A Kidnapped Santa Claus | Page 5

expected, and figured that he
had just enough presents to go around and make every child happy. The
reindeer knew exactly what was expected of them, and dashed along so
swiftly that their feet scarcely seemed to touch the snow-covered
ground.
Suddenly a strange thing happened: a rope shot through the moonlight
and a big noose that was in the end of it settled over the arms and body
of Santa Claus and drew tight. Before he could resist or even cry out he
was jerked from the seat of the sleigh and tumbled head foremost into a
snowbank, while the reindeer rushed onward with the load of toys and
carried it quickly out of sight and sound.
Such a surprising experience confused old Santa for a moment, and
when he had collected his senses he found that the wicked Daemons
had pulled him from the snowdrift and bound him tightly with many
coils of the stout rope. And then they carried the kidnapped Santa Claus
away to their mountain, where they thrust the prisoner into a secret
cave and chained him to the rocky wall so that he could not escape.
"Ha, ha!" laughed the Daemons, rubbing their hands together with cruel
glee. "What will the children do now? How they will cry and scold and
storm when they find there are no toys in their stockings and no gifts on
their Christmas trees! And what a lot of punishment they will receive
from their parents, and how they will flock to our Caves of Selfishness,
and Envy, and Hatred, and Malice! We have done a mighty clever thing,
we Daemons of the Caves!"
Now it so chanced that on this Christmas Eve the good Santa Claus had
taken with him in his sleigh Nuter the Ryl, Peter the Knook, Kilter the
Pixie, and a small fairy named Wisk--his four favorite assistants. These
little people he had often found very useful in helping him to distribute
his gifts to the children, and when their master was so suddenly
dragged from the sleigh they were all snugly tucked underneath the seat,
where the sharp wind could not reach them.
The tiny immortals knew nothing of the capture of Santa Claus until

some time after he had disappeared. But finally they missed his cheery
voice, and as their master always sang or whistled on his journeys, the
silence warned them that something was wrong.
Little Wisk stuck out his head from underneath the seat and found
Santa Claus gone and no one to direct the flight of the reindeer.
"Whoa!" he called out, and the deer obediently slackened speed and
came to a halt.
Peter and Nuter and Kilter all jumped upon the seat and looked back
over the track made by the sleigh. But Santa Claus had been left miles
and miles behind.
"What shall we do?" asked Wisk anxiously, all the mirth and mischief
banished from his wee face by this great calamity.
"We must go back at once and find our master," said Nuter the Ryl,
who thought and spoke with much deliberation.
"No, no!" exclaimed Peter the Knook, who, cross and crabbed though
he was, might always be depended upon in an emergency. "If we delay,
or go back, there will not be time to get the toys to the children before
morning; and that would grieve Santa Claus more than anything else."
"It is certain that some wicked creatures have captured him," added
Kilter thoughtfully, "and their object must be to make the children
unhappy. So our first duty is to get the toys distributed as carefully as if
Santa Claus were himself present. Afterward we can search for our
master and easily secure his freedom."
This seemed such good and sensible advice that the others at once
resolved to adopt it. So Peter the Knook called to the reindeer, and the
faithful animals again sprang forward and dashed over hill and valley,
through forest and plain, until they came to the houses wherein children
lay sleeping and dreaming of the pretty gifts they would find on
Christmas morning.
The little immortals had set themselves a difficult task; for although
they had assisted Santa Claus on many of his journeys, their master had
always directed and guided them and told them exactly what he wished
them to do. But now they had to distribute the toys according to their
own judgment, and they did not understand children as well as did old
Santa. So it is no wonder they made some laughable errors.
Mamie Brown, who wanted a doll, got a drum instead; and a drum is of
no use to a girl who loves dolls. And Charlie Smith, who delights to

romp and play out of doors, and who wanted some new rubber boots to
keep his