The Iceberg Express | Page 7

and tassel made of the softest velvet
sea-grass.
"What is your majesty's command?" he asked, bending low before King
Seaphus. The King did not reply for a moment. He was a wise King,

and thought for several minutes before he spoke. This made the Prime
Minister fidget about on his tail. If he had been a Prime Minister of any
land, and not of the sea, he probably would have stood first on one leg
and then on the other, but, as he had no feet, he shifted about uneasily
on his fin-tail until the King spoke.
"I hear there has been another wreck on the Sea Bottom Subway."
The Prime Minister coughed, and little bubbles rose from the end of his
nose, the sight of which almost caused Mary Louise to giggle aloud.
But she remembered her manners in time and saved herself the
mortification of such a breach of etiquette.
"Yes, Your Royal Highness," admitted the Prime Minister, "but I
understand it was not at all serious. One of the Iceberg cars was
demolished, and one of the Polar Bear porters, I believe, although I am
not certain at the moment, was slightly injured. None of the passengers
was hurt, with the possible exception of a Star Fish, who complained of
a slight pain in one of his five fingers--I forget, for the moment, which
finger."
"Is the road again in operation?" inquired King Seaphus.
"Not yet, your Royal Highness," replied the Prime Minister, "but I have
every assurance from the management that trains will be running, at the
very latest, by tomorrow morning."
"You will have to spend the night with us, then," said the Princess,
turning to Mary Louise, with a smile. "You know," she added in a
whisper, "I'm glad there was an accident; otherwise you would not have
come to our castle, and we might not have grown to be such friends."
"Don't whisper, my daughter," said King Seaphus. "Your mother will
think, should she hear that you had been so rude during her absence,
that she cannot leave home to even visit her mother for a week without
your becoming demoralized."
The Prime Minister coughed behind his hand, while the little bubbles

rose again through the pale green of the sea-water. Mary Louise felt
quite embarrassed, and the little Princess blushed. King Seaphus looked
sternly at all three.
Just then a loud knocking was heard on the castle door. "Billows and
breakers!" exclaimed the King, "what is that?"

Damages

King Seaphus waited anxiously as the knocking on the castle door
continued. "Billows and breakers," he exclaimed again, expectantly
waiting for the visitor or visitors to be announced.
Just as his impatience was nearly exhausted, a court page appeared
escorting a Polar Bear and a Star Fish. Mary Louise at once recognized
the former as the porter on the Iceberg Express. The visitors bowed
respectfully to the King, and the little Star Fish winked one of his five
small eyes at the Princess. The Polar Bear smiled at Mary Louise, but
said nothing.
"Well," exclaimed King Seaphus, after a brief silence, "you honor us by
your presence, but, what do you want?"
"I want redress," cried the Star Fish in a queer little gurgle.
"You want what?" thundered the King, realizing now that his visitors
were looking for damages on account of the accident. This naturally
worried him, as he was a heavy stockholder in the Sea Bottom Subway.
"One of my five fingers has been badly bruised," continued the Star
Fish, "for which reason I shall sue for damages."
"I have suffered internal injuries," said the Polar Bear, speaking up
quickly, encouraged by the independent manner of the Star Fish.
"Internal injuries!" laughed the King; "infernal fiddlesticks, I have

heard that tune before!"
"Your Highness," interposed the Star Fish, "my condition is quite
serious. As I have but five fingers, to have one of them injured is far
worse than to have one of my feet, for of the latter I have hundreds."
The King looked at him inquiringly. Although he was Monarch of the
Sea, perhaps he did not know that a Star Fish, while he has hundreds of
little feet, has no legs at all. Even his feet do not move as ordinary feet
do, one before the other; they can only cling like little suckers pulling
him slowly along from place to place.
"Neither am I like the everyday common fish. My mouth is in the
center of my body, and I have a little scarlet-colored sieve through
which I strain the sea-water. I couldn't think of swallowing sea-water
with everything that might be floating in it."
"Holy mackerel!" exclaimed the King, under his breath, "I'd better
settle with this individual as quickly as possible. He'll drive me crazy if
I