XX
THE LAST
There lay the villain who had worked such mischief among the simple and generous inhabitants of Toyland, and, above all, to their noble Queen, who had loaded him with benefits. He lay on the muddy road, blinking and scowling at his captors, well knowing that his game was up and his doom would soon fall. He was a sorry spectacle, in his discovery and disgrace. It was checkmate for him finally, and no further move was left to him.
As for the chief partner in his crimes, who had tried to escape with him—the renegade Composition doll Rose, who had so completely failed to obey the natural instincts of upright dollhood—it was easy enough to recognize her in the other cloaked figure, when once Selim’s disguise had been torn from him. It was Wooden’s aunt who sprang forward and snatched the cloak away from Rose. “So here you are, my beauty!” she exclaimed exultantly. “Got you at last! And if you try to get away I’ll scratch your eyes out.”
But Rose made no effort to get away. She did not cower before them, as the wretched Selim did. He made no effort even to rise from the ground until Lieutenant Napoleon called up two soldiers to seize him and hold him fast. But Rose drew herself up to her full height, and flashed scorn upon her captors from her dark eyes. There was something grand in her, in spite of the wickedness of her behaviour, but it was not the sort of grandeur that it does anybody any good to admire. The only thing that can be said about her is that with such a bold character it is a pity that she had not used her powers to do right instead of wrong. Then they might have led her to great heights. As it was, they had brought her down to ruin.
They questioned her as to what had been done with the Queen and the other dolls who had been carried off; but she would answer them nothing. Her contemptuous look seemed to say, “You may do what you like with me, and I shall only go on despising you. But you will get nothing out of me, so it is waste of time to try.”
The wretched Selim, however, was more amenable to pressure. “If you will let me free to go away,” he whined, “I will tell you everything.”
“Give him a twist of the arm,” said Lieutenant Napoleon, “and see if that will make him tell us. He isn’t going to be let free.”
One of the soldiers screwed Selim’s arm, not very hard, because it wasn’t necessary. Directly he felt the slightest pain, Selim gave way at once. “Oh, don’t hurt me!” he cried out—the wretched, cowardly creature! “They are in the citadel—quite safe and comfortable. I might have executed them all, but I haven’t touched a hair of their heads.”
“Bring the prisoners along with us,” said Lieutenant Napoleon. “We will go up to the citadel at once.”
They mounted to the top of the fort. The citadel was a great barrack of a place, with one fine hall, and a regular hive of smaller rooms, besides the fortified works. If it could have been used for a final defence of Dollfort there would have been room in it for lots of soldiers, and everything would have been there to enable the defenders to support a long siege. But it had all been cleared out. The courtyard inside the gates was encumbered with furniture, and even the guns had dust-sheets over them. The great hall and the lower rooms had all been thoroughly cleaned, but the char-dolls had not reached the upper rooms yet, and it was to one of these that Selim, who was now eager to tell everything, led them.