Part 14 (1/2)

The c.o.c.kalorum pondered over this for a moment, and then murmuring, ”I prefer croquet,” floundered away through the waving gra.s.s. Davy, who for once felt sorry for the ridiculous old creature, was just setting off after him, when a voice cried, ”Come on! Come on!” and Davy, looking across the meadow, saw the Goblin beckoning vigorously to him, apparently in great excitement.

”What's the matter?” cried Davy, pus.h.i.+ng his way through the thick gra.s.s.

”Oh, my! oh, my!” shrieked the Goblin, who was almost bursting with laughter. ”Here's that literary hack again!”

Davy peered through a clump of bushes, and discovered a large red animal, with white spots on its sides, clumsily rummaging about in the tall gra.s.s and weeds. Its appearance was so formidable that he was just about whispering to the Goblin, ”Let's run!” when the monster raised its head, and, after gazing about for an instant, gave a loud, triumphant whistle.

”Why, it's Ribsy!” cried Davy, running forward. ”It's Ribsy, only he's grown enormously fat.”

It was Ribsy, indeed, eating with all his might, and with his skin so stretched by his extreme fatness that the hair stood straight up all over it like a brush. The name on his side was twisted about beyond all hope of making it out, and his collar had quite disappeared in a deep crease about his neck. In fact, his whole appearance was so alarming that Davy anxiously inquired of him what he had been eating.

”Everything!” said Ribsy, enthusiastically,--”gra.s.s, nuts, bugs, birds, and berries! All of 'em taste good. I could eat both of you easily,” he added, glaring hungrily down upon Davy and the Goblin.

”Try that fellow first,” said the Goblin, pointing to a large, round insect that went flying by, humming like a top. Ribsy snapped at it, and swallowed it, and the next instant disappeared with a tremendous explosion in a great cloud of smoke.

”What was that?” said Davy, in a terrified whisper.

”A Hum Bug,” said the Goblin, calmly. ”When a cab-horse on a vacation talks about eating you, a Hum Bug is a pretty good thing to take the conceit out of him. They're loaded, you see, and they go booming along as innocently as you please; but if you touch 'em--why, 'There you aren't!' as the Hole-keeper says.”

”The Hole-keeper isn't himself any more,” said Davy, mournfully.

”Not altogether himself, but somewhat,” said a voice; and Davy, looking around, was astonished to find the Hole-keeper standing beside him. He was a most extraordinary-looking object, being nothing but Davy's parcel marked, ”CONFEXIONRY,” with arms and legs and a head to it. At the sight of him the Goblin fell flat on his back, and covered his face with his hands.

”I'm quite aware that my appearance is not prepossessing,” said the Hole-keeper, with a scornful look at the Goblin. ”In fact, I'm nothing but a quarter of a pound of '_plain_,' and the price isn't worth mentioning.”

”But how did you ever come to be alive again, at all?” said Davy.

”Well,” said the Hole-keeper, ”the truth of the matter is, that after you went away the c.o.c.kalorum fell to reading the _Vacuum_; and, if you'll believe it, there wasn't a word in it about my going back into the raw material.”

”I _do_ believe that,” said Davy; but the Hole-keeper, without noticing the interruption, went on:--

”_Then_, of course, I got up and came away. Meanwhile the c.o.c.kalorum is gorging himself with information.

”I saw him just now,” said Davy, laughing, ”and he didn't act as if he had learned anything very lately. I don't think he'll find much in your book;” and here he went off into another fit of laughter.

”Ah! but just think of the lots and lots of things he _won't_ find,”

exclaimed the Hole-keeper. ”Everything he doesn't find in it is something worth knowing. By the way, your friend seems to be having some sort of a fit. Give him some dubbygrums;” and with this the Hole-keeper stalked pompously away.

”The smell of sugar always gives me the craw-craws,” said the Goblin, in a stifled voice, rolling on the ground and keeping his hands over his face. ”Get me some water.”

”I haven't anything to get it in,” said Davy, helplessly.

”There's a b.u.t.tercup behind you,” groaned the Goblin, and Davy, turning, saw a b.u.t.tercup growing on a stem almost as tall as he was himself. He picked it, and hurried away across the meadow to look for water, the b.u.t.tercup, meanwhile, growing in his hand in a surprising manner, until it became a full-sized teacup, with a handle conveniently growing on one side. Davy, however, had become so accustomed to this sort of thing that he would not have been greatly surprised if a saucer had also made its appearance.

Presently he came upon a sparkling little spring, gently bubbling up in a marshy place, with high, sedgy gra.s.s growing about it, and being a very neat little boy he took off his shoes and stockings, and carefully picked his way over the oozy ground to the edge of the spring itself. He was just bending over to dip the cup into the spring, when the ground under his feet began trembling like jelly, and then, giving itself a convulsive shake, threw him head-foremost into the water.

For a moment Davy had a very curious sensation, as though his head and his arms and his legs were all trying to get inside of his jacket, and then he came sputtering to the top of the water and scrambled ash.o.r.e. To his astonishment he saw that the spring had spread itself out into a little lake, and that the sedge-gra.s.s had grown to an enormous height, and was waving far above his head. Then he was startled by a tremendous roar of laughter, and, looking around, he saw the Goblin, who was now apparently at least twenty feet high, standing beside the spring.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DAVY FALLS INTO THE ELASTIC SPRING.]