Chapter 111.

Otago Witness, Issue 2058, 3 August 1893, Page 45

Chapter 111.

He held in his hand the shoe he had found on the sands, and the more fondly and ardently he looked at it the unknown and mysterious music increased in volume and richness. From whence came these fairy voices ? Who were these singers of the ocean who joined in concert together, singing with greater happiness and glee at every footstep he took P It was the cruel, relentless, though beautiful, song oi the mermaids. If he had but lifted up his eyes he would have seen a sight of rare magnificence and hitherto untold splendour. But he was content to use his ears to listen to the singing, and his, eyes to feast on the little embroidered shoe, and to wonder and wonder and wonder if ib had really once graced the foot of the Prinoess Sunshine, of whom he was in search. There was no need to battle with the gentle waves— a pathway in the waters seemed opened out before him, an avenue_of silver, for the water on either side was dazzling in its brightness. The way to the unfathomable realms of the ocean seemed cut and hewn out— *o solid and apparently immovable did it appear. He was now far away from the - seashore, and for a moment he raised his eyes to look before mm. Almost as quickly, he turned his head to gaze behind, but a great pillow of surf had followed him with every step he took, and barred his way of retreat. Again he looked in front. What a vision of glory it was ! What pen can write, what tongue can tell ot what Prince Chip saw at that moment P It was the Silver Valley 1 The water on which he was treading was firm, and formed a road which stretched far, far away, and seemed to give place to a silent Bign-post on which was written the welcome, gaiding words,. "To Sunshine!" And the firmament of the ocean sparkled with tiny waves and curling and circling currents of silver. And the valley was guarded all along with the fairest of sentinels— the women of the ■waters, hundreds of such damsels were there. Prince Chip saw the mermaids for the first time. Here, then, were the possessors, of these fairy voices, the eoho of which, resounding through the valley, had been thankfully caught up by the waves and carried along towards the ■earth above! The music Which' he had heard was the outponring of the heartß of the mermaids, who had perchance found something which made them glad, and they relieved themselves of these glorious notes in token; thereof. Why, why should they sing ? Surely not for Chip. Such thoughts asjbhese flitted through the Prince's mind as he remained transfixed with amazement. Yes, yes, they sang for Prince Chip; yet he never realised it. They had captured him with their sweet chords — every note which came from their tongues added another thread to the' net .which they had woven about him, and into .whioh he had so, willingly fell. How beautiful were these fairy women ! Their looks were long and wavy, and all of the aame golden colour— they glistened ( as the waters on one long and never-ending sunset ; their eyes were as blue as the ocean, such as no river, stream, or beauteous lake appears on the .earth's surface. Their complexions — but who can write of the faces of the mermaids, washed .as they are by the pure, watera of the ocean depths and tenderly dried by the breeze P Their bouies were entirely covered with silver scales, and, as they languidly and noiselessly glided, about, their glorious golden tresses seemed to become brighter in the water, and their bodies to reflect a thousand lights. ' JJ» was a scene of supreme grandeur. The singing had ceased as soon as Prince Chip took his eyes from" the 'shoe. He drew his hand across his brow as though in doubt. This sudden revelation of bewildering magnificence made him dumb with amazement, . He, too, had listened to the fairy stories of his day, but he never dreamt there existed such a scene as this. Was he dreaming P , No, it was not a dream. He stretched out his hand, and he could feel the cool water at his back, which was a barrier to his ever thinking of anything else but pressing forward. It was not a vision. A mermaid flitted past him— he just touched the silvery scales, and a stray curl of her hair caught his face with an almoßt imperceptible touch. It was all too real. Still he stood there in doubt, and the ocean damsels played abont and smiled upon him. Suddenly they gathered together in one fair group some distance from him. They conversed in silence — not a sound escaped their lips. Yet when they had apparently finished their conversation and settled, on some probable plan which they had just been discussing, they one and all burst forth in laughter. Prince Chip saw all their eyes fixed upon him. Then one of the mermaids — who had evidently been singled out from her sisters— left the company and glided up towards him, all the others smilingly watching her every movement.- On— on— she came, until she reached Chip. Then, as though in merry gambol, she played about him, but he was now once more looking upon the little shoe which he held in his hand tenderly. The chosen mermaid failed to disturb his thoughts. She turned and looked in the direction of her waiting companions, a possible signal, for as 'she did so the Silver Valley was re-echoing music even more sweeter than before. Chip heard it and he looked up. As he did so the mermaid gently caught the hand in which he carried the shoe, and her dazzling tail carried the little foot covering away. A great shout of happy laughter now replaced the singing. The capturer of the precious shoe coiled it up in the end of her tail, and away she went with it towards the crowd. . Just before she reached their midst, with a ' sudden twist of her silvered tail she sent the shoe flying to them.' A rush was made as to who should get it. Merrily it was passed on and on — mermaid to mermaid, mermaid tomer- , maid— and poor Chip cried out : " Give it back to me ! Give it back to , me ! " But still they gambolled with it ; and as it •went from one to the other Prince Chip followed .jon and on, crying out all the while : " Give it back to me I Give it back to Once in desperation he put his hand to the .hilt of his sword, and the air was filled with wild ■ and awful screams. The faces of the silverscaled women paled. But as soon ias he released his grasp of the jewelled hilt the feari fol noise ceased, and the mermaids played and flitted abont as merry as though their slipper .hunt had been undisturbed. ".,'.-..., i All at oncea little voioe squeaked into Chip a

"I'm with you!" It was Nineteen Ninety-two I There was no mistaking those tiny tones. " Don't speak," said the future year. " Don't breathe a word ; I'll do the talking. Oh ! what a talkative, talkative world it will be when I am ready for them. I am very glad I came with you, for already I've got an idea, whioh, if I can only develop, patent, and protect, I shall be •one of the richest years that ever dragged through 365 days. Did you notice those women just now P I did. They had a meeting —hundreds of them attended it. They probably deputed that young woman to come and capture your treasure. And they never spoke a word ! Now, if I can only get on good terms with one of those young damsels, and find out how its done— good gracious I how thankful some people will be to pay up life subscriptions for some of their relations who constitute the true definition of that little word— 1 talk ' ! But all that's in prospect, let's tackle the present. Listen to me. I won't desert you ; I'm invisible to these good people at the present moment. The fact of it is I'm jastsittting in a corner of your ear. I don't want them to see me. I'm an enemy of theirs, and they know it. Why ? Another little patent of mine. When I appear in my very correct and perfectly proper turn, the ocean paths will be just as free and as open to the dwellers on terra jirma as the woods and forests, and the fields and meadows are to-day. It wasonly a few days before you met me in the wood— in other words, before you picked me up — ha ! ha ! ha ! — that I chanced to come across the young fellow who will precede me on the earth by 100 years. He told me, confidently, that he was going to constitute what he called Exhibitions. Everybody would make an exhibition of themselves and.their wares. The whole world would be represented. He told me all this and all his plans, and I went away chuckling to myself. He never breathed a word about an Ocean Exhibition. That'll be mine. The whole sea will be on view ! And the inhabitants of the watery depths know what a young beggar I am for inventions that the fishes are trembling in their skins, and the monsters and mermaids in their scales. They don't like it. Ha ! ha ! Now, give me your ear — but I've got it, haven't IP Ha! ha! ha! He! he! he! Now rub your eyes and look before you," whispered Nineteen Ninety-two, suddenly becoming serious. " Remember' why you are here — a queen, and a crown."

These words were magical. They acted as a life's tonic upon Prince Chip. "You know," continued Nineteen Ninetytwo, " I'm just as anxious to come with you as probably you are glad to have my company. I want to see the world that one day is- to be mine for 12 whole months. Once more-^-and excuse the reminder— look before you."

All the time the year in embryo had been talking away as fast as ■ his little tongue would allow, Chip had walked on," paying small heed to what had been whispered to him— walked on anxiously in the hope of : getting into the midst of the mermaids, and perchance regaining

; possession of what they had so cruejly snatched 'from his grasp. But the quicker his footsteps the faster their play. New they were carrying theshoefar beyond his reach. Travel asquickly as he might, as rapidly as his strength would permit, he could never hope to catch up with them now. They were slowly disappearing in the almost impenetrable distance, and they were carrying with them that which he prized beyond everything else. And as they faded from sight, there was born to him along the valley these words : — Good-bye, Prince, good-bye ! Good-bye ! To this slipper quickly hie ; On the day you find this shoe, Sunshine shall be shown to you 1 Sunshine shall be shown to you I Good-bye, Prince, good-bye! Good-bye I To your Princess quickly hie ; On the day both lips are sealed. Then thy crown shall be revealed 1 Hasten 1 Hasten ! Hasten ! To Sunshine and thy crown !

Prince Chip was alone, save for his little invisible friend, in the depths of the ocean. He found himself repeating the words of the song which the mermaids had left him as a legacy. It bade him hope. It was only a little shoe, yet how great a promise had been made could he but find it. His affections were now almost entirely set upon regaining it, and with it the wearer. He drew hia sword— that fairy blade which his godmother had given to him, the tip of which shed forth a light wherever he went. There was no need of light here, however, for the silver walls reflected grand beams which shone out upon the pathway of the valley with unequalled brilliancy. With sword in hand, and a fixed look of determination written upon every feature of his face, he pressed forward. On, on he walked with rapid and never hesitating footstep. Why should he fear P A trusty weapon' of defence in his grasp, the promise of the mermaids as his portion, and the advice of hundreds of years to come in his ear at this very moment. And what a reward ! The reward of the thanks of his own people — the people he cared for, whose prosperity was as his own. The winning of the hand and with it the heart and the love of the Princess Sunshine 1 It was enough to spur a man forward, and Chip realised it all.

Suddenly he stopped, a roar Buch as he bad never heard before filled the hitherto peaceful Silver Valley. The music— the last strains of which were just dying away — was sweet to the ear, but this roar was teriible and terrifying to listen to. It was as the echo of an earthquake, the combined noise and rattle of 100 thunderstorms. It waß as though a storm was rushing through the depths beneath, and hastening along to free itself upon the land above. _ It seemed to come from some distance away. "If it is like this here, what must it be farther on ? " thought Chip. -

Chip started on his journey again, wondering where the end of. foe passage of precious metal would lead him, and as he advanced the tumult increased. A great splashing was heard overhead. The waves and currents of the ocean wew now at war with themselves. Then i<i

flashed across Prince Chip's mind who and what was the cause of this terrible disturbance to the accustomed tranquillity of the Silver Valley. He remembered the words o? his own Lord Chamberlain : that ere he could gain an entrance to the ocean'realms over which the mighty and much-to-be feared King Walrustus reigned he must needs meet, fight, and overcome that monarch's sentry, the Giant Talking Fish ! Just then a little voice was heard in his ear.

"Excuse my mentioning it," he said, "but you're a lucky young fellow to possess a fairy sword. Now, in a few minutes you willnot only discover the cause of all this splashing, but after a not altogether pleasant walk of a few hundred yards, you can indeed meet your first enemy face to face. Go on ; go on a little farther. Don't be frightened of the splashing, that won't hurt you, but the Splasher might. That's it ; keep a good hold of that weapon, and do not be ashamed to accept a few words of advice from your obedient servant. There, that's the cause of all this terrible commotion."

Prince Chip looked up. It resembled a huge fan more than anything else, splashing about and creating a veritable hurricane; bat in truth it was the tail of the Giant Talking Fish. Chip endeavoured to catch on to it, in the hopes that it would be the first step towards delivering a death blow that would rid him of his real enemy, and so make his passage clear. Chip knew that it would be useless to Btrike anywhere save at the face of the giant fish, for its body was coated with heavy scales of silver that were impregnable } and, he argued — and not without wisdom— that if he could but once get a firm hold of his tail he might possibly be able to make his way over his body— for the creature would never feel it—and so gain a road to his countenance. As though to give his tail a rest after the strenuous effort, the owner of it ceased for a moment to exercise it. Chip shouted for joy. He saw that the monster's tail was flesh t

(To he continued.)