“Where did you say we were going first?” asked Jack.
“I didn’t say,” said Glan, “but I should think you might guess by Aunt Janet’s bonnet that it’s somewhere very special.”
“We’re going to the Palace, dearies,” Aunt Janet broke in.
“To the Palace!” exclaimed the children.
“And shall we see the King?” Molly added.
“Of course,” said Glan.
At this moment their attention was attracted by the sound of people running and shouting, and they saw that a big crowd was rapidly gathering round the market cross. “What is it?” “What’s the matter?” people near by were asking each other, and unable to get information they would rush off and join the jostling, excited mob in order to find out for themselves.
“Wait here a moment,” said Glan, “and I’ll go and see. Don’t follow me or we shall lose each other in the crowd. I won’t be long.”
And leaving the children and Aunt Janet standing outside a quaint little tea-shop, he dashed forward and was quickly lost to sight in the surging mass of people that were rushing onward to the market cross. Everyone was simmering with excitement, and Jack and Molly had great difficulty in obeying Glan’s instructions to wait outside for him there, especially whenever a shout or groan of sympathy or indignation rose above the murmuring of the crowd, and told them that something unusual was taking place.
But they waited, and in a few minutes they saw Glan making his way back through the outskirts of the crowd. He hurried toward them, his face unusually grave.
“Come along,” he said, taking each of the children by an arm and hastening them away before they could ask any questions; and he signed to Aunt Janet, who followed behind them as quickly as possible. “Don’t look back. It’s no use. We can’t do anything to help. It’s one of the Pumpkin’s victims, some poor fellow caught by him outside the City walls.”
“What has he done to him?” Jack managed to gasp out.
“Made both his arms disappear, and covered his face with a horrible grey stain. The man looks awful. I’m glad you didn’t see him—we can do nothing to help … except one thing,” said Glan.
“The Black Leaf?” asked Molly.
“The only thing,” said Glan.
CHAPTER IX
Planning the Search
THEY turned out of the square into a wide avenue, bordered on each side with beautiful trees. At the end of this avenue stood the Palace gates, and behind these, glimpses could be caught of the Palace itself, gleaming white through the trees and bushes which surrounded it and almost hid it from sight of the gates; the only parts which were entirely visible were its four white towers which rose high above the tree tops. Having ascended the flight of wide, marble steps before the gates, the four visitors passed the sentry—who seemed to know Glan quite well—and made their way through the grounds to the main entrance of the Palace.
Jack and Molly were lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene before them. The creeper-clad walls and white towers of the Palace stood in well-wooded grounds through which a little river wandered, sparkling in the sunlight. Along the central avenue that led to the Palace, and up the great wide steps to the main door, there moved a constant stream of people, dressed in all sorts of lovely shades and colours; from a distance you might almost think they were the moving reflections of the flowers that clustered in profusion wherever your eyes turned. Had this been really so, Glan in his white suit might have passed for the reflection of a white stock, perhaps; Molly for a blue and white periwinkle; Jack for a dark blue hyacinth; and Aunt Janet, who was all in brown, for a large autumn leaf.
They joined the moving procession, and as they began to mount the steps Glan explained to the children that all these people were on the same errand as themselves; they had come to offer their help in the organized search that was about to take place. The main doors of the Palace were soon reached and they passed through, and were presently ushered into a spacious hall, panelled with dark oak. (For although the outsides of the buildings in the City were white, the children had already noted that the insides were coloured in many and varied styles.)
The hall was already crowded with people, and on a raised daïs at the far end there sat the King’s Councillors—a group of wise and learned men and women—round a long table. At first Jack and Molly could not see very well, but when a sudden hush fell on the assembly and the people all bowed, the children could see over the bowed heads that some one of importance was entering. They were made sure of this by the nudges of Aunt Janet. And looking up they saw it was the King.
His Majesty was middle-aged and rather tall and well built, and had a strong, clean-shaven face. The children liked his appearance. That he was ‘every inch a king’ could truly be said of him, though he wore no crown or velvet robes as the kings usually did in the children’s story-books at home, but was dressed very simply in a suit that reminded Jack vaguely of an admiral’s uniform.
“What a decent sort he looks,” whispered Jack to Molly.
After a few words of welcome to the people the King called upon one of the Councillors—a shrewd little man with tufty white whiskers—to tell the true story of the Pumpkin’s return to the Possible World, which the Councillor did, having obtained a full account from Old Nancy. The only question which still remained unsolved was: Who was the traitor who had drugged Old Nancy, and so aided the Pumpkin to return? This mystery, he said, they hoped to clear up when the Black Leaf was found.
When he had finished his story and had sat down, a buzz of murmuring voices filled the hall, and people turned to one another commenting on the story about Old Nancy which they had just been told, and comparing notes on the exaggerated versions of the tale that had reached them from various quarters.
Silence fell as the King rose again. After a few comments on the Pumpkin’s return, he began to speak of the plans for searching, which he and the Councillors had discussed at an emergency meeting early this morning.
“To make sure that every likely inch of ground is searched,” he said, “we have taken a map of the City and the outlying country, as far as the boundaries of this kingdom extend—and this is the only kingdom in which the Black Leaf can grow, remember—and we have divided this map into a number of small squares. Now what we want you each to do is to choose a square of the map, which you may take away with you—and search thoroughly every inch of the ground marked.
“In this way the Black Leaf must be found sooner or later—unless there is any careless searching or delay in searching. For, remember, we have only eleven days left before the Black Leaf disappears—and if it is not found before then the Pumpkin will remain with us for a year until the Leaf appears again and another search can be made.
“Those who volunteer outside the City are advised to search in couples, as the Pumpkin will be a constant source of danger to a person alone, whereas, if there are two of you, one can always keep watch while the other searches difficult places, or rests for a while.”
And here the King said a special word of warning regarding decoys and traps set by the Pumpkin in order to hinder the searchers, and then went on to explain what should be done if the Black Leaf was found, repeating the words that Jack and Molly had already heard from Old Nancy.
“As soon as it is known that the Black Leaf is found,” the King continued, “signals will be given throughout the country, so that all the searchers can cease, and make their way back to the City and the hill by Old Nancy’s cottage, in order to witness the Pumpkin’s punishment. These signals will be given by means of beacon fires which will be lit on the hill tops near and far. And when the glad news reaches the City all the bells will be set ringing.”
“Your Majesty, would it be possible for one of the Pumpkin’s friends to start the first beacon blazing, before the Leaf was found, in order to stop the searchers?” some one in the hall inquired.
“No,” replied the King. “Because we are so arranging it that only the person who has actually plucked the Black Leaf, and has it in his or her hand, can set a light to the first beacon. Each beacon is being specially guarded … well, I will admit that we have called in the aid of Old Nancy to help us in the guarding of them. So you may rest assured that none of the Pumpkin’s friends will be able to touch the beacons.... So, whoever finds the Black Leaf, remember to set the nearest beacon on fire before starting back to Old Nancy, that we may all know the good news at the earliest possible moment.”
The King concluded by asking for volunteers to search outside the City and inside the City to come forward and sign their names in the book which had been placed on a table half-way along the hall.
“The Pumpkin has already, in the last few hours, caused much sorrow,” he said sadly. “Let us make certain that this is the last time he shall ever bring disaster and misery to our country. Let us put our best efforts into this scheme for finding the Black Leaf, and so banish for all time the Grey Pumpkin.”
He sat down amid a great cheer which came from the hearts of the people in the crowded hall. It was obvious that the King was very popular. The people pressed forward eagerly to sign their names, and Jack and Molly together with Glan and Aunt Janet were among the foremost to signify their willingness to help. Both the children caught the wave of enthusiasm which swept through the hall, and felt that here was a country and a King well worth working for. And their dislike of the Pumpkin who would spoil everything grew more intense.
“I’m afraid I can only volunteer to search inside the City,” said Aunt Janet to the children as they turned away from the table. “I can’t walk very far without getting a bit tired. And as for running—I couldn’t—not if fifty Pumpkins were after me.”
“I think it’s jolly sporty of you to offer at all,” said Jack.
“Oh, we all want to do what we can, dearie,” she smiled.
The four of them moved on and joined a group of people who were examining one of the large maps of the City and surrounding country which were hanging round the room. They had begun to discuss what part of the country would be the best for them to search, when they heard, much to their surprise, someone call out the names of the two children in a loud voice. Turning quickly they saw that the King had the big book of names in front of him, and with his finger to a name on the page, was looking round the room. It was one of the Councillors near him who had called out their names, evidently at the King’s request. Before the children could wonder what they ought to do, the King spoke:
“I see,” he said, “that we have two friends from the Impossible World who have kindly offered to help us. I should like to thank them personally. Strangers are often lucky!”
Some one started a cheer which was quickly taken up by the entire hall full of people, and Jack and Molly, both blushing furiously at this unexpected attention, were pushed forward by Glan and Aunt Janet, to the foot of the raised daïs where the King greeted them, welcoming them to the country, and warmly shaking hands with them. They chatted together for a few minutes, the King asking many questions about the Impossible World.
“But, ah me!” the King said. “I am afraid this will be the Impossible World now that the Pumpkin’s returned.”
“We will soon make it Possible again, your Majesty,” said Molly. “If it is in our power to do so.”
“I’m sure we shall all do our best,” said the King. “Now which part of the country would you prefer to search?”
The children said they did not mind, as all the country was strange and fresh to them, and asked his Majesty if he thought the Leaf was more likely to be outside the City than inside.
“Of course, one can never be sure, but I think it’s much more likely to be outside the City than inside,” the King replied. “But still it may be inside! We shall make a thorough search inside, naturally: in every garden, and street, and plant-pot, and window-box—everywhere, in every place likely and unlikely.”
When the children heard that the Leaf was more likely to be outside they at once made up their minds. Outside the City walls they would search, Jack and Molly together. And so it was arranged.
They chose a little square of the country that lay outside the East Gate of the City. It was entirely fresh country to them, and Molly liked the names given to that part of the country. Down the Three Green Lanes, over Goblin’s Heath, through the Orange Wood, and the country along the banks of a broad river to Lake Desolate, and the Brown Hills. Although these names were all marked in one little square on the map it was really a good many miles—especially when every likely part must be carefully gone over and examined.
After Jack and Molly had received their small square of map, Glan stepped forward to pick his square. He shook hands and chatted with the King for a second, and then stood before the map trying to make up his mind. While he was deciding, tracing along the map with his plump white forefinger, the children stood aside watching the stream of people passing to and fro, choosing their square of map, shaking hands with the King, and passing on and out of the great door at the end of the hall. Most of them had a friendly smile and nod for Jack and Molly as they went by, and several came up to the children, and shook hands with them, thanking them for offering to help their country in this trouble.
At length, after Glan had chosen, and helped Aunt Janet to choose her bit, and shaken hands excitedly with everybody round about (including Aunt Janet, by mistake), he, Aunt Janet, Jack, and Molly bade farewell to the King and made their way out of the Palace. They retraced their steps through the Palace grounds, passing the sentry at the gate, and went toward the Market Square again. Glan and Aunt Janet insisted on showing the children the way to the East Gate, and so the four went along talking eagerly, the children full of enthusiasm for the coming search, for the King, and for the Possible World.
“I’ve got a big forest to search in my bit,” said Glan. “I like forests. And I’m arranging for father to help me if he feels inclined—on the days when he’s not at Court. I wish I could have got a bit to search outside the East Gate—so as to be near you both—but all the bits I wanted were already taken by other people. Fortunately, though, I’ve managed to get a square that backs on to a piece of the ground you’ll be searching—though I start from the West Gate. You see the wood bends round at this point–” and he compared his square of map with Jack and Molly’s square, and showed them where his ground touched theirs. “So I shan’t be so very far away,” he laughed. “You can’t get rid of me, altogether.”
“I’m sure we don’t want to,” said Molly.
“Rather not,” said Jack.
“Oh, Glan, you will be careful, won’t you?—and not get caught by the Pumpkin?” added Molly anxiously.
“Of course, little lady,” Glan replied. “You should see me run if I want to. I’ll not get caught.” He was still studying and comparing the maps. “Why, look here!” he exclaimed, “you’ve got the Orange Wood in your bit. Well, I never! D’you hear that, Aunt Janet? The Orange Wood.... We’ve got a relative who lives in that wood. I must give you his name.” Glan scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to the children. “Any of the people in the village near by will direct you to his house—they all know him. Papingay’s his name—I’ve written it down, you see. He’ll be delighted to see you—tell him you know us, Aunt Janet and Father and me. But don’t be surprised at his funny little ways—he’s a queer old soul—a very queer old soul.” Glan chuckled to himself at some recollection.
“He’s a kind of cousin of Glan’s father, dearies,” observed Aunt Janet.
The children were glad to hear of this one person, at any rate, whom they might trust in the strange, unknown country before them.
“Be sure to humour him, though,” added Glan. “He’s worth it. Don’t forget.”
While they had been talking they had been passing through many quaint streets on their way to the East Gate: streets that on an ordinary occasion would have made Jack and Molly long to stop and explore them slowly, there were so many tempting and curious things to be seen. But there was no time for loitering now. There was serious work to be done. So they hastened along until at length the East Gate was reached.
Here Glan produced two neat little boxes of sandwiches and cakes, giving one of them to Jack and one to Molly. “A snack for lunch,” he said.
“You’re sure to find plenty of friends as you go along,” said Aunt Janet. “But do take care of yourselves, dearies. Good luck be with you.” And she fumbled for her pocket-handkerchief and dabbed her eyes rapidly, while Glan patted her on the shoulder.
“Here’s to our next meeting,” he cried cheerily, “and may it be soon. Who’s going to light the first beacon, little lady, you or I?”
“Neither,” said Jack, laughing. “I am.”
“That’s the sort,” cried Glan, patting Aunt Janet vigorously, as he beamed at Jack.
The keeper of the East Gate had by this time appeared and was cautiously opening the gate. Finding the way clear he opened it wide.
“Laugh at misfortune,” Glan shouted gaily, as Jack and Molly passed out on to the High Road. “Keep up a good heart, and—tss—remember—we shall win. Good luck! Good luck!” They saw him wave his white cap in the air; there was a flutter of brown-gloved hands, then the gate closed.
CHAPTER X
Some One Meets Jack and Molly in the Third Green Lane
THEY had gone but a short distance along the broad white road which led to the Three Green Lanes (according to the map), when they heard the East Gate of the City open and shut again with a clang, and looking back Jack and Molly saw that two people had come out and had started off in the opposite direction to that in which they were going.
“Two more searchers,” said Jack. “I remember that little man with the green coat, don’t you, Molly? He was at the Palace—had very twinkling eyes.”
“Oh, yes, I saw him,” said Molly. “And that boy with him in that curious red-brown suit. I wonder which part they are searching. Supposing they are the lucky people who are going to find the Black Leaf … if we only knew,” sighed the little girl, standing in the middle of the white road and gazing pensively at the two figures in the distance.
“I know one thing,” said Jack. “We shan’t be the lucky people if we don’t move along. Come on, Molly.”
Two minutes’ brisk walking brought them to the entrance to the First Green Lane. And here their search began. The lane was a very twisty one, and was closed in on either side with high thick hedges; fresh and green the hedges were, and starred with tiny white flowers that smelled very sweet.
“How strange that it isn’t autumn here, like it was at home,” said Jack. “It’s more like summer here, isn’t it, Molly?”
“It isn’t really strange,” said Molly. “Everything is so different here, isn’t it? I don’t see why the seasons in the Possible World should be like ours any more than anything else is like ours.”
“No. P’r’aps you’re right,” agreed Jack.
They went carefully along, searching thoroughly as they went, Molly taking the left-hand side of the lane and Jack the right. For the most part it was fairly easy work; there were not many places in the First Green Lane where the Black Leaf could grow undetected, though from time to time an extra thick and low-spreading bush would necessitate a halt for a thoroughly satisfactory examination.
“There is one thing that seems strange to me,” Molly went on presently. “And that is the way the ordinary and the magic things seem to all get mixed up together. I’m sure I shall be forgetting, when we get home again, and keep expecting spells and magic things to happen.”
“So shall I,” said Jack; and then, as Molly began to laugh—“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Oh, Jack,” she laughed. “What would Aunt Phœbe say if she could see us now!”
“‘I’m sure I don’t know what the world’s coming to,’” mimicked Jack, in an Aunt Phœbe voice, and then joined in Molly’s laughter. “And the best of it is,” he chuckled, “it’s all through her giving you that birthday present. She would be wild.”
“I suppose we really ought not to laugh at her,” laughed Molly. “It’s hardly respectful—but, somehow, I can’t just help it.”
They continued to search, chatting and laughing, in a light-hearted, excited mood, and soon they had covered the best part of the First Green Lane. As they neared the end—a break in the hedge (on Jack’s side) blocked by a white gate revealed a big field which lay behind the hedge.
“Hullo,” said Jack. “Have we got to search this field, too, I wonder. Where’s the map?”
Molly had it in her pocket, and produced it at once. Leaning against the gate the two children studied it carefully.
“Yes. See. Here it is … marked here,” said Molly. “The hedge on the left-hand side—the side I was searching—is the boundary; but the field this side is marked in our square.”
“I tell you what then,” suggested Jack. “I’ll start on the field while you finish to the end of the lane—it’s only a few yards more. Then you come back and start the other end of the field.”
Molly agreed, so they separated for a few minutes and continued the search. But there was no sign of the Black Leaf anywhere in the big field or in the First Green Lane, and at length they started on the Second Green Lane.
The Second Green Lane had low hedges and many ferns and wild flowers growing by the way, and a ditch running along one side of it, which made the searching a little more difficult. There were also several gates leading from this lane into fields which had to be searched too. Some of the fields where the grass was long took a good time to do properly. But the two children stuck to it perseveringly, urged on by the hope that perhaps just round the corner, or behind the next tree, or even, perhaps, a few feet ahead of them among the long grass, grew that which they sought—the Black Leaf. But so far they had searched in vain.
In the early afternoon they found themselves at the beginning of the Third Green Lane; and here they decided to stop and have a short rest and some lunch. When they sat down on the soft grass by the side of the lane they suddenly discovered that they were really tired; and when they saw the tempting little sandwiches and cakes in the “snack for lunch” packets Glan had given them they realized that they were really hungry. They had been too busy and excited to realize these things before. Over lunch they got out the map again and studied it.
“What a lonely piece of country this seems,” Jack remarked. “Do you know, we haven’t seen a single person since we started searching!”
“Nor a single house,” said Molly. “It’s a good thing we have this map with us. How useful it is.... Let me look, Jack. Are there any houses or villages marked near here, because we shall have to find some place to stay to-night if possible.”
“There seems to be some sort of village marked there … um … it’s not very near, though,” said Jack. “It’s the other side of the Goblin’s Heath.... There doesn’t seem to be a house of any sort marked between here and that village, does there? Still, I daresay we could reach the village before dusk, if we are not delayed at all–”
“And if the Heath isn’t too big–”
“If it is and we can’t find a cottage before the end of the Heath, we’ll climb up a tree, Moll. It’ll be great sport. And we shall be quite safe there till daylight.”
They packed up the remains of the lunch, for it was a very generous “snack” that Glan had put in for each of them, and after resting a few minutes longer they rose to their feet and prepared to start on again.
“My word, I am thirsty,” said Jack. At Molly’s advice he tried one of the little sweet things in Old Nancy’s packet, and though it was certainly refreshing Jack still craved for a drink of water. “Is there a stream of water marked anywhere near here. Give me the map again, Molly.”
They were standing at the beginning of the Third Green Lane with the map in their hands, when the sound of some one singing came to them from a distance.
Jack and Molly looked at each other. This was the first human sound they had heard since they left the High Road. Perhaps this person, whoever it was, could tell them where they could get some water. The singer was evidently approaching, as the song grew louder and clearer, from the direction of the lane which they were just about to search. Then, just as they expected the singer to come round the corner of the lane—the singing ceased abruptly—and no one appeared.
Jack and Molly waited a while, then started off down the lane in the direction whence the singing had come, thinking perhaps that the singer had stopped to rest round the corner of the lane. They were right. As they turned the corner they saw someone sitting under a tree at the side of the lane. It was a young girl, a little older than Jack and Molly—such a pretty girl, with grey-green eyes and a straight, white nose, and deep golden hair that curled about her shoulders. Her soft green frock matched the colour of her eyes.
She did not notice Jack and Molly at first, as her attention was taken up by the contents of a small wicker basket in her lap: she was peering inside it anxiously, and counting aloud.
“Eight, nine, ten,” they heard her say. “Eleven.... Oh, dear, I’ve lost … no, here it is … twelve. Oh, that’s right!”
She looked up, and saw the children. She gazed up at them, then smiled (such a friendly, sweet smile, Molly thought).
“Oh, I … I didn’t hear you come along,” she said.
“We heard you singing,” said Molly.
The girl blushed. “I didn’t know anyone was near,” she said. “I often sing when I’m by myself—it’s so lonely, as a rule.” She fastened the lid of her basket down.
“We were awfully glad to hear you,” said Jack. “Because, do you know, we haven’t met a soul since we left the East Gate.”
“Have you come from the City, then?” asked the girl with much interest, rising to her feet. “Oh, you can’t imagine how lonely it is to live out here. What news is there? What does the City look like now? Oh, I’d give anything to live in the City with crowds of people and lights and shops and—and real pavement.”
“Haven’t you got any pavement then in the village where you live?” asked Jack.
“I don’t live in a village,” answered the girl. “Its right out here in all this lonely part that mother and I live.”
“Near here?” asked Molly.
“Yes. Just at the end of the Third Green Lane,” said the girl.
“In a house?” inquired Jack.
“Yes. Why not?” the girl smiled. “What did you think we’d live in?”
“I meant,” said Jack, “it’s not marked on our map; there’s no house marked until you get to the other side of the Goblin’s Heath, and I didn’t think there was one so close.”
The girl began to laugh. “Well, there is one, even if it isn’t marked on your map. They don’t mark all the houses, you know. If your way takes you along down this lane you’ll pass the house, and mother would be awfully pleased to see you if you could spare a little while. She rarely gets news of the City or sees anybody.”
“We were going along this way,” said Jack. “And we were just wondering if there was anywhere we could get a drink of water, because we’re both so thirsty....”
“Thirsty?” said the girl. “Why, here is the very thing!” And she opened her basket and took out a beautiful bunch of grapes. “I had been sent out to gather these from our vine—twelve bunches I’ve gathered. Do have one.” She placed a delicious-looking bunch in Jack’s hands.
“Oh, no—really. I say, can you spare them, though?” protested Jack. “And wouldn’t your mother mind?”
“She’d mind if I didn’t give you a bunch when you were so thirsty,” said the girl, and insisted on Molly having a bunch too.
“Well, it really is awfully kind of you,” said Jack, and Molly thanked her also.
Molly hesitated just a second before eating her grapes, wondering if they were doing right in accepting them from the little girl whose name even they didn’t know. But a glance at the little girl’s sweet, frank face reassured any doubts Molly may have had. Jack had already started his bunch. So Molly ate her grapes too.
“You know,” said Jack, “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted such jolly fine grapes. I was terribly thirsty after searching all the morning.”
“Searching?” asked the girl, puzzled. “Did you say searching? What have you lost?”
“It isn’t what we’ve lost—it’s what we can’t find,” said Jack. “You know—it’s what they’re all looking for.”
The girl shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said.
“Don’t you know about the search for the Black Leaf?” asked Jack in surprise. “Oh, I say. And about the Pumpkin being back again—of course, you know that?”
“What!” screamed the girl. “The Pumpkin back? No! No! I didn’t know that. We hear nothing—living out here alone.... But, oh dear, oh dear! Whatever are we going to do?” She was trembling and seemed very upset. “I must get home at once and tell mother—poor mother,” she added. She fastened the lid of her basket with shaking fingers. “Are you coming along this way now?”
The children explained to her that although they were coming that way they would have to search as they came, and advised her to go on in front of them to tell her mother if she felt this was the wisest thing to do. But she seemed afraid to leave them.
“I’d rather stay with you, if you don’t mind,” she said. “I—I expect you’ll think I’m an awful coward—but I simply daren’t go on alone. I’ll help you search as we go along; and do tell me how it all happened—how the Pumpkin came back.”
So, as the three of them moved off down the lane, Jack and Molly recounted something of what had happened. They did not talk much about themselves, but related the main incidents of the Pumpkin’s return. Their companion listened eagerly, putting in a hurried question every now and then. When they had finished she said: