Adventures of Prince Lazybones, and Other Stories Page 5

  CHAPTER V

  Leo was awakened by being rudely jostled about and tumbled upon thefloor. When he opened his eyes the cause was apparent. The elves hadfound their beds in disorder, and not being able to see him, had, intheir efforts to restore order, pitched him out. Hardly had Leo reachedthe floor when in came Paz to the rescue.

  "I beg your pardon, sir, for being so long absent," he said, "but thehunters had not come in with any game, and the cooks had use for all theskillets, so that I was obliged to go to the laboratory for a vessellarge enough to hold your turnip. Soup is made in great quantities forour work-people, and by adding a few sauces I hope I have made it sothat it will please you. If you come with me now I think you may relishyour meal."

  Leo followed Paz to a small cavern hung with a velvety gray moss, onwhich were clusters of red berries. A small electric light burned in aglobe of crystal, set in bands of turquoise, and shone upon a tablewhich, like the bed he had used, was composed of several small ones,covered with a cloth of crimson plush, over which was again spread awhite fabric of the thinnest texture and edged with lace. On this waslaid a dinner service, so small that it was evidently more for ornamentthan use. Plates of crystal were bordered with gems, and jars and cupsof embossed metal glittered with precious stones. He was obliged,however, to eat his soup from the tureen, and the turnip, now cooked ina sort of _pate_, was presented on a silver platter. Slices of smokedrabbit, with salted steaks of prairie-dog, were offered in place of thequail, which had not come; but Leo, having a fondness for sweets, sawwith wonder one tart made from about a quarter of an apple. This provedto be such a sweet morsel that he kept Paz running for more until he hadeaten a dozen. No wine was offered, but ices which looked like heaps ofsnow with the sun shining on them were dissolving in glass vases, andwater as pure as the dew filled his goblet. Rising refreshed from hismeal Leo met Knops coming towards him. He had exchanged his dress forwhat looked like a bathing suit of India rubber.

  "Are you rested?" he inquired, kindly.

  "Oh yes, very much, and I must thank you and Paz for so good a dinner,"responded Leo.

  "Don't mention it. If I had not acted on the spur of the moment, whenthe impulse to amuse you seized me, I would have been better prepared.We use many things for food which you would disdain, but I might havesecured antelope meat or Rocky Mountain mutton, and by way of raritysomething from Russia or China. Have you ever tasted birds' nests."

  "Never."

  "But I suppose you know why they are thought so great a delicacy?"

  "No."

  "It is merely the gluten with which they are fastened together, so tospeak, by the birds, which renders them agreeable. The Chinese likerats, and in this we agree with them. Well dressed, stuffed withchestnuts or olives, and roasted, they are delicious."

  Leo made a wry face.

  "Ah! you are not cosmopolitan."

  "What is that?"

  "A citizen of the world, a person free from national prejudices. Ah,these words are long for you; I will try to be simple: you have notlearned to eat everything that is good."

  "But rats are not good; they are vermin."

  "Bah! yes, because you let them feed like your hogs on anything. We dobetter; we pen them, and give them grain until they are fat and sweet,and make them eatable."

  Leo could not disguise his dislike, so Knops, shrugging his shoulders,did not attempt any longer to convince him, but said,

  "Are you interested in what I have shown you?"

  "Certainly I am," said Leo, with more spirit than he had ever put intowords.

  "And you care to go on?"

  "Very much."

  "Prepare then for great exertion. As you are so large it will benecessary for you to creep through many passages. I am going to takeyou to see our water-work. The visit may be tiresome, but I think youwill be repaid. It is generally supposed that giants have greater powerthan we. It may be that it is true, but I think it is doubtful. But youmay wonder why I speak now of giants. It is because they have originatedthe opinion among men that the great water-falls and cataracts, such asthose of the Nile and Niagara, are entirely of their producing, but weall know the familiar adage, 'Great oaks from little acorns grow.' I amgoing to show you where the little springs and rivulets have theirrise."

  Leo's attention had flagged during this speech--he was so unaccustomedto many words--now his interest revived.

  "Do you remember a certain shady spot about half a mile from themonastery, beneath a group of birch-trees, and overhung with alders?"asked Knops.

  "Do I not, indeed?" responded Leo, eagerly. "It is the sweetest, coolestwater on the estate. The moss around that spring is just like greenvelvet. Many a time I have plunged my whole head in it. The birds knowit too, and always come there to drink. I sometimes find four or five ofthem dipping in at once; it is a pretty sight to see them bathe; theythrow the water up under their wings until they drip, and then they arehardly satisfied."

  "Well," said Knops, "we have the supplying of that spring."

  All the time they had been talking, Knops had been leading the waythrough long passages and down steep steps, of which Leo's long legs hadto compass several at a stride.

  Now they came to a low tunnel through which Leo had to creep for whatseemed to him miles. Strange to say, the weariness which so oftencompelled him to rest or doze seemed to be leaving him. He felt analtogether new impulse, a desire to explore these recesses, and a greatrespect for Knops's learning also made him desirous of conversation,which was something he had always avoided by answering questions in theshortest possible way.

  The tunnel was not only long and low, but it was dripping with moisture,and the air oppressive with what seemed to be steam. Leo heard wheezingand groaning sounds, which, though not frightful, were very peculiar,and then the thump-thump, as of engines.

  Very glad was he when the tunnel opened into another large cavern, atthe bottom of which was a lake. He could not have seen this had it notbeen for the electric fluid which blazed like daylight from a greatglobe overhead. On the margin of the lake were all kinds of hydraulicmachines, small as toys, but of every conceivable form; derricks andwheels and screws and pumps, and all under the management of busy littleelves, who panted and puffed and tugged at ropes and wheels and pipes asthey worked, and kept up a constant chant not unlike the song of thewind on a stormy night.

  Leo watched them intently. Once in a while one restless little spritewould turn a hose upon his companions, when the chant would stop longenough for the rest to dip him head and heels into the lake, which had avery quieting effect. Leo noticed great numbers of pipes running up thesides of the cavern in all directions, but Knops soon opened the door ofwhat he called "the model-room," and here were new wonders displayed.