lying tied to one of the groins, which seemed to have widened out into a sort of pier, was a rakish-looking clockwork steamer, with a red hull and a broad white line above it, all very smart and clean.
“why, it’s my very own steamer,” cried peggy, “just as it was when it was new, only much bigger.”
“yes, dear,” said wooden. “we use it every night to take us across to toyland. you didn’t know that. you will see all your other toys when we get across, and some of them are coming with us.”
“is the man who shoots pennies into my money-box coming?” asked peggy.
“yes,” replied wooden. “he is the queen’s head game-keeper. he shot the three china hares that stand on the nursery mantelpiece. he shot them with the sixpences you got out of the christmas pudding.”
the steamer and the pier beside it were now crowded with doll sailors and doll passengers preparing to take[pg 32] the journey across the water to toyland, and the road along the beach in both directions was full of dolls hurrying to the various starting-places. every row of piles along the shore had turned into a pier, and scores of boats were moored alongside them, in which dolls were embarking.
but still they came, from north, east, and west. many of them were in motor-cars, others were packed into wooden carts, the babies were being wheeled in prams, and many were walking. some way off peggy saw a troop of lead soldiers riding down to the shore on black horses, and they looked very fine with the sun shining on their helmets and breastplates.
lady grace shaded her eyes and looked at them, too, and wooden said to her, “lady grace, i believe that is colonel jim’s regiment.”
teddy turned round and grinned at them, and said, “what ho, girls!”
wooden said sharply, “now behave, teddy, and don’t let’s have any byplay.”
they all embarked in the toy steamer, and peggy was pleased to find her own sailor doll acting as captain of it. very well he did it, too, standing on the bridge and shouting his orders down a tube, while the steamer was loosed from the quay and started off[pg 33] at a splendid pace, making a hundred knots an hour across the blue calm water.
it was a delightful voyage, pleasanter even than the motor drive had been. the sun was shining so brightly, and every one seemed so pleased to be going to toyland. they could hear the dolls laughing and singing from the other boats, which were all round[pg 34] them. on one of them was a toy piano with five notes, on which a gentleman doll with long hair was playing a tune so difficult that you would never have thought it possible if you had not heard him.
wooden’s mother and aunt went forward and stood in the bows of the boat as she drove across the sea. they sniffed the salt breeze with rapture, and their brightly-coloured faces glistened in the sunshine. “this,” said wooden’s mother, “is life!” and wooden’s aunt enjoyed it so much that until they came to the other side she said nothing vulgar or common.
but the moment the steamer began to move, although the water was as smooth as it could possibly be, teddy became as green as pea soup and rushed downstairs to the cabin.
“he’s always like that, poor fellow,” said wooden. “i suppose it comes from being a bear. he will be all right when we get to the other side.”
very soon the voyage was over, and the toy steamer came alongside a quay carpeted with red felt. there were many other landing stages all along the shore, at which other boats were landing their doll passengers; but the steamer was the only one which came alongside this special quay. it was decorated with flowers and[pg 35] flags, and round it stood a row of wooden soldiers, with shiny black bearskins, red coats, and spotless white trousers. they lined three sides of the square, and looked very smart, all of exactly the same height, and all standing at attention.
wooden seemed to be rather embarrassed as the steamer made fast alongside this gaily decorated quay. “this is the royal quay,” she said to peggy. “only the queen uses it. there must be some mistake.” and she asked the captain why they were landing there.
“orders, ma’am, orders,” said the captain briefly, touching his cap.
“i expect,” said lady grace, “that it is to do honour to our little visitor.” she put her hand on peggy’s shoulder and smiled at her.
wooden’s honest face beamed with pleasure. “now, i do call that kind of her majesty,” she said, “very kind indeed.”
the wooden soldiers all presented arms as peggy stepped off the steamer between lady grace and wooden, while wooden’s mother and aunt followed them, and teddy came up from below no longer looking green, but quite cheerful again and grinning all over. one of the soldiers let off his gun by mistake.[pg 36] he had only lately joined the regiment, and did not quite understand the words of command. the captain of the wooden soldiers boxed his ears soundly, and nobody took any further notice of the episode, which, however, had far-reaching effects, as will presently appear.
directly the party had landed, a band struck up and led the way along a broad carpeted passage, which was also lined on one side by wooden soldiers. on the other side was the water, for the royal quay was at the mouth of a broad river, and a little farther on was another quay towards which they were going. and here peggy saw an extraordinary and pleasing sight.
there was a large, gaily decorated noah’s ark lying at the second quay. at each end of the house on the ark was a big platform. the one in front was shaded by a gaily striped awning. there was also a carpet on it, and big pots of flowers, and comfortable chairs and little tables. on the platform at the back stood mr. noah in a long yellow robe, and mrs. noah in a blue robe. mr. noah had taken off his black shiny hat, and was bowing low, as wooden and her party approached the ark.
but the most curious thing of all was the long line[pg 38] of animals that were standing two and two along the towing-path by the river. they were all in charge of the rest of mr. noah’s family, and were harnessed to the ark, which they were evidently going to pull. there were two elephants and two camels, giraffes, zebras, cows, hyenas, leopards, and a lot more, all much the same size; and at the head of the procession were two antelopes. hovering round the ark were a great number of birds—wild geese, and rooks and parrots and peacocks and canaries and budgeree-gars and others, all flying in pairs.
“the queen’s own ark,” said lady grace. “it must have been sent down for somebody. i wonder who.”
“do you think it could be for a specialist?” peggy asked. “they do send for them, you know, if anybody is ill.”
“oh, i do hope her mump isn’t worse,” said wooden.
“i expect it’s sent down for me,” said wooden’s aunt, with her vulgar laugh. “she knowed i was coming all right.”
“now, polly, behave,” said wooden’s mother. “mr. and mrs. noah are looking at us.”
mr. noah advanced to the side of the ark and bowed[pg 39] to wooden. “i have been ordered to bring the ark down for you and your party,” he said. “i hope we shall have a nice trip up the river.”
wooden turned to peggy with a pleased smile on her face. “now that is an honour,” she said. “i am so pleased, dear. it is a most lovely ark inside.”
then she asked mr. noah how the queen was, and he shook his head and was just going to tell her how the queen was when wooden’s aunt gave a wild whoop, and picking up her skirts ran along the quay, kicking her feet out in front of her, and shouting, “come on, girls! here’s larks!”
and i am sorry to say that teddy joined her, and they danced up the quay together and rushed down the bridge from the bank to the ark, jostling each other and quite spoiling everything by their behaviour.
“oh dear, oh dear!” said wooden’s mother in a vexed voice, “really, polly does carry on something awful.”
but mr. noah only laughed and said, “i like a little fun sometimes.”
then he led the way to the platform in the front of the ark, and mrs. noah walked by peggy and said to her, “i like your face very much. i am sure we shall be friends.”
[pg 40]
the captain of the wooden soldiers now gave some words of command, and all his troops fell into their places ready to march alongside the ark. mr. noah blew a whistle, and his sons made themselves very busy unfastening ropes, pushing the ark out into the river, and getting ready to start the animals. mr. noah blew his whistle again when the ark was clear of the shore, and with a great deal of shouting and cheering, the procession of animals started off, and pulled the ark at a good pace up the river.
it was a very pleasant journey. the air was warm and the sky was blue. all the different animals that were pulling the ark were very interesting to look at, and the birds that flew in couples overhead were very pretty, too, and sang most melodiously.
they had not travelled very far before a smart servant doll in cap and apron came out of the house in the ark, and said, “would you like to take a little light refreshment?”
wooden’s aunt instantly jumped up from her chair and said, “i’m always ready for my grub.” then she pushed in front of all the others and rushed into the house in the most vulgar and objectionable manner. and again, i am sorry to say, teddy followed her.
wooden blushed with annoyance at the behaviour of her relative, and wooden’s mother said in an angry voice, “it is really too much. but please don’t think because she is my daughter’s aunt that she is my sister. quite the reverse. i wouldn’t own her. my poor brother married much beneath him. he was a wooden scotchman of irreproachable character, outside[pg 42] a tobacconist’s shop, and a perfect gentleman in every way.”
peggy smoothed the wounded feelings of wooden and her mother, and said it didn’t matter. “i think i had better say a word to teddy,” she said. “he is not behaving nicely.”
“oh, she leads him on,” said wooden’s mother, who was still very much annoyed.
“teddy has always been flighty, for a bear,” said wooden. “i haven’t liked to say anything, dear, but i think it would be a good thing if you were to speak to him. he would pay attention to you.”
when they got inside the house of the ark they found a most beautifully furnished apartment, with big windows on either side, through which the scenery on the banks of the river could be observed as they went along.
on the table was spread a most sumptuous repast. there was a dish of chicken, consisting entirely of wishing-bones; there was a pudding made of one gigantic chocolate cream; there were little baby bananas growing on a live tree in the middle of the table; there were sandwiches of toast and butter and watercress and blackberry jam and potted prawns, all mixed up together in the most ingenious manner, and[pg 43] very seductive to the palate; there was a birthday cake and a wedding cake; there was a jelly that tasted of violets and another that tasted of carnations; there were delicious drinks, from the sweet and comforting chocolate of the cold north to the iced sherbet of the burning south; there were dozens of crackers, and every one of them contained a beautiful toy, a motto, a cap of coloured paper decorated with gold and silver, and a small but valuable piece of jewellery. in short, there was every delicacy of the season, and all in the utmost profusion.
wooden’s aunt was already deep in the repast when they got inside. she was purple in the face, and beginning to breathe heavily.
“such greed i never saw,” said wooden’s mother, eyeing her severely. “she has not even washed her hands.”
teddy, however, was nowhere to be seen, and the servant-doll said that he had gone out by another door into mr. noah’s cabin. mr. noah had invited him to have a steak and onions with him. peggy was rather glad not to have to rebuke him before company, for she was fond of teddy. she thought that if he were kept away from wooden’s aunt he would probably behave all right.
[pg 44]
the servant-doll had led them into a nice airy bedroom, which opened out of the main saloon, and peggy washed her hands, and then put on a very pretty pinafore made of lace and chiffon, which the servant-doll gave her. when they were all ready they went into the saloon and sat down at the table, and much enjoyed their repast, while the ark was drawn rapidly along the winding river.
unfortunately their enjoyment was marred by the continued bad behaviour of wooden’s aunt, who went on as if she had really never been in respectable company before. when she could eat no more—and that was not for a long time—wooden’s mother gave her a dose of gregory powder, which she always carried about with her for such emergencies, or she would probably have died. as it was she felt very ill, and said so in a thoroughly vulgar manner.
wooden was most distressed at her behaviour, but she was so kind-hearted that she could not help making excuses for her. “greediness and vulgarity and vanity are her only failings, poor thing,” she said. “otherwise she has a very charming character. we all have our little weaknesses, and we must not think too much of them.”
“i’m ashamed of her,” said wooden’s mother.[pg 45] “and i shall tell her so to her face directly she regains consciousness.”
for wooden’s aunt was now stretched on one of the luxurious sofas of the saloon in a state of complete collapse.
“let us leave her there,” said lady grace. “she will be better when we arrive at dolltown.”
