"The Little Panjandrum's State Balloon!" gasped the Dodo, in a terrible fright. "Oh, my dear friends, hide me somewhere! If he finds me I'm done for! I've--got--his gloves on--oh! How could I have been so foolish as to have taken them--it's all my pride--and now I shall have to suffer for it--oh!--oh!" And the Dodo, quite overcome with fear and anxiety, fell upon his knees and sobbed violently.

Meanwhile the state balloon belonging to His Importance the Little Panjandrum rapidly drew near.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE DUFF AND DEM EXECUTIONER.

"Can you see who's in it?" asked the Dodo, anxiously, when the balloon had drawn a little nearer.

"Two gentlemen," declared Marjorie, whose eyesight was very keen. "And one is carrying such a funny stick, with a big hand at the top of it."

"And the other one has just put on a hideous black mask, and has a curious kind of pole with a sort of scythe at the end," chimed in d.i.c.k.

"What!" screamed the Dodo, "a black mask! Then it's the Lord High Executioner, and the other is the Court Glover. Oh dear! oh dear! what will become of me? I wish I'd never seen the wretched old gloves."

The balloon by this time was almost directly overhead and was descending rapidly. Presently two ropes were thrown out, and a m.u.f.fled voice cried, "Catch hold of these, please."

d.i.c.k politely ran forward and hung on to one rope, while Marjorie and Fidge took the other.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "The Court Glover arrives."]

The occupants of the balloon then lowered some wooden steps, and gravely descended, the Lord High Executioner leading the way.

The balloon, lightened of its occupants, bounded upwards again, and the children (who had the greatest difficulty in hanging on to the ropes) called to the Archaeopteryx and the others to come to their aid. To their great surprise, however, they discovered that these creatures, taking the Dodo with them, quietly slipped away.

The Court Glover and the Executioner helped the children to fasten the balloon to one of the large palm trees, and then the Court Glover, folding his arms, turned to them abruptly and inquired, "Where is he?"

"Who do you mean, Sir?" asked d.i.c.k.

"The Dodo," was the response.

"Oh! the Dodo! Why, he was here just now. I expect he has gone off with the Archaeopteryx and the others," said d.i.c.k.

"The what!" exclaimed the Court Glover.

"The er--Archaeopteryx," said d.i.c.k, hesitatingly, fearing that he might have misp.r.o.nounced the name.

"H'm! You see," said the Court Glover, addressing the Executioner, "to what depths this misguided bird has fallen, to actually a.s.sociate with an animal bearing a name of _that_ description. I suppose it _is_ an animal, by-the-bye," he added, turning to the children.

"Well," laughed Marjorie, "we are not quite sure. The Dodo says it's a kind of lizard-like bird, or bird-like lizard."

"It's got feathers," chimed in Fidge.

"Ough! The miserable creature doesn't even know what it is _itself_, I expect," said the Court Glover, in tones of disgust.

"The others," said d.i.c.k reflectively, "are evidently animals--the Palaeotherium and the Eteraedarium, you know."

"Look here," interrupted the Court Glover, severely, "you really must _not_ use such disgraceful language. I am not accustomed to it."

"Why, they are only names," explained d.i.c.k, smilingly.

"Very well, then. Call the creatures _thingummybobs_; I shall know what you mean--only don't use those other awful words again, they're outrageous. Now then, to come to the point--where is that Dodo?"

"I'll try and find him," said d.i.c.k, obligingly, running off in the direction of some bushes, behind which he imagined that he might possibly find the runaways.

"Is your--er--chopper ready?" said the Court Glover, turning to the executioner.

"He--he--he--ye--es!" giggled that worthy.

"Oh! If you please," pleaded Marjorie, "I do hope you are not going to execute the poor Dodo. I'm sure he's _very_ sorry that he took the Little Panjandrum's gloves, and he will give them back, I know. Please, _please_, forgive him."

"He--he--he!" giggled the Executioner again.

"Do be quiet," shouted the Court Glover.

"Yes, I don't see anything to laugh at," said Marjorie indignantly.

"Oh, he's _always_ laughing," declared the Court Glover; "that's why he has to wear a mask--so that people shan't see him laughing while he is chopping off their heads. It's so rude, you know, to giggle at a time like that, isn't it?"

"I should think so, indeed," cried Marjorie, in a horrified voice; "perfectly disgraceful, I call it."

"That's what the last man who was executed said," declared the Court Glover. After it was all over he said, "Well, I was never so disgracefully executed before in all my life; and I hope the next time you chop off my head, you'll get some one else to do it.'"

"I don't understand," said Marjorie, who was dreadfully puzzled. "How _could_ he say all that after he was executed?"

"Why not?" asked the Court Glover, composedly.

"Why, people can't talk when they are killed, you know," said Marjorie.

"He--he--he!" sn.i.g.g.e.red the Executioner, putting his hand up to his mouth under his mask.

The Court Glover frowned at him. "Bless you, they aren't _killed_!" he said.

"Not killed, when they are executed!" cried Marjorie.

The Executioner giggled louder than ever, and shook his head.

"What do you mean?" asked Marjorie.

"Don't ask me, I'm duff and dem," said the Executioner.

"He means dem and duff," explained the Court Glover, considerately.

Marjorie laughed, and so did Fidge. "You are both wrong," she said. "You mean deaf and dumb, I suppose. But I don't think that _can_ be the case, for he must have heard me, because he answered my question, you know."