Page:The land of enchantment (1907, Cassell).djvu/19

 corner which brought them within sight of the cave, the fire burst into flame, and the whole of the gruesome and unexpected company sprang into view.

The black men groaned, the skeleton and Time whistled on their bones, the monkeys howled hideously, and the other ghosts waved and beckoned, pointing to the big pot hanging over the fire from which came forth pale green flames. The flickering light cast strange reflections, and the shadows behind added considerably to the weird effect.

The plot was completely successful: the mules plunged right and left.; the robbers turned and fled, tripping one another up, scrambling and racing for dear life. One of them, venturing to look back, saw to his horror the monkeys and a lanky skeleton in full chase.

This was the finishing touch. Flinging away even their weapons to lighten them, the robbers ran faster than before, and for aught that history records may be running yet!

The monkeys and skeleton were borne by the maker of ghosts and his friend back to the scene of their triumph, and then they found time to examine the robbers' hoard.

There was a great deal of treasure in the cave, but it was mostly bulky, and they could only fill their pockets with some of the lighter valuables the rest of the things they buried. Then, picking their way as best they might up the gorge, they again fared forward, and by noon approached the land of Common-Sense, crossing a narrow strip of neutral ground, scattered over with old signposts and milestones, where all those who had lost their senses might find them again. Indeed, they had gone but a few steps when they chanced to meet the right minds of two lunatics.

With them they had some talk, but they were sad, and the reason soon came out: they were shadowless, and, "until we get shadows," they said, "we can't be happy."

So the maker of shadows set to work at once, and made them such a beautiful pair that they jumped for joy, and gladly paid a good round sum for them, not in gold or silver, but in grains of common-sense, which was the current coin in this region.

The maker of ghosts and the maker of shadows went on their way invigorated by the fresh and balmy air, which was full of the smell of roses and the song of birds. The fleecy clouds were tinged with the beautiful hues of rainbows; butterflies flashed their golden-purple