he pier into
the boat, striking my head.

"I can remember clutching the key as I fell, and after that I knew
nothing until I awoke and found myself lying on the sands of this
island. Here I have been for two years, and in that time who knows
what may have happened to my poor Amy, for without this key she cannot
open the treasure chest."

Here the dove stopped and heaved a great sigh. "Fear not," said
Daimur, "you shall go back in a very short time to your beloved niece
if all goes as well as we hope."

Then as it was very late they all settled themselves for the night and
were soon fast asleep.

CHAPTER X

Early in the morning Daimur was up and astir, and after breakfast he
went for a walk alone. As he went along he thought of the stories he
had heard, but most of all he thought of Prince Tasmir and wondered if
he were still alive.

He had come to a clear space in the depths of the wood, and being
rather tired, he leaned against a large tree, and looking up at the sky
through the branches said aloud to himself:

"I wonder where Tasmir is?"

"I am here," said a faint voice immediately back of him.

Quite startled, Daimur turned sharply around and looked behind him.
There was no one in sight. He looked into the branches of the tree
against which he was leaning, thinking it might have been the voice of
a dove, but there was nothing to be seen. But he noticed that the
leaves of the tree were dropping, and what was still more strange on
that island, it was a laurel tree, and not a fruit tree.

"Tasmir," he murmured in a low tone, "where are you?"

"I am here," came the voice again, "in this tree, and more dead than
alive."

Immediately Daimur put on his spectacles, and standing back looked at
the tree. He could see imprisoned in the center of the trunk a young
man with a pale, thin face. His eyes were wild and his hair long, and
he looked back at Daimur with such a sad expression.

"Poor, poor fellow," said Daimur, "your plight is worse than your
brother's. This is more of the Evil Magician's work."

"Yes, he has enchanted me, and I am slowly dying," answered Tasmir in a
weak voice. "You can see that the leaves of my tree are dropping."

"What can I do to save you?" cried Daimur.

"You must make a hole in the side of the tree and let the sap run out.
When it has all run away the tree will dry up in a day, and I will be
able to break through the wood, as it will be brittle like dried-up egg