492
LEV KASSIL
thing with the weathervanes. The weathervanes were out of con–
trol. No matter how the winds blew, no matter how they puffed
out their cheeks,
all
the vanes pointed in one direction-towards
the palace. Since the thousands of arrows fired by the Com–
mandos were made of the same magic metal as the vanes, they
went right through the approaching hurricane and, carrying the
air with them, made a powerful new hurricane of their own.
The old winds were forced to surrender. The hurricane shook the
palace, sweeping the guards from the walls. Then beams of yel–
low light from thousands of little pocket mirrors surrounded the \
castle and in an instant bindweed and ivy wove round and round
these rays all the way up to the battlements. Commandos
scrambled up the green strings as though they were rope ladders.
They stormed into the castle and killed all the weathercocks.
Soon, above the biggest tower, there fluttered the Commandos'
rainbow-colored flag, the flag of the Great Rainbow, the herald
of good weather and bright happiness.
Once-Upon-a-Time tried to escape from the palace in a
windcraft, but the infuriated winds seized him, and since each
one was blowing in
his
own direction, the Chief Windgauge
was blown to pieces. The frightened king was found hiding
under the stairs.
"Right," said the Armorer, "Now you are Vainglorious–
Exactly-the-Twelfth, and there will be no more to come after
you."
In the meantime Master Craftsman Amalgam was speeding
through the passages and corridors of the castle in search of
Melchiora. He went through all the towers and casemates, and,
finally, in one of the dungeons, he found a wrinkled, starved,
hideous-looking creature. When she saw him, the unfortunate
girl gave a cry and hid her face in her hands. But her cracked
voice was deliciously familiar to Amalgam.
"Who are you?" he asked, afraid he might be wrong.
"Don't you recognize me? I was once your beloved. Now
