  At the sight of the Shaggy Man on the stage, Twink couldn't contain herself. She leaned far out of the box and called "Shaggy Man! Here we are—it's Tom, Twiffle, and Twink!" If the Shaggy Man heard, he gave no indication of it. His eyes stared straight ahead of him, and he mumbled the words of his lines as though he were speaking in a dream in which he was only half awake. But King Ticket and Queen Curtain, as well as the audience of Lords and Ladies heard. A wave of annoyed "Sshhhhhhs" arose from the audience, while Queen Curtain grabbed Twink by the arm, pulling her back into her seat and saying angrily: "How dare you interrupt the play! For that you shall join your precious Shaggy Man on the stage tomorrow night." Tom started from his seat indignantly at the Queen's threatening words, but Twiffle, who looked worried, pulled him back. The three unwilling play-goers fell into an uneasy silence. A few moments later the curtain came down with a crash and the play was over. "Dear, dear me," remarked King Ticket. "There go the curtain ropes again. We shall have to repair them tomorrow." Queen Curtain turned to Twiffle and the children. "Go to your rooms immediately," she ordered sternly. "You know where they are. Don't try to escape. That is impossible. All the doors leading out of the castle are securely locked. And as for you," she said, shooting Twink an angry glance, "you will be taken care of tomorrow. Now be gone—all of you!" Twink shivered. Tom took her hand, and with Twiffle following, they made their way out of the theater to their rooms. They passed unnoticed through the Lords and Ladies who were noisily discussing the play, exclaiming over its excellence, and looking forward to the next night's performance—of the same play. As soon as they were in their rooms, Twiffle quickly closed the door and silently motioned the children to his side. The little clown was plainly excited. "Listen," he whispered to the children. "I believe I have figured out what has happened to the Shaggy Man—and all the rest of the actors and actresses, for that matter. They have been enchanted. King Ticket and Queen Curtain have cast some kind of spell upon them so that they are only half awake. The only existence they have is their dream-like life on the stage as they go through their parts in the play." "I see," nodded Twink. "I believe you're right. Otherwise Shaggy would surely have answered when I called to him from the box." "Of course," said Twiffle. "Then you don't think," surmised Tom, "that any of the actors and actresses are Lords and Ladies of the castle?" "Not a bit of it," stated Twiffle firmly. "It is my belief that they are people from adjoining countries, who, like ourselves, have wandered unwittingly into the castle, and have been enchanted for the pleasure of King Ticket, Queen Curtain, and the Lords and Ladies who have always lived here." "You must be right," murmured Twink, recalling how King Ticket had brushed aside their question as to the identity of the actors and actresses. "Of course, I am right," asserted Twiffle. "It is the only solution that answers all the questions. What we must do now is find a way to rescue the Shaggy Man tonight before King Ticket and Queen Curtain have a chance to cast their disgusting old spell on Twink tomorrow." "Then, let's get started," said Tom. "What do we do, Twiffle?" "Nothing now," replied Twiffle. "We must wait until everyone in the castle is asleep. Only then will it be safe for us to act." Twink and Tom tried to be calm during the next hour, as they discussed with Twiffle their chances of rescuing the Shaggy Man and making an escape from the castle. At last Twiffle went quietly to the door and slowly opened it, peering up and down the hall corridor. The entire castle seemed to be wrapped in deep silence. There was not a sound. "Come," whispered Twiffle, "I believe it is safe to proceed now. Everyone seems to be asleep. You must walk on your tip-toes, so your steps won't be heard." "Where are we going, Twiffle?" whispered Tom. "To the theater, and then backstage—that is where I am almost sure we will find the Shaggy Man and all the rest of the unfortunate actors and actresses." The lights of the castle were dimmed to a soft glow, but this was enough for the adventurers to find their way to the theater with no trouble. Here, the same soft light glowed, filling the theater with a thin, ghostly luminescence. Twiffle quickly led the way down the aisle, then up the small flight of stairs to the stage. Beckoning the children to follow him, Twiffle darted through the wings to the back of the stage. Here an amazing sight greeted them. Lined up in two rows, like soldiers on a drill field, were about fifty men, women, and children. Some of them Twink and Tom recalled having seen on the stage earlier that evening. They ranged in age from small children to elderly men and women. They stood stiffly, as though they were at attention. Their eyes were tight shut. So still were these figures that Twink couldn't tell whether or not they were breathing. In the front row stood the Shaggy Man. "Every type for every part," muttered Twiffle to himself. Then, turning to the children, he whispered, "Here they are, just as I suspected—the unfortunate victims of King Ticket and Queen Curtain. They have no more life than mere dummies, until the curtain goes up and they walk on the stage to play their parts in that absurd drama." Twiffle approached the Shaggy Man and studied him intently. At last he sighed and shook his head. "I am afraid there is nothing we can do just now," he admitted. "I learned a little magic from Conjo, and I hoped that I might be able to release the Shaggy Man, but the spell that is upon him is a strange one. I have no power to break it." "There must surely be something we can do," said Tom, thinking of Queen Curtain's threatening speech to Twink. "I must have time to think," said Twiffle. "At least we have discovered the whereabouts of the Shaggy Man and we know what has happened to him and all these other poor people. There must be some way to release them, if only I can hit upon it. I suggest we return to our rooms. We certainly don't want to be discovered here." "But what about Twink?" asked Tom with dismay. "I am hoping I can prevent Queen Curtain from making good her threat," replied Twiffle grimly. "Oh, don't worry about me," said Twink bravely. "If worst comes to worst and I don't make a better actress than the rest of these folks, I'll be awfully disappointed in myself." |
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