Peggy in Toyland

by Archibald Marshall

This did not seem to suit the Lord Chancellor at all. He began to protest vigorously that he had had no more to do with the fraud that Selim had practised than anybody else. But Teddy cut him short. “If you won’t come of your own accord,” he said, “Colonel Jim has a couple of troopers outside who will make you. You’d like to come, too, Peggy and Wooden. We’ve brought gees for everybody. Come along quick. We don’t want to waste any time.”

He led the way downstairs, and the others followed him, Colonel Jim bringing up the rear, and keeping an eye on the Lord Chancellor to see that he did not escape.

Waiting outside the house were several horses. There was Colonel Jim’s black charger, and those of his two troopers. These were of lead. There were also some composition horses, and a couple of shaggy ponies, made of wood and covered with hair, and a beautiful cream-coloured one, with a bridle and saddle-cloth sewn with gold embroidery. They were all toy horses and ponies, but they looked splendidly alive, and Peggy was quite delighted to see that the two shaggy ponies had side-saddles, for she knew at once that one must be meant for her and one for Wooden. She loved riding, and thought it would be great fun to ride through the streets of Dolltown on a toy pony.

Wooden was not used to riding, although Peggy had sometimes put her on her rocking-horse at home, so she was not altogether without practice. But Teddy assured her that he had chosen her a very quiet pony, and she was so nice, in the way that she always did what people wanted her to, that she made no trouble about it, and got on very well when she was once helped into the saddle. Peggy felt quite at home on her pony, and patted its nice shaggy neck. She would have liked to have a gallop on it, but that would not be possible in the streets of the town. Colonel Jim and his troopers mounted their chargers, the Lord Chancellor got on to one of the composition horses, and Teddy leapt on to another straight from the ground, without using the stirrup. A royal servant-doll, dressed in scarlet and gold, led the beautiful cream-coloured pony, which was evidently meant for Queen Rosebud. It was a good idea to have a sort of little procession on horseback to take her from her prison to her royal palace again, and no doubt Teddy had thought of it, for he seemed to be the only one who really did things, while the other dolls only talked about them.

What Teddy said about the inhabitants of Dolltown being excited over what had happened was quite true. The crowd outside the gates of the terrace was larger than ever, and when Peggy and the dolls appeared amongst them on horseback there was quite a commotion. They cheered them all except the Lord Chancellor, and they were so angry with him that they would probably have pulled him off his horse if he had not been riding between the two troopers, who protected him. They seemed to have taken the affair much more seriously than the dolls who had come to visit Wooden, but then a crowd always is more excited about things than a few people, because they work each other up. Very likely, if this crowd of dolls had had to do something of their own accord, instead of shouting at those who were doing it, they would not have been very good at it. And if they had pulled the Lord Chancellor off his horse, it is doubtful if they would have known what to do next.

The poor Lord Chancellor was terribly upset at the way the crowd hissed and booed at him. Peggy heard him explaining to the troopers who rode on either side of him that nobody was more surprised than he was, or more glad either, that Queen Rosebud was alive. But they took no notice of him, and the crowd went on booing and hissing all the same.

When they arrived at the market-place, there was a square of lead life guardsmen all round the door of the House of Cards, to keep the crowd off. The market-place was packed full of dolls, shouting and singing, and looking up to the top story, where they had heard that the Queen was imprisoned. Peggy could see the open window at which she had sat; but she did not appear at it.

What seemed more remarkable still was that there was nobody on the balcony of the first floor, either. It might have been thought that Wooden’s aunt, at least, would have been there, watching what was going on. But there was nobody to be seen.