“Do you know what Zog intends to do to us next?” asked Princess Clia.

“No,” said Sacho, “but it is reasonable to guess that, being evil, he intends evil.  He never intends to do good, I assure you.”  Then the boy went away.

“I am no longer afraid,” declared the Mermaid Queen when they were alone.  “When I have bestowed certain fairy powers upon this golden sword, it will fight its way against any who dare oppose us, and even Zog himself will not care to face so powerful a weapon.  I am now able to promise you that we shall make our escape.”

“Good!” cried Trot joyfully.  “Shall we start now?”

“Not yet, my dear.  It will take me a little while to charm this golden blade so that it will obey my commands and do my work.  There is no need of undue haste, so I propose we all sleep for a time and obtain what rest we can.  We must be fresh and ready for our great adventure.”

As their former nap had been interrupted, they readily agreed to Aquareine’s proposal and at once went to their couches and composed themselves to slumber.  When they were asleep, the fairy mermaid charmed her golden sword and then she also lay down to rest herself.

A DASH FOR LIBERTY

CHAPTER 18

Trot dreamed that she was at home in her own bed, but the night seemed chilly and she wanted to draw the coverlet up to her chin.  She was not wide awake, but realized that she was cold and unable to move her arms to cover herself up.  She tried, but could not stir.  Then she roused herself a little more and tried again.  Yes, it was cold, very cold!  Really, she must do something to get warm, she thought.  She opened her eyes and stared at a great wall of ice in front of her.

She was awake now, and frightened, too.  But she could not move because the ice was all around her.  She was frozen inside of it, and the air space around her was not big enough to allow her to turn over.

At once the little girl realized what had happened.  Their wicked enemy Zog had by his magic art frozen all the water in their room while they slept, and now they were all imprisoned and helpless.  Trot and Cap’n Bill were sure to freeze to death in a short time, for only a tiny air space remained between their bodies and the ice, and this air was like that of a winter day when the thermometer is below zero.

Across the room Trot could see the mermaid queen lying on her couch, for the solid ice was clear as crystal.  Aquareine was imprisoned just as Trot was, and although she held her fairy wand in one hand and the golden sword in the other, she seemed unable to move either of them, and the girl remembered that the queen always waved her magic wand to accomplish anything.  Princess Clia’s couch was behind that of Trot, so the child could not see her, and Cap’n Bill was in his own room, probably frozen fast in the ice as the others were.