At lunch King Beta displayed an unusual gaiety, which greatly astonished Prince Omega, to whom he had shown a grim face since the adventure of the portrait. Princess Betinette made that observation.
“How cheerful you are today, Father! Has something fortunate occurred?”
“My word, yes,” said the king, “I’ll tell you, for now I’m on the point of succeeding, I have no more interest in hiding it. On arriving at the summer palace an idea occurred to me to carry out an experiment with seeds. I took a small pea, which I introduced into a haricot bean, and then I put the bean inside a potato, and hid the whole thing in a pot of earth that I put in my greenhouse. To tell the truth, I didn’t expect very much from that mixture, and I’d even forgotten to visit it, when this morning, chancing to go past the place where I’d put it, I perceived a green leaf emerging from the soil. I had succeeded! What will the mixture give me? I don’t know yet. Will I have peas that taste like haricot beans and potatoes? Or beans that taste like peas and potatoes? Or, finally, a plant producing potatoes, beans and peas all at the same time? I’ll know that in a few more weeks. For the moment, I’m rejoicing in seeing that my seed has germinated. I’ve created a new species!”
“It will be necessary to call it the royal potato,” said Prince Omega.
“Well,” said Princess Betinette, “It’s necessary that the discovery doesn’t remain under a bushel. We’ll have it proclaimed throughout the kingdom; we’ll have an explanatory notice made with an image of the new plant and a portrait of the king, its inventor.” She added, maliciously: “Price Omega can make the portrait of the king!”
The prince grimaced.
“Oh, no,” said the king. “If the prince were to draw me, the plant would have grown and withered before he’d begun.”
“Well, then,” said Betinette, “I’ll do it. I only ask a week for that.”
“Granted,” said the king, “but I’m very busy and I can only give you one sitting.”
“I won’t need any more,” she replied. “In a week, each of you will have a portrait of my father.”
“When will it be necessary to pose?” asked the king.
“After the meal. I’ll only ask you for a quarter of an hour.”
The lunch concluded merrily. The king, who thought that his daughter was joking, teased her slightly by saying that he would be cross if she didn’t succeeded, and Prince Omega assured her ironically that he was glad to know that she had a talent that she had hidden from him thus far.
When they had got up from the table, the table, the king said: “Well, daughter, I’m waiting.”
“If you’d like to follow me to my apartment,” said the princess, “I won’t keep you long.
Prince Omega, who had not been invited to go with them, hastened to mount his horse in order to go and met Remplume and ask him what the princess’s boastfulness might signify.
VIII. In which we see a nautical fête in which Prince Omega and the engineer Vatenlair compete.
The place where Prince Omega met Remplume was one of the prettiest and most solitary in the forest. In the midst of green oaks and fire trees, rocks of all forms were heaped up, covered with ivy, moss and climbing plants, which overhung an immense lake, sometimes broad and sometimes so narrow that the crowns of the trees either bank overlapped. It was alimented by the river of Betaville, which, after a thousand detours, came to traverse it in its width and, before continuing its course through open country, activated the wheel of a mill. A few pleasure boats were moored at the foot of the rocks.
While waiting for the prince, Remplume had sat down in one of those skiffs, and was thinking melancholically about his lost position and the unexpected fortune of Vatenlair, for whom he was acquiring an ever-greater animosity. He told himself that he had been maladroit in being jealous, and thought that the engineer was only an ignoramus by comparison with him. He knew the king, he knew that he would never get back into grace and, on the other hand, Prince Omega, being too young, did not appear to him to be serious enough. It was, however, necessary to attach himself in that direction.
The sound of a galloping horse interrupted his reflections. It was the prince. He dismounted and came to find Remplume in the boat.
“Take the oars,” said the prince. “I have a lot to tell you today.”
“What is it?” Remplume asked.
“I’ve told you that in order to pay court to Princess Betinette I tried to paint her portrait.”
“And you didn’t succeed.”
“That’s true, I thought that it was easier, and the Princess scarcely lent herself to it, but, in sum, it was worth a few conversations with her, which unfortunately ceased because the king no longer wanted me to continue.
“Which is annoying.”
“Undoubtedly; all the more so because the princess is avoiding me more and more. I believe that I’m not sympathetic to her.”
“It’s certain, according to what you tell me, that she doesn’t love you yet, but it’s necessary not to despair. In any case, the princess adores her father and will always obey him. It’s him, above all, that it’s necessary to seduce.”
“I understand that, so I was profoundly afflicted to see that he no longer wanted the portrait; but there’s something else: the princess has boasted that she can make one of the king.”
“Does she know how to draw, then?”
“I don’t know, but this morning, after lunch, she asked her father to come and pose in her apartment.”
“It’s a joke, to tease you!”
“No, she said that she’d only keep him for a quarter of an hour and that she’d show him his portrait in a week, and moreover, that she would give a copy to everyone in the court.”
“Vatenlair must be behind it,” Remplume thought aloud.
“It seems impossible to me,” the prince went on. “Can you explain to me how she’s going to do it?”
“It’s necessary to wait. She might not succeed. I think it’s a trick. A portrait of the king! That can be understood in different ways. Instead of drawing, she’ll probably employ a stylus and it will be a written portrait, a eulogy of the king describing his physiognomy and simultaneously tracing his qualities.”
“Yes, perhaps.”
“The king, who loves the marvelous, has been deceived by the fashion in which the princess made him the proposal; that’s why he lent himself to it right away, but he’ll be disappointed when he sees the results. It will be necessary then to bring him back to you by showing him something extraordinary.”
While they were talking thus, the boat had traversed the lake and was now near the mill, whose wheel was turning slowly under the action of the river.
“Something extraordinary!” repeated the prince. “That’s easy to say, but what? It’s up to you to find that for me. Since you’ve been in my service you’ve only given me a few items of advice, which haven’t been any use to me.”
“You won’t make me that reproach any longer,” replied Remplume, obstinately watching the mill-wheel. “Yes, it won’t be said that Vatenlair has a monopoly on enchantments; we too are going to make the king marvel.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, prince, that I’ve found it!”
“Found what!”
“You’ll see. Tell me, how did I propel this boat to this spot?”
“With oars.”
“And what if I found a way to propel a boat without oars?”
“That would be marvelous.”
“Yes, it would be marvelous. And I’d eclipse Vatenlair!”
“You’re forgetting that it’s me who needs to eclipse Vatenlair.”
“Pardon me! That’s true. So, this invention will be attributed to you.”
“But what are you going to do?”
“This. You see that mill? What sets it in motion? It’s the wheel pushed by the water. Well, by doing the opposite, I’ll arrive at the desired result.”
“How’s that?”
�
�We’re going to construct a boat, and on its sides we’re going to fit two small wheels like those of the mill; then we’ll make them turn with the aid of a handle. The wheels, in driving back the water, will make the boat advance with more or less rapidity, depending on the effort one puts into it, and in order to change direction it will be sufficient to slow down the wheel on the right or the left depending on the direction in which one wants to steer. The wheel pushing the water instead of the water pushing the wheel, that’s the whole system.”
“Yes,” said the prince, “That does, in fact, seem very ingenious. Well, let’s set to work. Have the boat constructed as quickly as possible.”
“It will be ready in time. In September, a few days before the return of the court to the city palace, it’s the king’s birthday. On that occasion there are regattas on the lake. You’ll enter as a competitor and your success will be certain; you’ll get back into the king’s good graces.”
Remplume and the king resumed the route to the rocks where they had embarked, and they separated, both delighted. Remplume, however, was annoyed, deep down, at not being able to attribute the invention to himself, which, he thought, would have put an end to his disgrace and put Vatenlair in the shade.
In the meantime, Vatenlair was entirely devoted to the organization of his workshops. The terrain that the king had given him was vast, and he had created a little industrial city there, in which all the métiers were represented; joiners, carpenters, smiths, founders, mechanics, electricians, etc. flowed into his vast workshops, where powerful motive forces activated machines of all sorts. He had had difficulty training that personnel, composed of at least twelve hundred people, but he had succeeded in it by dint of firmness and generosity. All his workers loved him and defended him with regard to a few malcontents that he had sacked spoke ill of him.
One day, one of them, a joiner named Rabotin20 come to find him and said: “Monsieur Vatenlair, I have something to ask you.”
“Speak, my lad.”
“Well, if it’s an effect of your generosity, I’d like to take a leave.”
“A leave! You know that we have a great deal of work at this moment, but, after all, if it’s necessary for you to absent yourself, I’ll permit it.”
“Thank you, Monsieur Vatenlair, but aren’t you going to ask me why I’m absenting myself?”
“That’s your business.”
“It’s just that I don’t want you to be discontented with me, and I’ll tell you everything. Someone came to bring me a commission; I don’t want to accept it if it displeases you, and, on the other hand, in order to carry it out, it’s necessary for me to ask you for a leave.”
“You’ve done well not to accept it without talking to me. It’s not customary to quit the work of one’s employer in order to work for someone else, when there’s no shortage of work. But I like your frankness. What is this commission?”
“A boat. In the month of September it’s the king’s birthday; then there are regattas on the lake of the summer palace, and someone has come to ask me to construct a special boat. Here’s the plan.”
“Well, well! A paddle-boat with handles. And who has ordered that?”
“Monsieur Remplume, for Prince Omega.”
“Aha! He wants to compete, then, Prince Omega?”
“Probably.”
“Well, I give you permission to absent yourself, and I’ll even, in order to go more quickly, send a few companions with you, but it’s necessary to hurry, for you’re a little slow and I’ll have need of you to construct a boat for me too, because I want to compete with the prince.”
That idea had suddenly occurred to Vatenlair. Remplume’s invention did not alarm him greatly; he counted on being able to offer a much more marvelous vessel.
A few days later, the greatest activity reigned in the workshop of the mechanics and electricians.
The month of September arrived; it was the eve of the king’s birthday. The lake was surrounded by masts with pennants. A stand had been erected on the shore, at the foot of the rocks; there the members of the royal family were to be placed, as well as the principal dignitaries.
It s necessary to say here that what are called regattas in Betaville are not, as in our country, races of rowing or sailing boats, but rather a competition in which the prettiest and most ingenious vessels win the prizes. All kinds of them were presented, in accordance with the fortune and the imagination of their constructors, and the spectacle of all those boats of the most varied forms was truly curious to behold.
All the competitors had to put their names down, and present their vessels in the order of inscription. The inhabitants of Betaville had done that far in advance, so that Prince Omega was the penultimate and Vatenlair the last of all; but that was of no importance, as the king made notes on each competitor.
Prince Omega, who had taken delivery of his boat nearly a week before, had gone out every day to test it. The wheels rotated well and the boat glided over the water quite rapidly, but maneuvering it was rather tiring.
When the day came the king sat down on the platform between Princess Betinette and Queen Betasse. Behind them were Prince Omega, the engineer Vatenlair and all the courtiers. The people were arranged along the edges of the lake. Remplume could have been seen at a window of the mill, with his telescope, hidden behind a sack of flour.
The list of competitors having been given to King Beta, he scanned it slowly. When he arrived at the end he claimed “What, my nephew! You want to compete too?”
“With your permission, Uncle. And I hope that you’ll appreciate my invention.”
“Oh, you’ve invented something? That’s astonishing!”
Princess Betinette started to smile; the prince bit his lip.
“Ah! But that’s not all!” said the king. “The engineer Vatenlair has also entered the ranks.”
“Sire,” said the engineer, “I don’t have the right to compete with your subjects. I ask to be classed outside the competition.”
“You’re too modest,” said the king. “I demand that you be treated like everyone else. If you merit the prize, I shall be happy to award it to you.”
Vatenlair bowed.
At that moment the time for the competition arrived. The boats began to maneuver and place themselves in order. They were arranged along the lake, and were so numerous that Prince Omega’s and Vatenlair’s were hardly visible in the distance. Departing from the right they were to pass in front of the stand and then arrange themselves to the left, in order to avoid hindering the competitors.
The first one that went past was an ordinary boat, decorated with flowers for the occasion; a single oarsman guided it rather awkwardly; the others succeeded it, rather slowly.
Although their motor was always the oar, they affected different forms; there was one that represented a swan; the oars were hidden under the wings and the slender neck moved up and down gracefully. Another had the appearance of a crocodile, whose forepaws served the function of oars. Another was a small raft surrounded by bladders; it was comical to behold, but it lacked stability and the person manning it had difficulty steering it. There was one made from a tree trunk still covered in moss. Another had the form of a fish. Another had that of a duck. One, which had a certain success, represented a swimming stag; it was manned by two men, one plying the oars while the other blew a hunting horn.
The entire court took great pleasure in watching those evolutions.
The king said to his daughter n a low voice: “I wonder what Prince Omega has been able to find superior to all that.”
“If he invents as well as he draws,” replied the princess, “I’m afraid that he won’t win the prize.”
“All the more so as Vatenlair is competing,” replied the king. “He hasn’t told you about his invention?”
“No, father, but I don’t believe that he’s invented anything, and that if he shows us something marvelous it will be due to his power as an enchanter.”
Meanwhile, the parade co
ntinued.
One boat passed that had the form of an immense seashell; it was manned by a young and pretty girl clad in white and crowned with roses; six young men in silver leotards were directing it while swimming. Then a large closed yellow flower imitating that of a water lily floated by; when it passed in front of the king the flower opened and allowed the sight of a ten-year-old child guiding it with oars in the form of leaves.
We shall renounce describing all the forms that were given to the boats; those we have designated were the principal ones.
Everyone waited impatiently for Prince Omega’s invention. When its turn came, and he was seen working frantically between its two wheels, he appeared so funny, moving his arms alternately, like a squirrel in a cage that there was universal laughter on the stand and along both banks. Meanwhile he advanced with difficulty and his fatigue was evident. Suddenly, as he passed the stand, the boat’s wheels were snagged in the weed on the bed and refused to rotate. For a moment he exhausted his strength trying to free it, but could not succeed in doing so, and a boat had to be sent from the shore to go and fetch him.
He was very confused when he disembarked and dared not return to the stand, but the king, who sometimes held back his laughter, pretended to congratulate him.
“Your invention, my dear nephew, is very original. Until today, people had applied themselves to making boats move; you’ve found the means of immobilizing them. I offer you all my compliments.”
Only one competitor remained: Vatenlair. His boat was so far away that no one had perceived it, so to speak; in any case, it did not look like much; it as a kind of long oval iron box, like a stout pipe tapering at both ends. One might have thought it an enormous dead fish with eyes in its flanks. Everyone sought the engineer with his gaze to see how he was going to mount the machine, but he was invisible.
Princess Betinette was very worried. She did not know what to think. Where was he? Had someone set a trap in order to prevent him competing? Why was the boat remaining still?
Journey to the Isles of Atlantis and Other Fanciful Excursions Page 9