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gasped Tompy hurrying up the last steps himself. "Top of the
mountain--that's what! Watch it, boy, watch it! Over there, backed up against
that rock--old Mr. Mountain Topper himself!" warned Yankee, speaking out of
the corner of his mouth. Peering through the swirling mists around them, Tompy
glimpsed an expanse of level terrain. But beyond he could still make out more
rocky steps leading higher. "Relax, relax!" he whispered. "This is only a
halfway spot, Yank--a plateau or something. There's still a lot of mountain to
climb before we reach the top. And that old fellow over there is just another
traveler like we are. "Oh--, you think so?" Slowly the hair on Yankee's back
settled down. "Then all we need do is sneak by the old codger and push on up.
Easy now, let's not waken him." But when they came to the gently snoring
sleeper, instead of hurrying by both came to a complete and astonished halt.
For there, with his glassy back to the rock was certainly the oddest person
they yet had encountered. "It's a JUG! A big bean pot with arms and legs,"
hissed Yankee, "and what's that beside him, a big baby carriage?" "Not a
baby coach, a jinrikisha," corrected Tompy who had often seen pictures of
these odd contrivances. This one was a red lacquered elegant conveyance,
cushioned and trimmed with rubies. Its arms were hung with numerous baskets
containing jugs, jars, and bottles and instead of shafts the front curved up
and was finished with a flat bar of gold. "How does it run?" whispered the
space dog stretching his neck so he could sniff at one of the red wheels.
"Well," explained Tompy, glancing uneasily at the jinrikisha's owner, "usually
it's drawn by a man." "Not by a man, by MAGIC!" rumbled a deep voice that
seemed to come from the center of the big jug. "Meet the Red Jinn of
EV-- Very rich, very clev-- There you are--Har de Har! And whoever
you are?" Up rose the lid of the red jug and out popped the rosy round
face of a jolly old gentleman with red hair and whiskers. "I'm a DOG!"
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squealed Yankee, so enchanted by such jollity he leapt up to lick the Jinn on
the ear, knocking his lid clear off. "A hungry dog!" he added, chasing after
the rolling lid. "Regular Arabian Night's stuff!" thought Tompy, barely able
to control his laughter as Yankee retrieved the lid and handed it politely to
the Jinn. "And YOU?" inquired the Jinn, clapping the lid on the back of his
head and clasping one arm tightly around Yankee's neck. "Thomas P. Terry,
your Highness!" announced Tompy touching his cap. "An American boy from
PennsyEvania." "Oh, call me Jinnicky," smiled the Red Jinn, rolling his
glass eyes from one to the other, "A HUNGRY boy, I presume?" "Oh, yes, VERY
hungry," Tompy told him earnestly. "Yankee and I have eaten nothing since
yesterday." "Come to think of it, neither have I," murmured Jinnicky
reflectively. "I tell you what, we'll all have breakfast together."
"Breakfast?" gurgled the space dog, wriggling out from under the Jinn's fat
arm. "Where is any?" "Suppose you leave that to me," said the Jinn puttering
over to his jinrikisha. Fumbling in one of the many baskets he pulled out a
bright siEver bell and rang it sharply three times. Before the last clang had
died away, a small black boy in a towering turban dropped down out of nowhere.
Placing a well-laden tray on a flat rock beside his master, he held up two
fingers, winked at the boy and dog, and then vanished. Yankee, barking
hysterically, dashed over to the spot of his disappearance only to collide
with the boy returning with a second tray. Without displacing a dish he set it
down before the startled bull terrier. In a flash he was gone, returning
almost instantly with a third breakfast for Tompy. Wordlessly Tompy took the
tray and sat down beside the Jinn. This time Yankee did manage to lick the
bell boy's hand before he took off. This was his way of saying "Thank you."
Then afraid his breakfast would vanish before he could eat it, he began
gulping down fried sausage, rare beef patties, and tiny biscuits at a furious
rate. "No hurry," smiled the Jinn taking a small bite of a large lamb chop.
"Let's take our time, shall we? Breakfast is my favorite meal. Far as I can
see, only one thing is missing." "Nothing is missing from my tray." Lifting
one siEver cover after another, Tompy simply gloated over the steaming hot
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