Journey to the Past Chapter Six
Eye for an Eye
The Court of Salazen Grum was in an uproar. The Expedition that had been sent to Snark Island in order to capture the elusive creature had returned, with one man hopelessly insane and another vanished by the terrifying creature known only as a Boojum. No sign of a Snark had been found, even though the Hunters had been armed with all the things needed to capture a Snark-thimbles, forks, soap, and railroad tickets. George Bellman, who had served as the Captain of the Expedition, stepped forward into the throne room, bowing deeply to the Red King and Queen.
"Majesties, we have returned from our expedition to the island, and are sorry to say that we were unsuccessful in capturing the Snark. The brave Mr. Baker has vanished without a trace, and poor Mr. Banker has been driven mad by the Bandersnatch. We managed to capture that creature, as well as another creature-the JubJub bird. With your permission, I will ask my crewmen to bring them into the throne room."
The King nodded, and Bellman gestured to the men standing outside the door. They entered, one leading a strange furry creature on a strong lead, the other carrying a large covered cage. The one with the creature walked up to the throne, bowing deeply.
"Majesties, might I present the Bandersnatch?"
The creature was small in size, but the largeness of its paws indicated that it would grow up to be a giant. Its fur was a gleaming white, with brown spots scattered throughout. The claws were tiny, but nevertheless sharp as knives. When it opened its mouth to yawn, it revealed a set of sharp teeth. The Red Queen's eyes widened.
"My, it certainly is a fierce looking creature. We shall have to build it a strong cage."
The other man came forward, setting the cage on the floor. "Majesties, I have the honor of presenting a creature even stranger and fiercer than that Bandersnatch. The JubJub."
He whipped the cover off the cage with a flourish, and the bird like creature within gave a howling shriek, its' head feathers standing up in a rage. It immediately began to attack the bars of the cage in frenzy, trying to get at the people in the room. The Courtiers recoiled in horror, and the King, who had leaned forward to see the bird better, pressed himself further against his throne, eyes wide.
Bellman frowned. "I apologize, Majesty. I should have said that the JubJub has a desperate temper. Boots, cover the cage back up."
The King breathed a sigh of relief as the blanket was thrown over the cage, and he looked at Bellman with a serious expression.
"Keep that vile creature as far away from me as possible, do you understand? In fact, keep it as far away from the people in here as you can. I believe there's a room at the top of the North Tower that is never used. I want it turned into a cage for that creature as soon as possible."
The Queen nodded her agreement. "We will have to find someone to feed it, you know. Perhaps we could ask Captain Bierce if one of his men would be up to the task."
The King nodded. "A good idea, dear. I shall send for him right away."
Captain Bierce entered the throne room, bowing deeply. "You sent for me, Majesties?"
The King told him what he wanted, and Bierce smiled. "I believe that Corporal Stayne would be the ideal one to feed the bird. I will inform him of his new duties right away."
Stayne looked over at Alannah, a bitter smile on his face. "The first time I laid eyes on that…thing I hated it. I couldn't explain it then or now, but something about the way it looked and behaved filled me with loathing. But since I was only a lowly Corporal at the time, I couldn't disobey the orders of my Captain. So I took on the rather unpleasant task of bringing its' food, and for a few years everything was fine. Until one night, everything went wrong."
Ilosivic approached the cage, the meat for the JubJub in a pail in his left hand. In his right, he held a long hooked pole, and dangling from his belt was the key to the cage. He peeked in through the bars, sighing in relief when he noticed that the bird was silent, the black hood draped over it. Ilosivic quietly set the pail down on the floor in front of the cage then silently unhooked the key from his belt and slowly inserted it in the lock. He had learned very quickly that any sort of noise or swift movement drove the JubJub into a maniacal frenzy. He slowly opened the door, wincing at the slight squeak of the hinges. 'Time to oil the door again', he thought. He quickly bent down and picked up the pail, then slipped into the cage. At the same time, he speared the meat on the hook, and, staying as close to the wall as he could, edged his way towards the perch where the JubJub sat. When he was an arm's length away, he slowly reached out and grabbed the top of the hood. Slowly, he pulled it off, making sure to go at a steady pace.
Then, disaster struck. He had left the cage door open as he always did, in order that he would be able to get out before the JubJub's eyes fully opened. A breeze had been blowing, and the door was swinging slightly in the wind. All of a sudden, there was a huge gust of wind, and it caught the door just right. The door slammed with a noise that echoed throughout Salazen Grum. Ilosivic felt terror turn his heart to ice and he turned just in time to see that the JubJub was awake. The bird gave a shriek, and Ilosivic screamed as it launched himself at him, stabbing with its' dagger like beak at his face and eyes. He shrieked at the horrible pain, and then shrieked again as he felt the beak of the bird plunge into his right eye.
Blinded, he managed somehow to get away from the flailing beak and grope his way towards the door of the cage. He fumbled for the latch, sobbing in pain and terror.
"Please, please, please…" he begged.
Finally, his fumbling fingers found the latch, and he half stumbled, half fell out of the cage, shrieking and sobbing in pain and terror.
Author's Note-The expedition mentioned in this chapter is from Carroll's nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark(which I highly recommend) and all the characters in it have names that start with B(don't ask why)-and the Captain of the Expedition is the Bellman. The 'weapons' he mentions are the ways for catching a Snark-"They sought it with thimbles/They sought it with care/They pursued it with forks and with hope/They threatened its life with a railway share/They charmed it with smiles and soap." The JubJub and Bandersnatch also make an appearance in the poem.