Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1905-12-23 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

CHAPTER V. THE QUEEN'S BEQUEST.  When the Queen smiled the children smiled too, vid, taking off his oap, Fred went up to the throne said, kneeling down, raise dher hand to his lipe. " All!" said the Queen, pleased with his oou.r-"1 see you are a little gentleman, and I am very glad my faithful triton was able to save you from that wretched wizard. Is this your sister? Poor little girl ! She must be vercy tired and sorrowful. Come here, my dear; here is a nice soft seat for you." She lifted Bertha into the cosy at beside her, and putting her arm iround her kissed her and patted her cheek. "I must thank your Majesty," said Fred, in his manliest voice, for all you have done for lie. We know now Who pulled us out of the water and made us such oosy beds, and we know, too, who brought us our breakfast. If there is anything we can do for you in return, we shall be very glad."  The Queien had smiled a little at first at Fred's important tome, but at his laet words she turned quite grave. "There is something you can do for us," she answered; "something which only a niortal can do. If you are brave enough, you may be able to set the world tree from the wrecker you saw on the beach." She peueed for a moment, while the children watched her in surprie, for all her pretty colour had faded, and she looked quite pale and distreseed.  "We have tried for many years to put a 'top to his misdeeds," she continued; "but we have omly just learnt how it can be done. So you Eee you inoe come at the right time." Fred bent forward eagerly. "Do please tell us how it may be done," he cried. " lam only a boy, but I will do my very bast."  The Queen nodded brightly. "I know you will," she said. "Sit down on that stool of ivory, and I will tell you all about it. The wizard you saw is the cause of nearly every shipwreck on this coast. He has the power to throw a. spell over the .sailors of any ship which comes within a certain distance of the shore. The coast, as you have 900.11, is rock. bouad, with mighty cliffs rising from the very edge of the water except at low tide. When the sailors, however, come under the evil spell of this dreadful creature, they imagine they can seethe wide mouth of a mighty river offering a safe refuge from the storm. In a short time they strike on a hidden reef, and are cast ashore, sometimes dead and sometimes alive; and there he seizes them and plunders them. No one before you has ever escaped, for he cruelly murders thoto whom the sea has spared. The constant wrecks and horrible cruelties carried on by this wretch at my very door have distressed me so much that at last I sent to King Neptune, the lord of all the sea, to ask him what we should do." "Are you not King Neptune's wife?" asked Bertha, Shyly, as the Queen paused. "Oh, dear, no!" laughed the Quoetn, while all the maidens round the throne laughed too. "1 ani only a very unimportant person; my kingdom extend:: only over a few thousand miles of sea, and Onire: I am certainly not Amphitrite, but only Marina, Queen of the Inland Sends." " I am go sorry," began poor Bertha, but the Queen stopped her excuses with a kiss. " What did King Neptune say?" asked Fred. " Tie told me that when next it was stormy, and ft ves;scl was driven upon the coast, we must try ' 8a V,F, some of the crew. If any of them had sufficient mirage to face the terrible danger of the task 11!3 must be asked to carry out, the power of t he wizard would be ended, and he would meet with the punishment he deserves for all his miscleoi6.''  "What is the task?" asked Fred, his eyes shining with eagerness. " It is one which will need all your courage and determination," answered the Queen. "1r the I 1 of the on there are many deep pits and hollowe, and in one of these, close to the Castle CLiff, a Spanish ship WAR sunk many, many years ago by the wizard's spell. In the captain's cabin, hanging on the after-bulkhead, is a silver crucifix Which was specially blessed by a holy man. If ant  A