving the Island again. 
 
 When the green heralds saw their answer, they 
 blew loudly on their silver trumpets and everyone 
 rejoiced. The two girls shed tears of happiness. The 
 Friend and the Drummer were invited to the wed- 
 ding festivities with great ceremony. I myself was 
 asked to stay in the house a little while longer. 
 
 PETER REFUSES. MORE CEREMONIES. THE 
 FAIR GIRL TEARS HER HAIR. PETER 
 REFUSES AND WARNS HIS FRIENDS. 
 THEY LEAVE THE ISLAND AND THE 
 FEAST CONTINUES. 
 
 EFORE long I knew the reason for this cur- 
 demand. Scarcely was one set of chariots 
 of sight than another procession arrived 
 at the door, and the whole ceremony started again. 
 This time it was I who received a proposal of mar- 
 riage. 
 
 * It appeared that a very pretty girl with golden 
 hair had fallen in love with me ! ' 
 
 The Friend flushed angrily at the memory of this 
 incident, but she did not interrupt, so Peter smiled 
 and went on. 
 
 N 177 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 TEARING HER GOLDEN HAIR 
 
 178 
 
 " 1 was given the custom- 
 ary two days for reflection, 
 but it did not take me long 
 to decide. I did not want to 
 marry a strange woman, and 
 live for the rest of my life in 
 a country so different from 
 my own, so I lost no time 
 in finding out how I could 
 politely refuse the offer. I 
 discovered that the custom 
 was simple enough ; a native 
 of the country could refuse 
 if he liked, but the only alter- 
 native for a stranger was to 
 leave the Island altogether. 
 
 " It took me so long to 
 discover what I ought to do 
 that the girl grew impatient 
 and sent a messenger for my 
 answer, regardless of all 
 social rules. I sent him back 
 with my polite excuses, 
 saying that, as I had an 
 engagement to sing in an 
 opera, and she could not 
 leave the Island, it would be 
 impossible for us to marry. 
 
 " When she heard this she 
 became furious with anger, 
 and stood up in her chariot 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 screaming and tearing her golden hair and flinging 
 away her flowers and jewels. The sight of her 
 temper made me fearful for the safety of Bing 
 and Sun-and-Moon, but they are bigger than most 
 people, so I dare say they will be able to take care 
 of themselves. 
 
 " I managed to send a message to the other two, 
 and they escaped from the wedding festivities as 
 soon as they could. The Friend came, holding a pear 
 in one hand, and seven pretty fans in the other. Then 
 we took flight as quickly as possible, for it seemed 
 unsafe to stay longer on an Island where the women 
 indulged in such sudden fits of rage. 
 
 " We found some pieces of wood for oars, and 
 launched our half-boat successfully in a river not 
 far from the sea. Fountains were beginning to play, 
 and fireworks were being lit in honour of the wedding 
 as we rowed hurriedly down the river. There was 
 also a torchlight procession, but as it was still 
 broad daylight, the torches had not been lit. Here 
 is one of the flowers the girl threw at me in her 
 temper." 
 
 He held out a big red flower for them to see. 
 
 "After some tossing at sea," he went on, "we 
 succeeded in landing on the Island where you found 
 us. I had counted on reforming the theatre there," 
 he added thoughtfully, " but now I think it would 
 be more interesting to produce the effects I have 
 discovered here at a good theatre in London." 
 
 179 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE CASTAWAYS THINK OF THE FUTURE. 
 THEY RECOGNIZE THE ISLANDS. AN 
 ISLAND WITHOUT A SINGLE TREE. 
 INTELLIGENT MEN. THEY SET OUT 
 FOR ANOTHER ISLAND. 
 
 IN spite of their frivolity, the time had come when 
 the travellers had to stop and think about the 
 future. Their uncertain situation would not have 
 troubled them at all if they had been sure that a good big 
 boat was coming to take them back to London in time 
 for the opera season. As things were, however, there 
 did not seem to be any way for them to return home. 
 The petrol in the aeroplane was getting so low that 
 there was barely enough left for a short stroll in the 
 air round the Islands ; certainly not enough for the 
 long voyage back to London. And the Carpenter 
 was wise enough to refuse to make use of what there 
 was except for real and urgent reasons. 
 
 There was nothing to prevent them from staying 
 on the Island of Silence. It was very quiet and pleas- 
 ant and an ideal place for concerts, but somehow 
 they could not decide to stay in the same place for 
 the rest of their lives, and when the night was over 
 and dawn began to appear in the sky, they were still 
 sitting in a row on the shore, gazing expectantly at 
 the horizon. 
 
 As the sun rose and the light grew stronger, they 
 could see the other Islands dotted about on the 
 water, some near, some far away, some that they 
 knew by sight, and some they did not recognise. 
 1 80 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 One of them had caught the first rays of the sun, 
 and stood out more distinctly than the rest. It was 
 especially noticeable, too, on account of its queer 
 shape. It was almost as high as it was broad, and as 
 
 A GOOD BIG BOAT 
 
 the daylight grew they saw that it was bare and rocky 
 and that its outline formed a series of right angles. 
 There did not seem to be a single tree. 
 
 At times like this the vows of the Silent Beings 
 became very inconvenient. If only they could have 
 spoken they could have explained all that the trav- 
 ellers wanted to know about the strange Island. It 
 was still more unfortunate that the Boatman had 
 lost his lacquer box, for it had contained a telescope, 
 which would have been very useful just then. 
 
 " It looks as though it had been built up with 
 blocks all the same size, like the ones they sell in 
 
 181 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 182 
 
 BUILT UP WITH BLOCKS 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 toy-shops," said the Drummer, who had good eye- 
 sight. 
 
 " It may be a mirage," suggested Cod, sleepily. 
 Cod was so lazy that he was never quite awake what- 
 ever happened. 
 
 " If it is a mirage it will soon disappear," said 
 Peter. 
 
 " I agree with the Drummer that it looks as though 
 someone built it," said the Carpenter. " And if so," 
 he added, " there must be civilised people on it. 
 Everyone nodded agreement except Cod, who had 
 gone to sleep again. 
 
 " Then we had better try and get there," said the 
 Carpenter. " If it is civilised we shall be able to find 
 out where we are, and what is the best way to get 
 back to London." It was astonishing how wise and 
 courageous the Carpenter had become, since he had 
 set out to buy an instrument in a shop. Travelling 
 develops the reason ; all of them, including even 
 Cod, were more serious and prudent than when 
 they had taken their mad departure in the Blue 
 Boat. 
 
 " Then you will not refuse, dear Carpenter, to go 
 over there in your aeroplane, and find out if the 
 people will receive us with hospitality ? ' pleaded 
 Peter in his soft little voice. 
 
 " It looks so far, I am afraid I have not enough 
 petrol to go there and back again," faltered the 
 Carpenter. 
 
 " Well let us all go without being announced," 
 said everyone at once. And that is what they did. 
 
 183 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE BUILDER'S ISLAND. THE WRECK AND 
 THE AEROPLANE LEAVE THE ISLAND 
 OF LONG WOMEN. FLUTE HAS REFUSED 
 TO ACCOMPANY HIS FRIENDS. DES- 
 CRIPTION OF THE BUILDER'S ISLAND. 
 THE CYCLOPS. THEY GO UP A STAIR- 
 CASE, AND MELINDA ASCENDS IN A 
 BASKET. THE AEROPLANE IS DRAWN 
 UP TO THE TOP OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 I 
 
 loaded the half-boat with all their pos- 
 sessions, and begged some fruit and a pitcher 
 of water from the birds as provisions in case 
 the strange Island was not civilised after all. The 
 aeroplane was folded up and packed with the other 
 things, as it was only to be used in case of emergency. 
 Melinda had unfortunately lost the magic diamond 
 in the dark tunnel, which had led her to the country 
 of Marionettes, so the Carpenter could not make the 
 aeroplane small enough to go in his pocket. 
 
 Before starting they begged Flute earnestly to 
 come with them, but he obstinately refused to listen 
 to their pleading and advice. He merely nodded his 
 head twice and then shook it, which meant : 
 
 ' I shall live here for the rest of my days," and no 
 doubt he is living there still. 
 
 So they had to launch the half -boat without him, 
 and they rowed so hard with the branches they had 
 cut for oars that presently they were quite close to 
 the tall Island. It was a very strange place. In all their 
 travels they had never seen anything like it before. 
 184 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 STRANGE-LOOKING CREATURES 
 
 185 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 The whole Island was one enormous town, and 
 the houses had been built one on top of another, until 
 some of them were so high in the air that they looked 
 as though they would topple over into the sea. The 
 building must have gone on for hundreds of years, 
 so that when all the space on the ground had been 
 used up the builders had gone on building upwards 
 towards the sky, laying the foundations of new houses 
 on the roofs of the old ones. The lower houses seemed 
 to be quite empty, like shells left on the beach when 
 the fishes that lived inside them are dead. Only the 
 upper houses were inhabited, as though the builders 
 lost interest in what was completed and only wanted 
 to go on and build more. 
 
 At first the voyagers could see no sign of life at all, 
 but presently they saw people leaning out of the 
 upper windows and over unfinished walls. They 
 were strange-looking creatures, for they had only 
 one eye, which was placed in the middle of their 
 foreheads. 
 
 ' We are not safe after all," said Melinda tear- 
 fully. " Even the Baligoors had two eyes in their 
 heads like other reasonable people." 
 
 :< All the same, they must be very intelligent and 
 civilised to have built all these houses," Peter re- 
 minded her. 
 
 Meanwhile more and more of the Cyclops, as the 
 one-eyed builders were called, appeared at the 
 windows of their houses to gaze at the new-comers. 
 It was quite uncomfortable to be stared at by so 
 many people with only one eye, and there seemed to 
 186 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 be no way of explaining why they had come or ask- 
 ing for help. But presently a little door opened near 
 to the spot where the boat was lying, and one of the 
 
 TO GAZE AT THE NEW- COMERS 
 
 Cyclops appeared in the door- way. Just behind him 
 they could see the beginning of a stair inside a high 
 tower, which seemed to lead to the top of the whole 
 construction. There were many of these towers, and 
 evidently each contained a staircase, but this was 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 not the only way of reaching the upper houses, for 
 at the same moment that the little door was opened 
 they saw a basket being let down by a crane from 
 above. The basket was lowered until it was close to 
 the boat, and then the Cyclops invited the travellers 
 to ascend, either by the basket or the staircase, as it 
 pleased them. Melinda, who loved travelling by air, 
 chose the basket. She stepped into it, and immedi- 
 ately it was pulled up to the summit. At the same 
 time the Drummer, the Boatman and Cod, and 
 Peter and the Friend began mounting the staircase 
 one after the other at the heels of the Cyclop, who 
 turned round at every turn of the stairs to make sure 
 that they were really following. He seemed quite 
 feverish with surprise and excitement. Peter sus- 
 pected treachery, and indeed none of them felt at 
 their ease about the future. 
 
 The Carpenter, who had stayed behind to fasten 
 the boat, signed to the Cyclops above that he wanted 
 to send up the box which held the aeroplane, for he 
 did not think it would be safe to leave it behind. 
 The Cyclops seemed to understand his signs, for 
 they sent down multitudes of cords with which he 
 fastened the box as securely as he could. It was at 
 once drawn upwards, and the basket, which had 
 carried Melinda, was let down again for the Car- 
 penter. 
 
 188 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 IT WAS AT ONCE DRAWN UPWARDS 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE POWER OF MUSIC. THE TRAVELLERS 
 ARE COLDLY RECEIVED. THEY PLAY 
 SOME MUSIC. THE CYCLOPS ARE 
 CHARMED. THEY EXAMINE THE IN- 
 STRUMENTS. PETER PLAYS THE 
 VIOLIN. A STRANGE NOISE IS HEARD 
 AROUND THEM. THE NOISE STOPS 
 
 THEY found themselves on a sort of terrace at 
 the very summit of the houses. They were 
 surrounded by a crowd of Cyclops, who gazed 
 at them silently, their one-eyes bright with interest. 
 The Cyclops seemed to find it amusing and grotesque 
 that the strangers had two eyes in their faces in- 
 stead of one, but their brightly coloured clothes 
 evidently excited envy and admiration. Presently the 
 Cyclops began to ask them questions, who they were, 
 where they had come from, and what adventures 
 they had had on the way. But the travellers felt 
 much too tired and shy to answer questions, and 
 Melinda and the Friend were praying for the dark- 
 ness to come quickly : they felt so embarrassed and 
 frightened at being gazed at by a crowd of people 
 with only one eye. Curiosity in two eyes is quite an 
 ordinary thing ! 
 
 The Cyclops were crowding very near ; they 
 seemed to be on guard. There was a long and trying 
 silence. 
 
 * Shall we have some music ? ' 
 
 ' That might, perhaps, distract their immoderate 
 curiosity," said Peter, and as he had not yet spoken 
 190 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 his shrill little voice came as a new surprise to the 
 Cyclops. 
 
 The musicians tuned up their instruments and 
 began to play. The Cyclops were immediately pros- 
 trated with surprise and fear. They bowed their 
 heads, and no one moved or spoke. If one of them 
 had lifted his head a little you could have seen that 
 his eye was full of terror and veneration. 
 
 The musicians, feeling more at ease, produced 
 some wonderful music. They played on for a long 
 time in the gathering dusk that deepened to a moon- 
 less night. 
 
 When at last they stopped, the Cyclops picked 
 themselves up and crouched round them once more. 
 The charm exercised on them by the music was 
 broken. They came and asked to inspect the musical 
 instruments, and took them very carefully in their 
 hands. The Carpenter 's saw pleased them most ; 
 wood was unknown to them, and they had never 
 seen such a thing before. Their buildings were made 
 partly of iron and partly of enormous bricks, so big 
 and heavy that it took two men to carry them. 
 
 Melinda's little drum, and the Drummer's big one, 
 seemed to the Cyclops very mysterious arrange- 
 ments, and as for Melinda's lyre, Peter's violin, and 
 the Friend's mandoline, they scarcely dared to touch 
 them at all. The Boatman's pipe, and Cod's little 
 flute, escaped notice, but they touched the musicians' 
 garments with curious fingers, and looked hard at 
 their two eyes. And all this time the Cyclops said 
 nothing at all friendly or sympathetic. , 
 
 191 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 Far away in the distance below them they could 
 hear the sea peacefully murmuring, but the night 
 was very dark and the crowd of Cyclops came closer 
 
 MELINDA'S LITTLE DRUM AND THE DRUMMER'S BIG ONE 
 
 and closer. There must have been more than a thou- 
 sand of them. 
 
 Peter had a bright idea. 
 
 He drew several high notes from his violin, and 
 192 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 the Cyclops immediately 
 drew away to allow room 
 for prostrating them- 
 selves. It was too dark to 
 see how far they were, 
 but their voices sounded 
 far away in the distance. 
 
 The other musicians 
 followed Peter's exam- 
 ple, and went on playing 
 and playing, as this 
 seemed the only way of 
 keeping the indiscreet 
 and unamiable creatures 
 at a distance. 
 
 It is terrible to think 
 of their piteous plight, 
 unable to take a mo- 
 ment's rest, and with no refreshment of any kind. 
 
 Whenever they played softly they heard strange 
 noises going on around them ; there could not have 
 been more noise if the tower of Babel were being 
 built again in a single night. It was clear that the 
 Cyclops were trying to deaden the sound of the music 
 by the noise of their work, but it would have taken 
 much more noise than that to drown the music the 
 musicians were playing. 
 
 It was so dark that they could not guess what it 
 was that the Cyclops were building, but it seemed 
 to them that the mysterious noises were growing 
 upwards all round them. 
 
 THE CYCLOPS IMMEDIATELY DREW AWAY 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE CYCLOPS WERE BUILDING 
 
 194 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " It seems to me that the sky is lighter," said 
 Peter, as they paused for a moment to rest. 
 
 " The dawn is appearing," said the Boatman. 
 
 " The noise seems to have stopped," said the 
 Drummer. They were just able to see each other 
 
 through the dispersing darkness. 
 
 \ 
 
 PRISONERS ! THEY ARE SURROUNDED 
 BY A HIGH WALL. THEY MUST 
 DIE OF HUNGER OR LIVE LIKE 
 BEARS IN A PIT. THEY HEAR AN 
 ENGINE. THE "LEMON OF GOLD" 
 REAPPEARS. IT DRAWS THE PRISONERS 
 FROM THE PIT. THEY REACH KENS- 
 INGTON GARDENS. 
 
 IT was true ; the noise had changed to a com- 
 plete silence. It must have been because the 
 Cyclops had gone to rest, and were in a deep 
 sleep after their great efforts. 
 
 * I feel caged like a prisoner," said Peter, in a 
 melancholy voice to Cod, who was sitting next to 
 him. 
 
 " I feel dreadfully home-sick," said the Friend, 
 and Melinda was nearly crying. 
 
 " Whatever happens we must get away from these 
 heartless creatures," said the Drummer. ' They 
 seem to have the same sort of curiosity about us as 
 collectors have for the insects they catch." 
 
 " I like insects," said the Carpenter rather crossly. 
 * I collect them myself." 
 
 195 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 "But look ! " cried the Boatman, in a voice full of 
 disagreeable surprise. " Look ! There is only a small 
 circle of sky above us ! ' 
 
 They looked and saw that there was only a small 
 round disc of pale blue above their heads. The open 
 
 IN A DEEP SLEEP 
 
 sky, which had been all round them the night be- 
 fore, had gone. This was in no way surprising, for 
 they were now surrounded by an immense wall, 
 which the Cyclops had built round them in the 
 night. A thousand of them had worked all night long 
 in couples carrying their enormous bricks to make a 
 cage for the seven musicians. That was why there 
 196 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 had been so much noise in the night, and why the 
 Cyclops were sleeping off their fatigue now their 
 work was done. The musicians were out of reach of 
 the world, at the bottom of a sort of well. 
 
 " They will starve us to death," said the Boatman, 
 weeping. 
 
 " No, they will keep us alive by throwing down buns 
 to us, as though we were brown bears at the Zoo." 
 
 " They want us for their pleasure. Our music has 
 enchanted them ; they will keep us alive to give 
 them concerts," said the Drummer. 
 
 " They have made themselves comfortable seats 
 at the top of the wall so that they can listen to us at 
 their ease," said Cod, pointing upwards. 
 
 The sun rose higher in the sky, and soon it was 
 broad day, but there was still no sound from the 
 Cyclops. None of the musicians, not even the Boat- 
 man, had the heart to cry. 
 
 Not a sound. . . . 
 
 Yes yes a long way off in some far corner of 
 the sky they seemed to hear a light, murmuring buzz. 
 They all stood up and listened hard, holding their 
 breath. The buzzing approached. 
 
 " It is an aeroplane," said Melinda, who now knew 
 all about aeroplanes. The Carpenter unfolded his 
 own, and looked to see how much petrol he had left. 
 Meanwhile the buzzing became a humming, and the 
 humming grew louder and louder. 
 
 " It must be the motor of the Lemon of Gold," 
 cried the Carpenter, and he started the propellers 
 of his aeroplane. 
 
 197 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 198 
 
 THE AEROPLANE ROSE 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 PERPENDICULARLY 
 
 199 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 It rose perpendicularly. 
 
 The musicians watched anxiously to see what 
 would happen ; their eyes were fastened to the 
 round disc of sky above their heads. Suddenly the 
 Lemon of Gold appeared, high up, a little dark 
 point against a cloud. They could see that it was 
 descending to meet the Carpenter's aeroplane, which 
 was mounting upwards. Then the two machines 
 met, and both flew down together towards the hole 
 where the poor musicians were imprisoned. 
 
 There was not a moment to be lost, for what would 
 happen if, in spite of their fatigue, the Cyclops woke 
 up and discovered their flight ? 
 
 But nothing disastrous happened. They made their 
 preparations and gathered together their belongings 
 and behaved altogether as civilised people generally do 
 when they are being rescued from a well in which 
 they have been imprisoned by a thousand Cyclops. 
 
 They climbed into the compartments of the Lemon 
 of Gold by means of cords, which the airship let 
 down to them. Then they arranged themselves as 
 well as they could in company with the crew of four 
 men in black and white uniforms, and the Captain, 
 who still wore no hat. 
 
 The Captain was looking at his map as they rose 
 in the air, and paid no attention to the derisive 
 salutes the musicians were making to the Cyclops, 
 who had woken in fury to find their victims escaped. 
 But the Captain was never talkative. When they 
 asked where he had been he said simply, without 
 removing the field glasses from his eyes : 
 200 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 " When I lost sight of you I was reminded of a 
 cousin of mine in Greenland. So I went to pay a visit 
 to my cousin." And when the musicians tried 
 
 WITHOUT REMOVING THE FIELD GLASSES FROM HIS EYES 
 
 eagerly to tell him all about their adventures, he 
 told them gravely that he did not care for frivolous 
 recitations. 
 
 Still he was a good Captain for all his lack of 
 poetry, and he brought them back without any 
 mistake or hesitation to the middle of Kensington 
 Gardens. 
 
 There was a great sensation. The papers were full 
 of it the next day. 
 
 201 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 CONCLUSION. THE MUSICIANS MEET 
 AGAIN THE DAY AFTER. THEY SHOW 
 EACH OTHER THEIR SOUVENIRS OF 
 THE VOYAGE. 
 
 1 
 
 following evening the Musicians met to- 
 gether again in the Green Park. Not one of 
 them had spoken of their travels to a living 
 soul. It all seemed so like a dream that they could 
 hardly believe it had really happened until they were 
 all together again and could ask one another ques- 
 tions. They knew then that it could not have been a 
 dream, for how was it possible to suppose that they 
 had all dreamed the same thing at the same time ? 
 And besides, a dream would not have accounted for 
 the absence of their friends, Bing and Sun-and- 
 Moon. 
 
 There were other indubitable proofs of the reality 
 of their strange voyage. Each one had brought some- 
 thing back from the Weird Islands they had visited, 
 little things of no special value, but which sufficed 
 to prove the truth of their story. 
 
 The Boatman held out the starfish he had picked 
 up near the coast of the Island of Cubic Birds, while 
 he floated about in his barrel, smoking cigarettes. 
 The Carpenter held on his knees the famous gilded 
 cock, who had once played the part of a Golden God 
 to those same geometrical birds. He had also the 
 wooden nail, which he had torn from the Chimera. 
 
 The Drummer, after a moment's hesitation, un- 
 wrapped the head of a Marionette, which he had 
 202 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE BOATMAN 
 
 HELD OUT 
 
 THE STARFISH 
 
 taken from the shop where the Marionettes did their 
 " Repairs and Decorations." 
 
 Peter produced the flower, which the Long Woman 
 had thrown at him in her temper. The Friend had 
 the seven little fans, which she had carried off in her 
 flight from the wedding festivities of Bing and Sun- 
 and-Moon. 
 
 Melinda was wearing the cap, which she had 
 snatched from the head of the Marionette, who had 
 torn up the paper she wanted to write on. 
 
 203 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE CARPENTER AND THE 
 
 GILDED COCK 
 
 204 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 THE DRUMMER AND THE HEAD 
 OF THE MARIONETTE 
 
 205 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 206 
 
 PETER PRODUCED THE FLOWER 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 r 
 
 THE FRIEND HAD THE SEVEN 
 LITTLE FANS 
 
 207 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 MELINDA WEARING THE CAP 
 
 208 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 COD 
 
 Cod had to admit that he had brought nothing 
 back with him from his travels. But the Carpenter 
 at once drew out of his pocket the paper on which 
 Cod had written a message, when the Baligoors were 
 on the point of skinning him. This he handed to 
 Cod to reassure him that he had not been dreaming. 
 
 p 209 
 
WEIRD ISLANDS 
 
 I must, however, tell you that a girl to whom I told 
 this tale said, when I had finished, that though she 
 quite believed that the musicians had not dreamt 
 their adventures, there was no proof that I myself 
 had not dreamt the whole story from start to finish. 
 
 To that I replied that the Musicians had invited 
 me to accompany them on their next journey, and I 
 promised to tell her the story of all that happened to 
 me when I returned, and I shall bring back some 
 proof of my adventures to make her believe me. 
 
 I myself should be quite convinced of the truth of 
 all this if I had,/ for instance, the head of a Marion- 
 ette in my pocket. 
 
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