Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX
Owing to the soft air, the never-varying temperature, and the absence of all noise and dust, the Mikkamenkies, although they die in the end like other folk, yet do they never seem to grow old. Their skin remains soft and free from wrinkles, and their eyes as clear and bright as the crystal of Queen Galaxa's throne.
At the time of our arrival in the Land of the Transparent Folk, Queen Galaxa's heart had almost run down. In about two weeks more it would come quietly and gently to a stop; for, as I have already told you, dear friends, the heart of a Mikkamenky being perfectly visible when the dazzling white light in its full strength was allowed to shine through his body, why, it was a very easy matter for a physician to take a look at the organ of life, and tell almost to the hour when it would exhaust itself—in other words, run down. Galaxa looked every inch a real queen as she half-reclined upon her glorious crystal throne. She was clad in long, flowing silk garments of a right royal purple, and the gems which encircled her neck and wrists would have put to shame the crown jewels of any monarch of the upper world. Her garb had very much the cut and style of the ancient Greek costume, and the gold sandals worn by her added to the resemblance; but the one thing that excited my wonder more than all the others put together was her hair, so long, so fine and silken was it, such a mass of it was there, and so dazzling white was it—not the blue or yellow white that comes of age in our world, but a milk white, a cotton white. And as we drew near, to Bulger's but not to my amazement, her hair began to quiver and rustle and rise, until it buried her whole throne completely out of sight. Of course I knew that, seated as she was upon a throne of glass, it was only necessary to send a gentle current of electricity through her to make her wonderful head of hair stand up in this manner, like the white and filmy tentacles of some gigantic creature of the sea, half-plant, half-animal.
"Rise, little baron," said Queen Galaxa, as I dropped upon my right knee on the lowest step of the throne, "and be welcome to our kingdom. Whilst thou may be pleased to tarry here, my people shall bestir themselves to show thee all that may seem wonderful in thine eyes; for although our wise men have often discussed to us of the upper world, yet art thou its first inhabitant to visit us, and thy wonderful companion is right welcome too. Can he talk, little baron?"
"Not exactly. Queen Galaxa," said I with low obeisance, "yet he can understand me and I him."
"He is quite harmless, is he not?" asked the queen.
You may try to imagine how I felt, dear friends, when as I was about to say, "Perfectly so, royal lady," to my amazement I saw Bulger advance and sniff at the Princess Crystallina and then draw back and show his teeth as she stretched out her hand to caress him.
Bending over him I reproved him in a whisper, and bade him kneel before the queen. This he proceeded to do, saluting her with three very stately bows, at which everybody laughed heartily.
"I would have him come nearer," said the queen, "so that I may lay my hand upon him."
At a sign from me Bulger began to lick his fore-paws very carefully, and then having wiped them on the rug, sprang up the steps of the throne and placed his front feet upon Queen Galaxa's lap.
The fair ruler of the Mikkamenkies was delighted with this sample of Bulger's fine manners, and in order to amuse her still further I proceeded to put Bulger through many of his quaint tricks and curious feats, bidding him "say his prayers," "feign death," "weep for his sweetheart," "count ten," "walk upright," "go lame and cry to tell how it hurts."
Scarcely had he gone half around the circle, feigning lameness, when the damozel Glow Stone began to weep herself, and stooping down commenced to caress Bulger and to kiss his lame foot, caresses which, to my more than surprise, Bulger was not slow in returning, and later too when I bade him choose the maiden he loved best and kiss her hand, he bounded straight toward Glow Stone and bestowed not one but twenty kisses upon her outstretched hands, while the princess Crystallina shrank away in fear and disgust from the "ugly beast," as she termed him.
"Bid him bring my handkerchief to me, little baron," cried Galaxa, throwing it on the floor. I did as the queen commanded, but Bulger refused to obey.
"Thou seest. Queen Galaxa," said I with a low bow, "he refuses to lift the handkerchief without a command from thy royal self," which delicate compliment pleased the lady mightily.
"How comes it, little baron," she asked, "that thou shouldst be of noble lineage and thy brother, as thou callest him, plain Bulger?"
"It comes, royal lady," said I right humbly, "as it often comes in the world which I inhabit, that honors go to them that least deserve them."
"Well, then, little baron," cried Galaxa gayly, "though I be but a petty sovereign compared with thine, yet may small rulers do acts of great justice. Bid thy four-footed brother kneel before us."
PRINCESS CRYSTALLINA UNCOVERS HER HEART.
At a word from me, Bulger prostrated himself on the steps of Galaxa's crystal throne, and laid his head at her very feet.
Leaning forward she touched him lightly with her golden wand, and exclaimed, "Rise, Lord Bulger, rise! Queen Galaxa seated on her crystal throne bids Lord Bulger rise!"
In an instant Bulger raised himself on his hind feet and laid his head in the queen's lap, while the whole room rang with loud huzzas, and every lady gently clapped her frail and glass-like hands, save the princess Crystallina who feigned to be asleep.
Queen Galaxa now undid a string of pearls from her neck and tied them with her own hands around Lord Bulger's— and so it was that my four-footed brother ceased to be plain Bulger. Then turning to her counsellors of state. Queen Galaxa bade them assign a royal apartment to Lord Bulger and me, and gave strict orders that the severest punishment be at once visited upon any Mikkamenky who should dare to laugh at us or to make disrespectful remarks concerning our dark eyes and skins and weather-beaten appearance, for, as the royal lady said to her people, "Ye might look worse than they were ye compelled to live on the outside instead of the inside of the world, exposed to biting blasts, piercing cold, and clouds of suffocating dust."
By the queen's orders three of the wisest of the Mikkamenkies were selected to attend Bulger and me, look after our wants, explain everything to us—in a word, do all in their power to make our stay in Goggle Land as pleasant as possible.
Their names, as nearly as I can translate them, were Doctor Nebulosus, Sir Amber O'Pake, and Lord Cornucore. I should explain to you, dear friends, the meaning of these names, for you might be inclined to think that Doctor Somewhat Cloudy, Sir Clear-as-Amber and Lord Heart-of-Horn might indicate that they were more or less muddled in their intellects. Far from it; I have already stated to you they were three of the very wisest men in the Land of the Transparent Folk, and the lack of clearness indicated by their names had reference solely to their eyes.
Now, as you know, the learned men of our upper world have a different look from ordinary folk. They are stoop-shouldered, shaggy-eyebrowed, long-haired, pursed-lipped, near-sighted, shambling-gaited. Well, the only effect that long years of deep study had upon the Mikkamenkies was to rob their beautiful crystal-like eyes of more or less of their clearness.
Now I think you'll understand why these three learned Mikkamenkies were named as they were.
At any rate, they were, in spite of their strange names, three most charming gentlemen; and no matter how many times I might ask the same question over again, they were always ready with an answer quite as polite as the one first given me. They did everything that I had a right possibly to expect them to do. Indeed, there was but one single thing which I would have fain had them do, and that was to let me look through them.
This they most carefully avoided doing; and no matter how warmed up they might become in their descriptions, and no matter how on the alert I was to catch the coveted peep, the inevitable black fan was always in the way.
Naturally, not only they, but all the Transparent Folk, felt a repugnance to have a perfect stranger look through them, and I couldn't blame them for it either. I despaired of ever getting a chance of seeing a human heart beating away for dear life, for all the world just like the swing of a pendulum or the vibration of a balance wheel.