The Giant Sorcerer

or

The Extraordinary Adventures of
Raphael and Cassandra

THE NAVY OF THE ATLANTIC PASSED SLOWLY BEFORE THE PRESIDENT (page [40])

The Giant
Sorcerer

OR

THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES
OF RAPHAEL AND CASSANDRA:

by
WILLIAM WHITMAN 3^RD

PICTURES
by FRANK BOYD

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON NEW YORK

COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY WILLIAM WHITMAN, 3RD
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

TO
WILLIAM WHITMAN
WILLIAM WHITMAN, Jr.
AND
WILLIAM WHITMAN, 4^TH

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Giant Sorcerer

∵

CHAPTER I
THE GIANT SORCERER

Raphael and Cassandra lived with their Aunt Mary in a white house which was tucked away from the road in a group of five elm trees. Behind the house was a white barn with a green door, and beside the barn to the west lay the orchard enclosed by a gray stone wall.

Often Raphael would lean out of the nursery window and wonder what lay beyond the wooded hill that sheltered the little farm from the north wind. There must be, he thought, great cities and seas and mountains. And animals like the tigers and giraffes which chased each other round his bedroom wall paper. Some day he would take Cassie and run away and visit these places. They would see the whole world for themselves.

One night when Raphael went to bed, he did not fall asleep. Instead he lay and watched the moonlight on the window sill. Across the room he could see the white outline of Cassandra’s bed, and Cassie a motionless white mound asleep in it. To-morrow, he thought, sleepily, I must build a house for the robins. Habakkuk needs a bath and a new collar. Why do dogs hate baths? Why do I hate to have my face washed? Everything Aunt Mary called good was hateful.

A railroad engine hooted for the crossing a mile beyond the barn. Raphael heard the roar and rattle of the cars as they pounded over the tracks which curved through the valley like sleeping snakes. Trains were fast and powerful. He loved to watch them race to and from Uniontown.

Then a strange thing happened. Cassandra stirred in bed, pushing aside the blankets. Raphael watched her rise and walk to the open window. He was about to whisper to her, when she climbed over the sill onto the little porch which jutted out over the back door. Raphael immediately jumped from his bed and crossed to the window.

While he looked out, his sister climbed down the trellis that edged the porch and walked like a little white ghost past the barn and into the orchard that lay along the slope of the hill. Raphael followed quietly. Aunt Mary would be very angry if she knew they were out of bed.

Everything was moist and silver in the moonlight. The grass bent under Raphael’s feet as he hurried through the orchard and over the stone wall that rimmed the woods. By the time he had crossed the rough wall and felt the little sticks of the wood path under his bare feet, Cassandra had disappeared. Raphael hitched up his purple pajamas and ran.

He had taken only a few steps when to his amazement he heard the sound of voices. He stopped short, listened a moment, and then crept forward. He saw his sister standing before a tall figure which blocked the wood path. Raphael could not see the stranger’s face, but he heard him say:

‘If you will come with me, Cassandra, I will take you to a city full of strange toys. You shall have dolls to play with, dolls that walk and talk; and houses for them to live in with running water and elevators and electric lights. You shall have a little automobile, and a great store full of toys all to yourself.’

‘Yes,’ whispered Cassandra.

‘Will you come with me?’ went on the stranger. ‘You needn’t be afraid. I won’t harm you.’

‘Yes,’ repeated Cassandra. Her voice was husky with sleep.

‘Come, then,’ commanded the stranger and held out his arms. ‘I order it. You cannot disobey.’

‘I AM MECHANUS, THE GIANT SORCERER’

Raphael, who had crept close in order to hear more clearly what the stranger said, sprang forward.

‘Cassie! Cassie!’ he cried. ‘Wait! Wait!’

The stranger took Cassandra in his round arms. ‘Boy,’ he ordered, ‘go home to bed.’

‘Who are you?’ demanded Raphael.

‘I am Mechanus, the Giant Sorcerer,’ answered the stranger proudly.

Raphael looked at him fearfully. In the moonlight he appeared black and very terrible holding Cassandra so easily. He was taller than any man the boy had ever seen, and his eyes shone like pale electric lights. He was dressed in some light material that merged into the dark shadows.

‘Are you a man?’ whispered Raphael, awed.

‘No,’ said the Sorcerer conversationally. ‘I am a mechanical wonder invented by man to be greater than all men.’

‘What do you want with Cassandra?’ asked Raphael, taking heart.

‘My boy,’ exclaimed Mechanus, ‘that happens to be my affair. She will go home with me because I want her to.’

She would go home with him, Cassandra, his sister, and he would never see her any more. A mechanical wonder greater than all men blocked the path.

‘You shan’t take Cassie away! I don’t care if you are a sorcerer!’ screamed Raphael desperately and dashed at the stranger.

Cold fingers like steel hooks lifted him to one side, and a metallic voice rang in his ears, ‘Be quiet, young fool!’

Raphael felt himself falling slowly into space.

CHAPTER II
GÆA, THE EARTH MOTHER

When Raphael woke, he was lying alone in the moonlight. Cassandra and the stranger had disappeared. The woods were very still. His head ached. Slowly the boy got to his feet and stumbled along the path which led to a small clearing at the top of the hill. Here he sat down on a large stone. Cassie was stolen!

Raphael was about to turn and run home when he heard the whistle of wings, and looking up saw a huge bird sail over the black tree-tops and light on the ground before him. Raphael was so astonished he could not move. He sat and stared in numb amazement.

‘Well,’ said the bird sharply, as he peered at him out of one yellow eye.

‘Who are you?’ asked Raphael faintly.

‘I am Empyrean, Chief of All the Eagles in the Sky, General of All the Armies of the Air.’

‘Oh,’ gasped Raphael. Then, because he felt powerless and lonely, he sniffled, ‘Cassie has been stolen. A sorcerer came and took her away.’

‘Stop crying!’ ordered the eagle fiercely.

Raphael dried his tears on an arm of his pajamas.

‘Tell me what happened,’ demanded the eagle.

‘Mechanus, the Giant Sorcerer, stole Cassie.’

‘Which way did they go?’ asked the eagle.

‘I don’t know. The Sorcerer knocked me down.’

The eagle said nothing for a moment, but stared straight at Raphael until he felt uncomfortable.

‘We shall find them. Come with me,’ the eagle commanded.

‘But how can I go?’ asked the boy.

‘I shall take you. Climb on my back. Hurry,’ ordered the bird when he saw that Raphael hesitated. ‘I won’t hurt you.’

He looked so fierce with his hooked yellow bill and curved talons that Raphael did not dare to disobey. He crawled clumsily astride the eagle’s neck and settled back between his great wings.

‘Are you ready?’ asked the bird.

‘Yes,’ answered Raphael breathlessly.

The eagle raised his wings and leapt into space. There was a slight shock as though they had jumped into a nest of down, and then with increasing speed the eagle forced his way higher and higher. Raphael could feel each upward surge as the wings rose and fell. The wind whistled in his ears a thin song.

Raphael thought of Cassandra and then of Aunt Mary. Would she cry when she learned that he and his sister had gone away? Would she blame him for letting the Giant Sorcerer steal Cassandra? He choked back the lump rising in his throat.

Suddenly he noticed that it was quite light, that it was morning. He looked ahead and saw the sun rising over a great mountain that stretched across the horizon. The night shadows were gathered like a curtain from a painting. When Raphael looked below, he could see great rolling forests laced by silver rivers. The eagle flew rapidly on.

Steadily they drew near the mountain, and Raphael noticed that they were rising higher and higher. Other great birds, eagles the boy supposed, swept down from the air and joined them, sailing round in great circles with fierce cries of welcome. It was cold flying so high in the air. Raphael shivered and leant back against the warm feathers of Empyrean.

They lit on the peak of the mountain just as the sun crowned the summit with light. One by one the other eagles swooped down and joined them on the bare rock.

Chief of All the Eagles turned to them and demanded, ‘Have you any news?’

‘We have news!’ screamed the eagles.

‘Quickly, then, let us make this boy one of us, in the name of Gæa!’ At this all the eagles raised their wings and bowed their heads reverently.

‘Are—are we going to save Cassie?’ asked Raphael nervously.

‘With the aid of Gæa she shall be saved,’ answered Chief of All the Eagles in the Sky.

‘Who is Gæa? Did she send you to help me? How did she know Cassie had been stolen?’

‘My son,’ said Empyrean sternly, ‘Gæa is the Earth Mother who knows all things. You shall learn more later.’

For a moment the eagle stared into the rising sun. Then, turning to Raphael, who did not dare to question further, he ordered him to take off his clothes. When Raphael stood naked upon the rock, the eagles solemnly bowed their heads as though in prayer. After which they presented Raphael with a magnificent suit of black feathers which buttoned up the front with clasps of luminous stone.

When Raphael had put on his new clothes, Chief of All the Eagles in the Sky spoke:

‘Comrades, I had a dream. And in my dream Gæa, the Earth Mother, the All-Powerful, appeared to me and told me of the Giant Sorcerer and of the great war between all nature and mechanics that is to be. Then She said, “A child shall save you, if it is written that you will be saved. Bless him with my power over land and sky and sea.” The dream changed and I saw a boy alone upon a hillside. I woke. And we are here!’

The eagles stirred uneasily, but said nothing. Empyrean continued, turning to Raphael, ‘In the name of Gæa I confer on you power over the Earth, the Air, and the Sea. Through Her you may command nature, the wind, the thunder, the lightning, the earthquake, and the volcano.

‘Already we have called upon all the people to help us, the animals, the birds, the fish, and the reptiles. In this way we shall crush the Giant Sorcerer, who is our enemy.’

The eagle, whose voice had grown louder and louder, strutted fiercely up and down. When he finished, all the eagles screamed together, and struck their breasts, and raised their wings. Anger flashed from their yellow eyes.

Then as at a signal they rose from the mountain on which they stood and flew in a circle above it. Faster and faster they flew, their wings sounding the thunder of flight.

‘Climb on my back quickly,’ commanded Chief of All the Eagles in the Sky.

When Raphael was seated, Empyrean darted into the air, and led his warriors up and up until the boy felt dizzy in the cold light air.

‘Behold!’ screamed the eagle suddenly.

Raphael looked down. Beyond the mountain lay the blue-white sea shimmering in the sunlight. Far below he noticed a black speck outlined against the ocean. It looked in the distance like a dragonfly. All the eagles cried out fiercely and beat their wings.

‘What’s the matter? What’s that?’ Raphael yelled, leaning along the eagle’s neck. ‘Is it an aeroplane?’

‘Yes,’ screamed the eagle.

‘Is it the Giant Sorcerer?’ gasped Raphael.

Chief of All the Eagles did not answer, but folding his wings dropped like a meteor toward the earth. Behind them swept the others like falling stars.

CHAPTER III
THE CASTLE OF THE SORCERER

They fell earthward until Raphael felt dizzy and sick. His ears hummed; his stomach rose. He shut his eyes and clutched desperately at the feathers along the eagle’s back. After an agony of excitement, the wind-song died to a hum; they dropped less rapidly, and Raphael with a gulp opened his eyes.

They were flying above the sea, which appeared in the morning light to be covered by a bright sheet of silver mail. The aeroplane of the Sorcerer had disappeared.

The eagles bore Raphael swiftly toward a cloud which lay in the distance above the ocean. As they drew near, the cloud changed, and land appeared rising fresh and green out of the sea. On this land the boy made out a great palace of white marble.

‘Is this the Sorcerer’s castle?’ Raphael shouted into his friend’s ear.

‘IS THIS THE SORCERER’S CASTLE?’ RAPHAEL SHOUTED

Empyrean nodded.

First the eagles flew round the castle from left to right, and Raphael marveled that there were no doors, no windows in this strange building. All he saw were blind walls which towered heavenward, a huge pillar of cream-white stone.

When the eagles had circled the building three times, they flew directly across the top. On the roof was an immense court surrounded by walls and shaped like the inside of a saucer. Within this bowl lay the aeroplane of the Sorcerer. Raphael saw figures running about on the roof.

Beside the large island lay a little one, barren and brown like the naked back of a sea monster. Here the eagles gathered together for a council of war. After many impatient and fierce proposals from his followers, Chief of All the Eagles in the Sky spoke:

‘We have come, O Eagles, to save the sister of our friend and to war against our enemy, the Sorcerer. But harken. We pit our strength and cunning against a powerful foe who has magic at his command about which we know little. Our brother,’—the eagle motioned toward Raphael—‘is of another people, a people more accustomed than we to such machines as this Sorcerer is lord over. Therefore it seems advisable to me that he go forth and bring us news.’

The eagle ceased to speak. The bird-warriors turned and stared at the boy, who, proud and self-conscious, bowed his head in assent. His first test had come.

Calling upon Gæa, as Empyrean had instructed him, Raphael claimed the powers of a water spider, and turned toward the water that separated the little island from the larger one. He was to try the powers granted him by the Queen Mother. Would the sea hold him? He stepped nervously onto a wave that broke in a carpet of white foam at his feet, and took a hasty step forward, then another. It was partly like walking over an uneven floor, partly like climbing a moving sandhill.

Far below on the bottom of the ocean he could hear clams chanting a hymn of triumph in which he distinctly caught the echo of his own name.

In a few moments Raphael stood on the shore of the main island underneath the walls of the Sorcerer’s castle. The tall blocks of stone which seemed to pierce the reeling sky were cold to his touch. There was no life, no movement on the whole island. Even the palms which fringed the shore were motionless. Only a large steel sign that read, Keep Out! This Means You! hinted at human occupation. To the castle itself he could find neither door nor window. That’s very queer, thought the boy.

Calling upon Gæa for the powers of a bird, Raphael raised his hands above his head and stood upon his toes. Then, using his arms as wings, he jumped upward. It was like beating a very soft feather pillow. Slowly the boy left the ground, kicking awkwardly with his legs; and lit, out of breath and sprawling, in the saucer-like basin where he had last seen the aeroplane of the Sorcerer. The roof was deserted and bleak. Only the thin outline of a large trapdoor showed where the Sorcerer had entered his stronghold.

Raphael walked about nervously, expecting to be attacked at any moment. He could see no sign of life, and yet he felt that invisible eyes watched him.

There must be, he thought, another door to this castle under the sea.

Raphael leapt from the roof to fly back to the eagles. He dropped earthward, and only by beating the air wildly with his outstretched arms could he regain his balance. With a sense of relief he landed fluttering like a wounded bird on the little island.

When he told the eagles what he had found, they burst into a shrill clamor devising schemes of war. As before, Chief of All the Eagles in the Sky was the last to speak:

‘Comrades, since you demand war, there shall be war. But I believe you underestimate the power and resource of the enemy. Before we use violence, let us discover whether there is another entrance to this castle through which the Sorcerer might escape. Although a journey below the sea is not possible for eagles, to Raphael, who has power over the sea, it should not be difficult.

‘My boy’—he turned to Raphael—‘I charge you with this mission. Go to the King or President of the Atlantic, for I think that he will help us.’

In this way the conference ended.

CHAPTER IV
DOWN TO THE SEA

Calling upon the power of a dolphin, Raphael walked down into the sea. When the green water closed over his head, he realized that he had entered a new world, as strange as the earth which he had left. He took a breath cautiously and found that he could breathe. I wonder, he thought, whether the fish know that there is another world on top of the water, and that there are other worlds even beyond that.

Raphael climbed slowly down a great cinder cliff to which clung odd mosses and seaweed. He was looking for some sign of life in the silent depths when he stumbled carelessly over a rock and started to fall. It was then he noticed for the first time the peculiar nature of the land he was in. Instead of falling, he tipped forward and settled gently through the water face down. Why, thought Raphael, this is like flying. And he swam a few strokes.

At the bottom of the cliff, he sat down to rest in a large bush of seaweed which floated soft green branches toward him. He was out of breath.

‘Be careful,’ said a voice at his elbow as he was about to settle back comfortably. ‘There is a sea urchin almost underneath you.’

Raphael struggled to his feet as fast as he could. He saw no living thing, however, until he looked up. Above him finned a large pop-eyed fish which stared down at him coldly.

‘Oh,’ said Raphael, ‘I didn’t expect to see you there.’

‘Didn’t you?’ asked the fish sarcastically.

Raphael flushed, but replied politely. ‘May I ask, Sir or Madam, what a sea urchin is?’

The fish eyed him angrily. ‘My name is Mary Cod.’

And she pointed to a little round creature like a black pincushion with long spines.

‘I beg your pardon,’ answered Raphael humbly. ‘I suppose I should have recognized you.’

‘You could not be expected to know me,’ sneered the cod in a temper. ‘We look quite different on a dinner-table.’

Raphael was shocked at this. He thought it a joke in rather poor taste.

‘Miss Cod,’ he began, ‘I am sorry to have....’

‘Miss Cod, indeed!’ mouthed the codfish. ‘Tommy, Walter, Archibald, Augustus, Percy, Angela, Peter, William, and Mary, come here this minute.’

And Mrs. Cod sailed off, wriggling her fins indignantly, followed by her family, which dawdled indolently behind, opening and shutting their mouths.

I wonder if they all belong to her, thought Raphael. They look more like a school of fish on a lecture tour or an outing.

He was regretting that he had not asked her more about life under the sea, and where he might find the King or the President of the ocean, when a small voice fluted in his ear:

‘Do I understand, young man, that you would like to see the President?’

‘MISS COD, INDEED!’ MOUTHED THE CODFISH

Again Raphael, startled, looked helplessly about. He was not yet accustomed to the semi-twilight of the ocean. All he saw were the rocks down which he had tumbled, and the lacy branches of the seaweed which pulsed slowly back and forth with the ocean current. He looked up, but could see nothing except long rays of green light which filtered in broad bands through the water.

‘Do I understand, young man, that you would like to see the President?’ repeated the voice patiently.

Then Raphael discovered a sea horse hovering like a humming bird so close to his ear that he had to turn his head to see him. He balanced upright like a ribbed celluloid toy, and held a branch of green weed in his tail.

‘I want to see the President very much,’ answered Raphael hastily.

‘Follow me,’ said the sea horse. ‘I have the honor of being Equerry to the President.’ He started to swim away.

Raphael rose heavily, and, moving his arms in a swimming motion, followed his guide as rapidly as he could. They went up a steep ridge and came to a plateau covered with sea grass which moved with the ocean current like a field of wheat in the wind. As they hurried along, Raphael saw black shadows drift slowly back and forth, nosing the grass.

‘What are those, Mr. Sea Horse?’ he asked.

‘They are sharks, Mr. Raphael.’

‘Oh,’ said Raphael nervously, and looked about for a bush to hide in. The sea horse noticed this.

‘They won’t hurt you,’ he said, waiting for Raphael to catch up. ‘They are far too lazy.’

Raphael and the sea horse swam forward side by side. Now that he was more used to this strange method of walking, he found that he could travel quite easily.

‘I met Mrs. Cod,’ he said by way of conversation.

The sea horse laughed without changing his expression. ‘I suppose she was as cross as usual. She has come south for the winter and has been complaining of the heat and her family ever since. She belongs farther north, and not in these semi-tropical waters at all,’ the sea horse went on to explain, ‘and her family is really quite a trial. Of course they aren’t all hers. Most fish don’t ever see their children.’

While they were talking, Raphael and the sea horse crossed the plateau and started to descend. The way became rough, and gigantic, moss-covered boulders blocked the path. The seaweed grew thicker, tangling into a rich brown and green jungle of limp branches through which Raphael found it increasingly difficult to force his way. Great lava mountains towered above them in ropy hills and cliffs, or overhung black pits which the rays of the sun could not pierce.

‘Where does the President live?’ asked Raphael after a long silence.

‘Not far from here. I suppose you know that they are all expecting you.’

‘Who is expecting me?’

‘His Excellency, the Cabinet, and the Admirals of the North and South Atlantic.’

‘Really?’ said Raphael, who had ceased to be surprised at anything. ‘Who told them I was coming?’

‘Gæa, the Queen Mother, sent us word,’ answered the sea horse as he dipped his body respectfully.

He seemed disinclined to say more and Raphael politely changed the subject.

‘Would you mind telling me your President’s name?’

‘Willingly,’ answered the sea horse. ‘The President of the Atlantic democracy is His Excellency, Mr. Albert Right Whale. He was elected, as you may have heard, on account of his size.’

‘Is the Pacific a democracy also?’ asked Raphael.

‘Oh, dear, no,’ replied the sea horse proudly.

Just then the path they were following joined a broad highway of white sand which ran between two high mountains. Along this road swam thousands of fish, more fish than Raphael had ever seen. For the most part they drifted along in schools: gray snappers, muttonfish, and red and black groupers. Occasionally Raphael and his guide passed a sting ray asleep like a mottled fungus on the ocean floor. And once they came upon an immense octopus shambling along on his knuckles.

The road gradually narrowed to a gateway between two walls of black obsidian. Most of the fish made no effort to pass this barrier, but swam slowly in a circle about the entrance. Many of them turned away and drifted silently back the way they had come like ghosts.

‘Here we are,’ said the sea horse. ‘Follow me.’

CHAPTER V
HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT

Raphael and the sea horse swam through the gateway, which was guarded by two gray octopi, and entered a huge amphitheater. On all sides rose black hills covered with brown ooze. The floor was coral, whose pink-and-white branches were laced into miniature caves and grottoes in which lived strange crabs and small beautifully tinted fish. Clinging to the coral, brown sea fans waved in the pulse of the ocean, while here and there sea anemones bloomed like giant white chrysanthemums. Through this garden swam silver moonfish, striped black-and-white angel fish, and the spotted red and green rockhind.

After a quick glance Raphael paid them little attention as he moved across the uneven floor. Instead he stared at the indistinct forms which circled like shadows in the center of the immense arena. He had never seen such gigantic creatures.

‘Come with me,’ said the sea horse, and piloted him toward a magnificent black whale who swam sedately about in the center of a group of admirers. Cabinet ministers, Admiralty, and Senators, thought Raphael. When they were quite close, the sea horse stopped.

‘Mr. President,’ he announced in his thin small voice, ‘may I introduce Mr. Raphael, Commander of the Elements, and General of All the Armies Above and Below the Sea, Emissary Extraordinary of Gæa, the Earth Mother.’

The sea horse paused and asked Raphael in an aside whether he had any more titles. ‘For,’ he said, ‘they are very fond of titles in this democracy.’

The President smiled heavily, dropping his huge lower jaw and exposing the whalebone strainers in his mouth.

‘Pleased to meet you, Mr. Raphael. We have had word about you.’ And he held out an immense fluke toward the boy. Raphael’s hand seemed ridiculously small, but he grasped the outer edge of the rough, oily flipper manfully.

‘Martha,’ called the President to a slightly smaller black whale, ‘meet Mr. Raphael.’

At this the First Lady of the Ocean bustled up, quivering with anxiety to please. ‘Glad to meet any friend of my husband’s,’ she gurgled. ‘You’re a real stranger round these parts.’

Raphael bowed. ‘Mr. President,’ he said, ‘might I have a word with you in private, if Mrs. Whale will excuse us?’

‘Certainly,’ said the President. ‘My dear, will you pardon us?’ Again they bowed to one another.

When Mrs. Whale and the sea horse had withdrawn, Raphael turned to the President. ‘Mr. President,’ he said very fast and without drawing breath, ‘I have come to ask a favor of you as the Leading Citizen of the Ocean.’ His Excellency smiled, flattered.

Then Raphael told him about Cassandra, the Sorcerer, and the blind castle on the island. ‘I have come,’ he concluded, ‘to find a door to the castle and to ask your help.’

‘Since you come from Gæa, the Queen Mother,’ replied the President in his best official manner, speaking very carefully, ‘you are more than welcome to the Sea. But here we are ignorant of the Earth, and such people as this Giant Sorcerer.

‘Besides this you are a man, and man has done us few favors. Instead he has destroyed many of our noblest sea families. For this reason our hearts are hard.’

‘But Mr. President,’ interrupted Raphael excitedly, ‘I don’t want very much help. All I need is a guard placed about the castle rock in case the Sorcerer should escape.’

The President was impressed. ‘Well, well,’ he muttered, ‘what you ask is little. And if we don’t love man, we should probably love a sorcerer even less.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t mean to be discourteous, but political life is full of difficult decisions, and times are not as easy as they used to be. What is more, we have our own wars to fight in the ocean, for most of us feed by war. However, I’ll help you now, if you will help us in the future.’

At this point Mrs. Whale burst in upon the conversation.

‘Oh, Albert,’ she cried, bumping him coyly, ‘you men are always talking business. You’ll forgive my interrupting, won’t you, Mr. Raphael? I’m sure Albert will scold me later. But I do want you to see our son before you leave. Children of the Sea so seldom have a chance to see the strange people who come from the Land. Especially live ones. They tell me that we were land folk at one time. My husband says that if this were known it would do him no end of harm politically.’

‘Now, now, little woman,’ interrupted her husband kindly, ‘run along. We have serious business to attend to.’

The President turned and beckoned with his fluke to the sea horse.

‘Mr. Equerry,’ he commanded, ‘summon the Grand Council.’

At a word from the sea horse, the Grand Council, which was made up of the House of Representatives as well as the Admiralty, gathered and stationed itself in a semi-circle about the President, the big fish nearest the ocean floor, the little fish above them like spectators in a vast theater audience. Raphael saw a porpoise, a manatee, a sawfish, a swordfish, a spearfish, a sailfish, a tarpon, a tuna, several kinds of sharks, besides a dolphin, a turtle, and numerous representative sea creatures he could not name.

When they were all in their places, the President introduced Raphael, who repeated his adventures with the Giant Sorcerer and urged them to aid him.

‘For,’ he said, ‘if my search for an entrance to the castle fails, in the name of Gæa I shall tear apart the ocean floor and bury the Sorcerer beneath the sea which otherwise he would surely dare to make his own.’

‘Ah,’ echoed the multitude, who stared at him out of round unlidded eyes. Raphael was about to continue his speech about the rescue of Cassandra, which secretly he thought very fine indeed, when swarms of little fish suddenly flashed through the assembly and darted into the green weeds that skirted the base of the surrounding cliffs. Several of the larger fish stirred hungrily, while the President looked annoyed.

‘Mr. Equerry,’ he demanded ponderously, ‘what is the meaning of this interruption?’

‘I shall try to find out, Your Excellency,’ answered the sea horse as he was tossed on the wave of the President’s double-chinned displeasure. But even as he spoke more fish streamed through the gateway to the great chamber, and swept the council amphitheater. Then shadows appeared struggling at the entrance, and fine sand clouded the water. No one said a word, but fear spread through the water in mysterious waves.

Suddenly from the shadows between the cliffs, Raphael saw a strange form appear, a creature with massive legs and arms, in whose round head gleamed two goggle eyes. This thing advanced slowly and, bending over, picked up a black cable from the ocean floor.

When the monster saw the gathering, it stopped and peered stupidly about, balancing on one squat, steel-ribbed foot. Then with slow strides it drifted back the way it had come.

‘Mr. Equerry,’ shouted the President in a shrill voice, ‘summon the Admirals of the North and South Atlantic. Instruct Rear Admiral Swordfish and Rear Admiral Sawfish to pursue the enemy and drive him from the sea. In the meantime, the meeting is adjourned.’ He turned nervously to Raphael. ‘I need a good blow of fresh air. I feel as though I had been down at least five hours.’

He lifted his immense head toward the surface, and without another word rose like a black cloud.

CHAPTER VI
OFF TO WAR

Raphael followed the President as quickly as he could to the top of the ocean. The afternoon sun was descending when he lifted his head above water. Far away to the west he thought he could see the castle of the Sorcerer, but it was difficult to be sure with the sun shining in his eyes. He swam slowly toward the President, who was spouting feathery plumes of vapor as he circled about.

‘Goodness, that creature gave me a start,’ said the President when Raphael paddled up. And he blew a jet of vapor over the boy.

‘My nerves are not what they used to be,’ he confided. ‘It comes from being hunted. Anything that looks like a man makes me jump, with exceptions, of course. What did you make of it?’

‘It was a diver, I think,’ answered Raphael importantly. ‘A diver looks very terrible,’ he added, to save the President’s feelings. ‘I’ve often seen them in the movies at home when Aunt Mary let us go.’

‘Well, well,’ sighed the President, ‘if it’s only a diver. I thought that....’

Just then Mrs. Whale appeared blowing nervously, followed by an ugly, freckled, snub-nosed little whale some twenty feet in length.

‘Oh, Albert,’ she wailed, ‘what was it? Do you think there is any danger? I can’t bear the suspense. I don’t care for myself, but Junior will be frightened out of yards of growth.’

‘It was nothing, dear. Only a diver,’ replied her husband. ‘I don’t believe there is any danger.’

At this Junior playfully butted his mother.

‘Junior, don’t! Do you want to hurt your mother, who would give every fluke in her body for you?’

Then she saw Raphael. ‘Why, Mr. Raphael! How nice to see you up here! Junior’s such a bad boy,’ she apologized proudly. ‘He’s getting his strainers. Don’t you think he looks like the President? Stop it, Junior! Do you want me to slap you? There, shake a fluke with Mr. Raphael. Mr. Raphael comes from the Land, where they say we once lived. What is the world coming to!’

Junior said nothing, but bumped his mother again as if by accident.

‘Now, Junior, do stop!’ she exclaimed almost tearfully. ‘Where are your manners? Children are so difficult! I always try to reason with my little ones, but sometimes it seems as though Junior just won’t listen. My husband always laughs at me, but he spoils Junior just as badly as I do. What do you think, Mr. Raphael?’

Raphael did not have time to say what he thought, for just then a small voice fluted, ‘Mr. President, the Navy has formed in review.’ It was the sea horse.

‘I have enjoyed my blow,’ said the President more calmly. ‘And now I must leave you two to chat.’

‘Your Excellency,’ begged Raphael, ‘I want to know what happens. May I go down with you?’

‘Why, certainly, Mr. Raphael. I should be delighted. Good-bye, dear,’ called the President to his wife; ‘don’t go too far away.’ Then he turned to Raphael. ‘If you will catch hold of my fluke, we’ll be down in a moment.’

Raphael did as he was told. The whale rounded his back, lifted his tail out of water, and sounded with a splash.

Down they shot into the twilight world of the ocean. Raphael did not dare to breathe, and for a long time did not even open his eyes.

At last they came to rest by the gateway of the amphitheater fifty yards or so off bottom. Immediately a host of small fish swam up beside them, pushing and struggling for the best view of the parade. Gray police sharks drifted slowly up and down the line.

At a signal from the President, a huge sawfish approached and saluted with a sweep of his tail. He had small up-staring eyes and moved his saw sideways like a scythe.

‘All present, Mr. President,’ he intoned.

The right whale returned the salute and ordered, ‘Carry on.’

The sawfish saluted again and withdrew. The light was growing dimmer. Shadows clung to the rock floor, and Raphael had difficulty in seeing the black cliffs across the arena.

The review began in silence. Two Admirals, a swordfish and a sawfish, followed by four Rear Admirals, passed slowly before the President. Behind them swam, rank on rank, the Navy of the Atlantic led by a brilliant band of drum and trumpet fish. Eight deep they drifted past the reviewing stand in massed companies of a hundred—swordfish, sawfish, spearfish, porpoises, leopard sharks, devilfish, sting rays, and even a company of octopi which sculled along in the rear.

Behind them followed a second division composed of smaller fish led by a sergeant major and queen trigger fish with a host of flying-fish for scouts.

When the Navy had swum majestically out of the gateway, the crowd broke up into noisy little groups of non-combatants. Raphael saw a gathering of crabs arguing among themselves, while a large blue-green lobster ambled over to join the fight. A starfish, unmindful of the excitement, slept like a red rubber sponge on a coral ledge.

The ocean silence grew more oppressive as the light failed. Raphael was watching a hermit crab scuttle round hunting for an empty shell to hide in, when the sea horse swam up.

‘That creature killed both of the octopi guards,’ he said. ‘There must have been a terrible fight. What do you suppose he was doing here?’

‘He was probably one of the Sorcerer’s spies,’ answered Raphael.

‘Do you really think so?’

‘Yes.’

‘I wonder how much he discovered?’ mused the Equerry. ‘I couldn’t find out from the other fish. Some said one thing and some another.’

Just then the President swam up. He loomed dark and indistinct, stirring up the phosphorus in the water which shone about him like moonlight around the edges of a black cloud.

‘If you will spend the night with us, while the Navy drives that monster from the Sea, I will show you many wonderful things,’ he urged Raphael. ‘I know deep valleys in which all sorts of curious fish live, fish with no eyes, fish with windows in their stomachs, fish who light up the pits of the Sea with their own lanterns, besides numerous other serpents and sea beasts.’

For a moment Raphael was tempted to stay and see these wonders. Then he thought of Cassandra and gave up the idea. He was turning to bid the President good-bye, when a small needlefish darted up.

‘Mr. President,’ whistled the needlefish, ‘Admiral Sawfish has sent me with dispatches informing you that the enemy who invaded the Council Chamber has entirely disappeared.’ And he handed Mr. Right Whale a bundle of tightly rolled seaweed.

Raphael was worried.

‘Mr. President,’ he implored, ‘will you help me? The Sorcerer may have been warned already of our plans to get into the castle.’

‘I shall help you as I promised,’ answered the whale, ‘but I don’t know whether there is any entrance to the castle under the sea. If you will wait, I will have my scouts look for one.’

‘If you would lend me a guide, I could scout for myself,’ urged Raphael.

‘Very well,’ said the President. ‘I must apologize for not providing you with an escort to the island, but the Navy has gone. I am sure you understand my position. My Equerry, however, will guide you.’

Raphael bade the President farewell and sent his respects to the First Lady of the Ocean and her son.

‘Good-bye,’ called His Excellency. ‘Good luck. Farewell. Farewell.’

As he spoke the President drifted off, his voice grew fainter and fainter, the darkness deepened, and Raphael saw him no more.

CHAPTER VII
EAGLES! EAGLES!

After bidding the President farewell, Raphael, guided by the sea horse, returned toward the highlands which jutted up to form the island of the Sorcerer. It was very dark. Phosphorus glowed about them in the ocean so that they moved like comets through the night.

They had been traveling for some time when a host of small mackerel darted by.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked the sea horse of one who paused a moment in his flight to look at them.

‘A huge silver whale chased us, a whale larger than any we had ever seen. It came out of those cliffs.’ And the mackerel turned and pointed with his tail.

‘Come on,’ said Raphael. ‘I don’t like this.’

Together the sea horse and the boy rushed westward. After a time they came to the cliffs themselves rising sheer and black.

Here they stumbled over a wire cable which ran along the ocean floor, and stopped for a moment out of breath.

‘I’m afraid the Sorcerer may have gone,’ panted Raphael to his companion.

The sea horse did not answer him, but stared intently into the gloom. At first Raphael could see nothing, but at last he made out the outline of a black doorway which gaped open in the cliff.

‘The door! The door!’ shouted Raphael.

He swam closer and felt one of the edges with his hand. It was made out of metal. Again he tripped over the cable which led into the depths of the chasm.

Raphael decided to follow it, and had started forward when the sea horse warned him.

‘Be careful. That water is poisonous and foul.’

Raphael hesitated. A raw stagnant odor hung about the mouth of the doorway which sickened him.

‘I shouldn’t go in there if I were you,’ warned the sea horse.

‘But,’ objected Raphael, ‘I must find Cassandra.’

The sea horse quivered. ‘Good-bye, then. I shall have to leave you here. I hope you won’t think me a coward, but I couldn’t live a minute in that water. Good luck.’

‘So long!’ said Raphael. He had become very fond of the sea horse. ‘See you later, and thanks ever so much for showing me about.’

‘See you later,’ echoed the sea horse sadly, and turned away.

I shall never see him again, thought Raphael, and shut his eyes as he stepped within the door.

It was cold and dead black inside. Raphael paddled blindly upward feeling choked and uncomfortable.

Suddenly without warning his head popped above the surface, and he could look around. He was in an immense cave hewn out of the solid rock. At one end of it a cluster of brilliant yellow lights was reflected in the oily black water that licked at the foot of a great pier carved out of the rock wall.

‘I SHOULDN’T GO IN THERE IF I WERE YOU,’ WARNED THE SEA HORSE

Raphael swam rapidly to a flight of landing stairs which ran down into the water, and hauled himself out. Shivering he turned toward a few concrete steps which led from the pier up to the door in the rock wall. The black cable he had determined to follow also rose out of the water and disappeared through this door.

This is the cable that the diver carried from the Council Chamber, thought Raphael with sudden inspiration.

Not knowing exactly what to do, the boy mounted the steps and hurried along a smooth concrete passageway which led directly into the castle itself.

Forgetting the might and cunning of the enemy in his impatience, he ran, his feet pattering along the corridor like rain upon a shingle roof. Ahead of him lights blazed, but no one stopped him, no one appeared. He climbed a long flight of marble stairs, and so came through a door of brass into the great central hall of the castle. It was a huge semi-circular room like a cathedral apse, lined with winking elevator shafts that rose toward the distant ceiling in blazing piers of metal.

Raphael hesitated for a moment and then followed the cable through an open door. The room into which he came was lined with rich imitation oak paneling, and contained a large mahogany-stained table. The cable ended here. In the center of this table rested a steel box japanned in black enamel. Halfway under the box lay a letter, thin and white, on the outside of which was printed in large letters RAPHAEL, and below this in writing, ‘In the event of his discovering this dictaphone.’

Raphael hastily tore open the letter, and read as follows:

Castle of the Sea

My dear Raphael:

Through my dictaphone I have discovered your plot to destroy me and my castle. As I quite realize your ability to carry out your plans so conveniently outlined, I have made mine in advance. Cassandra and I leave in a moment by submarine for a safer retreat from your unwished-for attentions.

I trust that this letter will relieve you of further search, my only regret being that our destination must be kept a secret from you. Give my respects to all your old-fashioned friends above and below.

I remain
Your humble
And devoted servant
Mechanus

P.S. Cassandra sends her love.

Raphael stared at the letter a moment. Then he ran to the door, and back into the great hallway. Here he stopped and looked desperately about. It was almost impossible to go back. He thought of the roof, the roof and the eagles.

All the elevator doors stood open. Raphael stepped into the nearest one and grasped the starting lever. Up, up he shot with dizzy speed. He wondered, as they passed floor after floor, how tall the castle was. Where should he stop? Perhaps the elevator would shatter itself against the roof and drop him down the long shaft.

The car jarred and came to a sudden stop. Raphael jerked back the elevator door and stepped into a long corridor. Peering up between the landing and the cage, he saw the roof itself just above him. He was on the top floor.

The boy ran along the corridor, and so came to a room where he discovered a huge aeroplane lying black and shining in its hangar. Raphael did not even stop to look at the machine, but hurried toward the great door which filled one end of the room. It was made of steel, thick and impassive. This was the entrance he had noticed from the outside. He pushed at it frantically, and beat his hands on the great locks. He might as well have tried to overthrow the castle itself.

Raphael had nearly given up in despair when he noticed a small lever on the wall. He reached over and pulled it down. With a click and whir the door swung smoothly back, and the boy stepped out onto the roof.

‘Eagles! Eagles!’ he shouted.

In a moment Chief of All the Eagles in the Sky wheeled into sight.