Part 8 (1/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: ”HE GAVE ONE HAND TO DAVY AND THE OTHER TO THE GOBLIN.”]

”Why, this way of playing the game,” said Sindbad, looking up at him complacently. ”You see, you make all the moves at once.”

”It must be a very easy way,” said Davy.

”It's nothing of the sort,” said Sindbad, sharply. ”There are more moves in one of my games than in twenty ordinary games;” and here he stirred up the chessmen furiously for a moment, and then triumphantly calling out ”Check!” clapped the turban on his head.

As they set out again for the little house Davy saw that it was slowly moving around the edge of the lawn, as if it were on a circular railway, and Sindbad followed it around, dragging Davy and the Goblin with him, but never getting any nearer to the house.

”Don't you think,” said Davy, after a while, ”that it would be a good plan to stand still and wait until the house came around to us?”

”Here, drop that!” exclaimed Sindbad, excitedly; ”that's my idea. I was just about proposing it myself.”

”So was I,” said the Goblin to Sindbad. ”Just leave my ideas alone, will you?”

”_Your_ ideas!” retorted Sindbad, scornfully. ”I didn't know you'd brought any with you.”

”I had to,” replied the Goblin, with great contempt, ”otherwise there wouldn't have been any on the premises.”

”Oh! come, I say!” cried Sindbad; ”that's my sneer, you know. Don't go to putting the point of it the wrong way.”

”Take it back, if it's the only one you have,” retorted the Goblin, with another wink at Davy.

”Thank you, I believe I will,” replied Sindbad, meekly; and, as the little house came along just then, they all stepped in at the door as it went by. As they did so, to Davy's amazement, Sindbad and the Goblin quietly vanished, and Davy, instead of being inside the house, found himself standing in a dusty road, quite alone.

CHAPTER IX.

LAY-OVERS FOR MEDDLERS.

As Davy stood in the road, in doubt which way to go, a Roc came around the corner of the house. She was a large bird, nearly six feet tall, and was comfortably dressed, in a bonnet and a plaid shawl, and wore overshoes. About her neck was hung a covered basket and a door-key; and Davy at once concluded that she was Sindbad's house-keeper.

”I didn't mean to keep you waiting,” said the Roc, leading the way along the road; ”but I declare that, what with combing that lawn every morning with a fine tooth comb, and brus.h.i.+ng those sh.e.l.ls every evening with a fine tooth-brush, I don't get time for anything else let alone feeding the animals.”

”What animals?” said Davy, beginning to be interested.

”Why, _his_, of course,” said the Roc, rattling on in her harsh voice.

”There's an Emphasis and two Periodicals, and a Spotted Disaster, all crawlin' and creepin' and screechin'”--

Here Davy, unable to control himself, burst into a fit of laughter, in which the Roc joined heartily, rolling her head from side to side, and repeating, ”All crawlin' and creepin' and screechin',” over and over again, as if that were the cream of the joke. Suddenly she stopped laughing, and said in a low voice, ”You don't happen to have a beefsteak about you, do you?”

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Davy confessed that he had not, and the Roc continued, ”Then I must go back. Just hold my basket, like a good child.” Here there was a scuffling sound in the basket, and the Roc rapped on the cover with her hard beak, and cried, ”Hus.h.!.+”

”What's in it?” said Davy, cautiously taking the basket.

”Lay-overs for meddlers,” said the Roc, and, hurrying back along the road, was soon out of sight.