CHAPTER IV
OLD JANIES _v._ JUNIOR OAKDENE ATHLETIC
'Do you know,' said the Lion suddenly to Baby Jane the next day, 'we aregrowing very fat.'
Puffed out his cheeks.]
It was certainly true, though he took in a big breath and puffed out hischeeks to make it seem worse.
'Tableaux and Tom Tiddler's Ground don't give us enough exercise,' hewent on.
This remark made Baby Jane sad and thoughtful.
'Oh, I wish I were a boy,' she said, 'and could teach you big roughgames. No wonder you strong creatures think my girls' games silly; andyou would be more fond of me if I were a boy.'
Then she hung her head and pinched a bit of silk out of the pattern onher frock.
All the other creatures glowered at the Lion for his stupidity, and heallowed all the breath to go out of him, and collapsed into a very mean,awkward-looking animal; but after a little shuffling he began boundinground the little girl with the wildest show of gaiety, licking her faceand patting her with his paws to coax her to hold up her head and comefor a romp. The other creatures gradually allowed their scowls to softeninto grins, and joined in the dance.
Baby Jane turned away her head for a moment to rub her eyes, and thenheld out her arms and put them round the Lion's neck.
'Oh, you are dears,' she said, 'and I'll try hard to remember some bigboys' game. I did use to crawl through the hedge and play football withthe Williamson boys in the next garden to ours, but it always ended sosoon. They always used to charge me and knock me into the laurel-bushes,and then I used to run back crying with bruises on my legs, and my frockall earthy, and when I complained of them to Mother she used to punishme. That always happened. But I'll try to remember--I'll try toremember.'
She sat staring anxiously at the sky for some minutes.
'Yes,' she cried, 'I remember--oh, I am glad!'
'Now, you all go out and get a lot of animals to play againstus--gently, mind!--coax them; tell them it is splendid fun--and I willteach you football.'
It was a very quaint set of animals that shyly allowed themselves to beled up. They were mostly ostriches and ant-eaters, with a sprinkling ofelephants, hippopotamuses, and such-like.
But they grew more interested and less self-conscious when Baby Janeshowed them how to fix up two posts at each end of the chosen ground,and explained how each side had to try to kick the ball between theother side's posts.
'And one side must be called the "Old Somethings,"' she told them, 'sowe will be the "Old Janies," and the other side must be the "JuniorSomething Athletic," so you shall be the "Junior Oakdene Athletic," andthat is all I know, except that one player must be called "full back,"and another "left wing." Rabbit, you are our "left wing," and you, Lion,are our "full back."'
These two creatures flushed with pride to be picked out for thesehonours.
A little rattlesnake had wanted to play too, but he had no legs so theymade him the umpire.
It was the sound of his rattle that began the game, and at that signalthe two teams rushed upon the cocoa-nut--that was what they used for aball.
The first to distinguish himself was an agile young elephant, who, withthe ball before him, dodged in and out among the Old Janies withterrible skill, every moment getting nearer to their goal. At last onlya few yards remained, and with agonised faces Baby Jane's team lookedfor the last fatal kick.
Then suddenly there was a squeak and a flash of brown fur. Struck fullupon the chest, the Elephant went crashing down. The Rabbit had chargedhim with the dash and fury of a regiment of cavalry, and the goal wassaved.
But no; not yet! On came the enemy again, and the Rabbit's splendid deedseemed all in vain. Struggling like heroes, Jane's men were forced back,until at last by sheer weight they were driven headlong into their owngoal.
The Junior Oakdene Athletic raised a shout of triumph, but it died awayin doubt and disappointment. The ball had disappeared, and there wasnothing to show that they had sent it between Jane's goal-posts.
They made an anxious search all over the ground. Miss Crocodile seemedto think that it might be at the other end of the field, and she wentthere to look for it. Nobody thought it possible, and yet, when she hadgot within easy distance of the enemy's goal, there it was just underher nose. With a deft kick she shot it between the posts. The Old Janieshad won a goal!
The Junior Oakdene Athletic did not take their misfortunes like men.Indeed, they said that Miss Crocodile had had the ball in her mouth allthe time. But the enemy soon brought the ball back close to Baby Jane'send of the field, and, in spite of the goal her side had won, the gameseemed hopeless.
Then Baby Jane saw a gap in the ranks of the foe, and out she shot withthe ball before her, and went scampering up the field with a puffingcrowd at her heels.
And away on her right out shot the Rabbit, and keeping level with her ata distance of twenty yards, he scuttled desperately.
Whenever Baby Jane was pressed she neatly patted the ball to the 'leftwing,' and when he felt two or three elephants and an ostrich or soclose upon him he passed it back to her.
In a moment there was no one but the Junior Oakdene Athletic 'fullback,' a burly Hippopotamus, to be passed. He went out to meet theRabbit. There was a scuffle, and the Hippopotamus arose, alone, slowlyand heavily, a very full back indeed.
Baby Jane stood as if frozen, and as pale as snow.
Her Rabbit gone? It was impossible. The world would be empty without theRabbit.
Just as she had begun to be sure that he had been eaten, theHippopotamus put on a pained, choky expression, and opened his mouth alittle.
Out popped the Rabbit's head and forepaws. Twisting round and restingthe paws on the Hippopotamus's nose he poured upon that animal a shrilltorrent of bad language, ending thus:
'Swallow me, would you? Ha, ha! I like that! I've burrowed in biggerhills than you before now, though in none so ugly. Swallow me! Why, fortwo pins I'd burrow back of my own accord, and make you believe that youhad bolted twenty helps of crab and crumpets and cream.'
Here he made a pretence of darting back into the Hippopotamus's mouth,which so alarmed that animal that he gave a violent whistle, and outflew the Rabbit like a pea from a pea-shooter, and rolled far along thesand, which stuck to his damp fur, so that he arose like a littlewalking sand-pie.
All this while the Light-Horse was sitting unnoticed on the cocoa-nut inthe middle of the Junior Oakdene's goal whistling a sad little melody tohimself.
Two goals for the Old Janies!
At this the other team were so disgusted that they marched off the fieldand disappeared.
'I see trouble in the air,' said the Light-Horse, looking darkly fromunder her eyebrows. 'Since the fame of Princess Jane has spread aroundthere have been stealthy gatherings, every day growing greater, inyonder Black Mountains. All the worst characters of the Desert arethere. I heard mutterings among the defeated band. The triumph of the"Janies" this day will set a match to the powder. I see trouble in theair!'
'She wants her dinner, that is all,' said the others, and certainly atthe sound of the word dinner, the Light-Horse looked much brighter.
The ending of the football match had made Baby Jane a little sad, butduring dinner a happy thought struck her.
'This afternoon we'll go fox-hunting,' she said.
'Hurray!' shouted the creatures in chorus.
'Now, who will be my horse?' said Baby Jane.
All the creatures cried out at once. The Rabbit was the most eager ofall. He left his place, and, rushing round to Baby Jane, humped his backand begged her to try him.
'The Rabbit had better be the "Fox,"' said Miss Crocodile, with hermouth full (which, by the way, was saying a good deal). 'Why, he isn'tstrong enough to----'
'Strong!' squeaked the indignant Rabbit. 'Huh! I'll box any three ofyou,' and he put himself in a fighting attitude, and bounced up and downlike an india-rubber ball in front of the creatures, who had now risen.With his palm-leaf bib flapping as he bounced he lo
oked very absurd.
'Oh, no larks!' he said more gently. 'You can hunt my clockwork mouse ifyou like, but mind he doesn't turn nasty and hunt _you!_'
After a little persuasion, however, he consented to be the 'Fox,' andMiss Crocodile beguiled a dozen little nephews and nieces from therivers, by the promise of an apricot each if they were good, to be thehounds.
It was a splendid afternoon, with little clouds, warmed by the yellowsunlight, romping like lambs across the blue sky-fields, and the soundof a pleasant wind in the shady palms.
The awkward affair of the football match was forgotten, and four eagersteeds of various shapes pawed the ground, while Miss Crocodile'snephews and nieces were barking very respectably at the Rabbit, who satmaking faces at them from a little distance.
The Light-Horse had wanted to ride, but finally had to go alone on foot,wearing a sash to show that she was not a horse.
It was some time before Baby Jane could make the Rabbit start--he wouldtry to be funny, but at last he set off.
Then from the huntsmen and horses there arose a thrilling shout, and ayapping from the pack as they streamed away after the 'Fox.'
Tally-ho! Hark, forward!
Now the little river appeared before them. Baby Jane was very muchafraid the Rabbit would refuse to wet his paws by trying to jump it, buthe took it bravely, and the nephews and nieces went splashing after him.Baby Jane upon the Lion gave a scream of delight as he cleared the brookwith a mighty bound, like the flight of a swallow. The Light-Horselanded heavily beside them, and raced them neck and neck across theplain. Not far behind, the Bear and the Crocodile were also running adesperate race. Of course the terrible pace soon began to tire thenephews and nieces, and some of them sobbed loudly as they ran.
After a while the Rabbit, who had got some way ahead, had dived into aclump of trees, and they had no doubt that he was now galloping away onthe far side, so they plunged in one after another.
Suddenly from behind a tree right in front of them there emerged anawful little bogey. It seemed to have enormous military moustaches, andupon its head was a wild wreath. The nephews and nieces at once wentinto hysterics, and the hunters collapsed backwards in a neat line likea set of dominoes--all shrieking horribly.
'Do you know,' said the Rabbit calmly--for it was he--taking thefeathers out of his mouth and removing his head-dress, 'I'm gettingrather tired of this game. I don't think it's so very good.'
But he had to cut short his remarks, for the hunters, horses, and houndsarose and rushed at him in a body, and continued the chase in grimearnest, Baby Jane leading on foot with a switch in her hand, and theLight-Horse and the Lion close behind her, in a state of boilingindignation.
By-and-bye they all stopped, out of breath, and noticed, for the firsttime, how near to the foot of the mountains their long hunt had takenthem.
They felt tired, and the weather had now changed. Misty clouds,drizzling faintly, had come driving up on the wind, and had so wrappedthemselves round the heights as almost to hide them. But now and then,when the wind tore the fleecy mist, Baby Jane could see a jaggedmountain-top appear high up in the sky, where she had never expected it.These were the mysterious Black Mountains to which the Light-Horse hadreferred a little while ago. As they all looked, they recalled her wordsof warning, 'All the worst characters of the Desert are there.'
The lower slopes of the mountains were only dimmed and made grey by thedrizzle.
There was something strange about them. Was that movement only thepassing of the wind over the long grass? But the rivers of movement thatflash across the grass go one way--the way of the wind--and in thestrange greyness that clothed the hillside, there was a troubled swayingand eddying every way.
Then the wind held its breath for a moment, as if it, too, had caughtsight of the strange thing, and out of the mountains a draught camecreeping back, and bore with it the mingled wail and shriek and yell often thousand savage animals.
As they watched with their blood running cold and their hearts thumpingheavily, the swirling greyness began to slide down the hillside towardsthem, and then a misty cloud dipped lower and hid it.
Most of the creatures were too frightened to know what to do--only theLion, the Bear, and the Light-Horse remained calm. The Light-Horse,indeed, even took a gloomy pleasure in having prophesied truly.
As for Baby Jane, she squeezed herself close to the Bear, and, hidingher face in his fur, trembled and sobbed. She did not want to be aPrincess any more. She wanted only to be protected.
'Bear,' said the Lion sharply, 'take her home. You others, keep roundhim. I'll come on behind. Now, with all your might, gallop!'
And so they went flying home, the Light-Horse with all the twelvenephews and nieces crowded upon her back.
It was a delicious comfort and relief to be once again in their greathollow bush, through which no enemy could break. They stopped up theentrance of the tunnel from within with branches and leaves, so that noone could guess that the bush was hollow.
Before Baby Jane went to sleep, nestling close to the Bear, she saw theLion yawn and stretch himself, not as if he were tired, but as if topull the twists out of his muscles to be ready for work, if need be.Then he went and lay down in the tunnel.
Baby Jane's Mission Page 6