Kernel Cob And Little Miss Sweetclover Read online

  "Well, mates," said Jackie Tar, for that was his name, "you've seen alot but you'll never do any more travelling, for you're in a prettytight hole this time," and he went on to tell them about the Japanesewho lived in the house and owned the store.

  "He's a Toy-maker, he is, and the first thing he'll do is to rip youup to see how you're laid together, so he can make more like you."

  "Mercy!" said Sweetclover, and she began to sob.

  "If you're going to begin to cry," said Kernel Cob, "I'm going to giveup," but the Villain whispered something kindly in Sweetclover's ear,and she stopped at once, for the Villain had more patience, and knewhow to comfort her.

  "Maybe I can help you to escape from here," said Jackie Tar, "andmaybe I can't, but I can try. I've had a plan in my mind for a longtime but I've had no one to help me but these Japs, and they're notworth the paint on their faces. Are you brave enough to risk it withme?"

  Kernel Cob swelled out his chest and showed his medals, and toldJackie Tar how he had fought the savages single handed.

  "You'll do," laughed the sailor, and he told them his plan. "Do yousee that red box over there in the corner?

  "Well, that's a Japanese kite. It goes up into the air very quickly.What I say to do is to climb into the kite, and go up with it. It's abig one and will carry us all."

  "Where'll we go to?" asked the Villain.

  "What care we, as long as we get out of here," and he hitched histrousers as real sailors do.

  "Will you do it?"

  "You bet," said Kernel Cob.

  So it was agreed that they would go up in the kite, and they movedover to it and tugged at it till they had it in the center of theroom. Then a great clatter of talk arose from all the Japanese dolls,which sounded like a lot of chickens calling for their dinner; butKernel Cob and Jackie Tar and the Villain and Sweetclover paid no heedto them, but only tugged the harder till they had the kite out intothe middle of the road.

  "There are just four of us," said Jackie Tar. "Each man tar to acorner. Quick! All aboard," and it was all they could do to hold downthe kite.

  "Stand by to get the ship under way. Up anchor. Heave ho, lads. Heaveho."

  But at that moment....

  CHAPTER XIII

  The little Japanese girl returned, pulling her father down the road.

  The little old man was waving his arms about fiercely and shouting,"Zaca sakasaka," and before the kite had risen from the ground he hadreached it, and the next moment Kernel Cob, Sweetclover, the Villainand Jackie Tar were being carried into the toy-shop.

  "Did you ever see such luck in all your life?" grumbled Kernel Cob.

  "I might have known it was Friday," said Jackie Tar, for sailors arevery superstitious.

  "Never mind," said the Villain, "we'll get away another day."

  "Oh, let us hope so," said Sweetclover, "for I don't want to be rippedapart by that bad Japanese."

  "Well, that's what the toy-maker will do if you don't escape him,"said Jackie Tar, and his eyes would have bulged if they had been realones instead of just painted.

  "Why doesn't he rip you apart?" asked Kernel Cob.

  "Because I'm made of wood. I haven't got any stuffings," said JackieTar.

  By this time the four had been laid upon the floor, and the Japanesedolls had started a great clatter of talk. The little girl picked upSweetclover and was smoothing out her ruffled dress when the Toy-makertook up a pair of scissors and grabbed up Kernel Cob, before he coulddraw his sword.

  But at that moment the Fairies must have heard Sweetclover's prayer,for I am sure she must have uttered one when her beloved Kernel Cobwas so near to being cut apart.

  The door opened, and in walked a man, a woman, and a little girl. Andthey were Americans, too, for the first thing Sweetclover heard wasthe little girl saying:

  "Mother dear, I do so want a dollie."

  "Dorothy wants a doll, John," said the little girl's mother.

  "Very well," said John, and turning to the Toy-maker said:

  "You sell doll?"

  "Me sell him very plenty doll," answered the Toy-maker.

  "How much for this one?" asked the man, picking up a little Japanesedoll.

  But the little girl had seen Kernel Cob in the Toy-maker's hand, andclapping her hands joyfully said:

  "Oh, Dad, may I have this one? I think he's so cunning."

  "How much?" asked Dorothy's father.

  "Him cost two yen."

  "Let's see, that's one dollar."

  "All right," and he took Kernel Cob, and gave the money to theToy-maker.

  Now you may be sure that Sweetclover's heart fell, when she heardthis, and thought of being separated from Kernel Cob, and I am quitesure that she prayed very hard to the Fairies; for at that moment thelittle Japanese girl dropped her, and this caused Dorothy to see whathad fallen, and, when she saw Sweetclover, she ran and picked her up.

  "Oh!" she cried with pleasure. "Isn't she lovely. May I have her too?"

  "Why, I suppose so," said her father. "If she doesn't cost too much."

  "Him allee same cost like soldier doll," explained the Toy-maker.

  "Very well," said Dorothy's father, "we'll take him too," and he gavethe Toy-maker the money.

  Sweetclover's heart was beating high with happiness; but suddenlythere came into her mind the thought of leaving the Villain; her good,thoughtful friend, who had so often consoled her in her troubles, andher heart fell again. Oh, if she could only talk to little Dorothy andbeg her to take the Villain and Jackie Tar; but this she could not doso she prayed to the Fairies instead and at once her prayer was heard;for the Toy-maker, who had a very good business head on his shoulders,ran to the door as Dorothy and her parents were going out and calledto them:

  "Little girl want nice Pirate and Sailor feller? Allee same price likeother doll."

  And Dorothy's father, being a very kind father indeed, and just theright kind of father for every little girl to have, bought them andDorothy went down the road with the four dolls under her arms.

  And you may be sure that Sweetclover was happy, for they had not onlyescaped being ripped apart, but were all together, safe and sound.

  And Dorothy and her parents went to their hotel in the city, andDorothy played with her new dolls till her mother came to her andsaid:

  "Dorothy, dear, we must pack our things for we are going to China thisafternoon."

  But a great misfortune happened, for when Dorothy's parents arrived inChina they were in a great hurry to leave the dock, where the boatlanded, and Dorothy, who had fallen asleep, forgot her dolls, and leftthem on a bench in the waiting room, and before Kernel Cob or JackieTar or the Villain or Sweetclover could catch up to her, she had beenlifted into her mother's arms and had disappeared in the crowd.

  CHAPTER XIV

  "Well," said Jackie Tar, "Here we are in China." "I don't see any cupsand saucers," said Kernel Cob, looking about the streets. "All I cansee is a lot of women with hair hanging down their backs."

  "Those are men--Chinamen," explained Jackie Tar, for sailors travelall about and know pretty nearly everything about the people of theworld.

  "Well, if they are men," said Kernel Cob, "they ought to have theirhair cut, and look like men. And if Jackie and Peggs' motheranfatherlook like these Chinamen, I don't want to find them at all, for Ithink a child is better off _without_ parents than having twomothers."

  "I wish we had never come here at all," said Sweetclover.

  "Never mind," said the Villain, "we will find a way to get out ofhere."

  "Leave it to me," said Jackie Tar. "I've been about this old worldenough to know how to manage things."

  But much as he had been about, he didn't count on the things thathappen when you least expect them, for just at that moment, andwithout any warning, they were picked up by a little Chinese boy whocarried them home.

  "This must be the thirteenth of the month," said Jackie Tar, for youknow that people think that the number thirteen brings bad luck.


  But it wasn't the thirteenth as you will presently see, for it was avery lucky day indeed for our little friends.

  And they were played with by the little Chinese boy, and, when it cametime to go to bed, he took the little dolls with him and for once theywere fed a very enjoyable supper of rice and milk, a food which JackieTar and the Villain liked, but Kernel Cob said it needed raisins andmore sugar, so it might be a rice pudding, and after that they wereproperly put to bed under nice warm covers, but they did not sleep,you may be sure, but lay awake waiting for the little boy to fallasleep so that they might make their escape.

  At last the moment arrived, and silently and cautiously they creptfrom under the covers, and once the Villain stumbled in climbing overthe side of the crib, which wakened the little boy, but he must havebeen very tired for he went to sleep at once without thinking of hisdolls.

  They hurried away in the direction of the water, which Jackie Tar saidhe knew, for, said he, "A sailor can always smell the salt sea air, nomatter how far away he may be."

  And sure enough, in a few moments they arrived at the water's edge.

  "Now that we are here," said Kernel Cob, "what's to be done?"

  "All in good time, Kernel," said Jackie Tar, "Each man to his trade,"and he began to look about.

  "Gather all the sticks you see and bring them to me," said he, andthey brought him pieces of wood, large and small, and he chose thelargest, and having torn the lining of his jacket into strips, hespliced them into a rope and with this he tied the wood together untilhe had made a very good raft indeed.

  And he set the biggest stick of all, which was a bamboo pole, into theraft and tying his jacket with one sleeve at the top, and the other atthe bottom of the pole, he had a good sail made in a jiffy.

  "All aboard," he sang out and they got upon the raft and sat"forward," as he told them, and grasping the tail of his coat in onehand, and the rudder with the other, for he had tied a flat board atthe stern of the raft, they set sail.

  "Where away?" he asked.

  "I don't care," said Kernel Cob, "as long as we get away from thisChina place, for I don't like any place that isn't what it says itis."

  "Aye, aye, sir," said Jackie Tar. "If you take my advice, we'll steerfor India."

  "Why?" asked the Villain.

  "Because," said Jackie Tar, "from India there is always a ship boundfor England and, once in England, we can easily get a ship forAmerica."

  "Goodie!" said Sweetclover.

  And so Jackie Tar steered the raft in the direction of India, and theysailed with a good wind.

  "I thought you said it was the thirteenth of the month?" said theVillain.

  "I must have made a mistake," said Jackie Tar, "for I never had abetter ship in all the years I've sailed the seas."

  SAILORS

  When I am grown to be a man I'll be a sailor if I can; For sailors, everywhere they roam Are sure to find a welcome home.

  They sail upon the many seas We learn of in Geographies, And steer their ship by sun and star From Vera Cruz to Zanzibar.

  They visit Chili and Japan, And Guyaquil and Yucatan, And they have friends in Martinique And relatives in Mozambique.

  And all about the world they sail In wind and storm and mighty gale, So they can tell the tales they do That children love to listen to.

  And so when I am grown a man I'll be a sailor, if I can, And sail upon the many seas We learn of in Geographies.

  CHAPTER XV

  And under the skillful command of Jackie Tar, they reached India.

  "We'd better land at night," said Jackie Tar, "so we won't be botheredwith a lot of people watching us."

  So they waited until it was dark.

  "I've been thinking," said Jackie Tar. "Once when I was here before, Isaw some magicians who did wonderful tricks. They are called Hindus. AHindu is an Indian."

  "Oh, I know," said Kernel Cob, "he's got red skin and wears feathersin his hair."

  "No!" said Jackie Tar. "That's an American Indian; but these Hindusare born in India where we are now."

  "Tell us about the tricks," said Sweetclover.

  "Well," said Jackie Tar, "there isn't a trick which they can't do.Once I saw them make a little boy run up a long pole and when he cameto the top he disappeared."

  "You mean to say they can do that?" asked the Villain.

  "They sure can," answered Jackie Tar. "And my idea is this: If theycan do that, maybe they can show you where Jackie and Peggs'motheranfather are."

  "What makes you so smart, Jackie Tar?" asked the Villain.

  "I don't know," said he, "I guess I was just born that way."

  "Well, let's go ashore and ask one of them to help us," said KernelCob.

  "Aye, aye, mates," said Jackie Tar.

  So they went ashore, and walked along the streets until they came to alittle house that Jackie Tar said he remembered as being the housewhere a magician lived.

  And they knocked upon the door and it opened. And they went inside andall was quiet and black as night. And they groped their way till theyheard a low mumbling sound, and, pulling aside a curtain, they saw anold man with a long white beard, sitting in a room with blackfurniture and curtains.

  And he said something to them in a very strange language which theycouldn't understand.

  And Jackie Tar stepped forward and said:

  "Please, kind magician, we have come to find the motheranfather ofJackie and Peggs. Will you be good enough to help us?" And even as hewas speaking a great cloud spread through the room and floated towardthe ceiling. In a minute the cloud became thinner, so you could seethrough it, and at once trees and a house were seen.

  "It's Jackie and Peggs' garden," said Sweetclover in a breathlesswhisper. "Look!"

  And sure enough there was the garden just as they left it, and Jackieand Peggs were playing with Kernel Cob and Sweetclover just as theydid on that day they were blown away by the storm.

  "It's us! It's us!" cried Sweetclover, and as she spoke Peggs came andput the parasol over them and the storm arose that carried them awaytoward the sky. Then the cloud disappeared, and the vision was gone.

  "It's the strangest thing I ever saw," and Kernel Cob rubbed his eyesand pinched himself, but he had to admit that he had not been asleepand dreamed it.

  And the Magician led them into another room through a black curtain,and this new room was blacker than the first one, and they held handsso they wouldn't become separated.

  In the middle of the room was a great crystal globe which stood upon alow table, and the Magician went to it, and, waving his hand above it,said something which sounded like "Alla ballaboo." And at once theglobe began to glow as though there were a fire inside of it.

  Then the light began to fade until the globe looked like a ball ofmilk.

  Again the Magician waved his hand above it and a picture began to showitself upon its surface, like when you develop a photograph plate in adark room.

  First the trees, and then a little hut and snow, lots and lots ofsnow, and then a man with a shovel and a pick on his shoulder, andthen a woman and they were roughly dressed.

  And the man in the picture began to pick the ground, and the womantook the shovel, and they worked and worked. Presently, the manstooped down and picked up what seemed to be a stone, and he showed iteagerly to the woman and she trembled with excitement and the stoneglowed.

  "It must be gold," said Jackie Tar.

  "They're gold miners."

  "But who are they?"

  "I've got it!" cried Kernel Cob. "They're Jackie and Peggs'motheranfather," and he danced with joy.

  But in his excitement he made a great mistake, for in hopping about hebumped into the crystal ball, and knocked it from the little table onwhich it stood.

  The Magician rushed to save the globe from falling, but he was toolate.

  It came to the floor
and crashed into a thousand pieces.

  When he saw what was done and who had done it, he turned on KernelCob, and it was with great difficulty that Kernel Cob got out of hisway.

  Out into the street ran Kernel Cob, followed by Sweetclover, theVillain and Jackie Tar, the Magician in hot pursuit, and only that hewas a very old man he would have caught them.

  But he didn't, thank goodness! and at last they arrived at the raft.

  "Well," said Jackie Tar, when they were safely seated, "one thing weknow, anyway, and that is that Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather areliving somewhere in the snow, and if it hadn't been for KernelCob...."

  But he didn't finish what he was going to say, for, looking at KernelCob, he discovered him doing something that he had never donebefore--CRYING!

  Sweetclover ran to him.

  "Oh, Kernel Cob!" she cried, "what is it. Are you hurt?"

  "Oh," he sobbed, "if it weren't for me, maybe we would have found outall about Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather, and maybe the Magicianwould have showed us how to get there," and he cried as if his heartwould break.

  CHAPTER XVI

  And they sat upon the raft and talked it all over, what was to bedone, and how they were to do it.