SKY ISLAND

 BEING THE FURTHER EXCITING ADVENTURES OF TROT AND CAP'N BILL AFTER THEIR VISIT TO THE SEA FAIRIES

BY

L. FRANK BAUM

TO

MY SISTER

MARY LOUISE BREWSTER

CONTENTS

 1. A MYSTERIOUS ARRIVAL 2. THE MAGIC UMBRELLA 3. A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE 4. THE ISLAND IN THE SKY 5. THE BOOLOOROO OF THE BLUES 6. THE SIX SNUBNOSED PRINCESSES 7. GHIP-GHISIZZLE PROVES FRIENDLY 8. THE BLUE CITY 9. THE TRIBULATION OF TROT 10. THE KING'S TREASURE CHAMBER 11. BUTTON-BRIGHT ENCOUNTERS THE BLUE WOLF 12. THROUGH THE FOG BANK 13. THE PINK COUNTRY 14. TOURMALINE THE POVERTY QUEEN 15. THE SUNRISE TRIBE AND THE SUNSET TRIBE 16. ROSALIE THE WITCH 17. THE ARRIVAL OF POLYCHROME 18. MAYRE, QUEEN OF THE PINK COUNTRY 19. THE WAR OF THE PINKS AND BLUES 20. GHIP-GHISIZZLE HAS A BAD TIME 21. THE CAPTURE OF CAP'N BILL 22. TROT'S INVISIBLE ADVENTURE 23. THE GIRL AND THE BOOLOOROO 24. THE AMAZING CONQUEST OF THE BLUES 25. THE RULER OF SKY ISLAND 26. TROT CELEBRATES THE VICTORY 27. THE FATE OF THE MAGIC UMBRELLA 28. THE ELEPHANT'S HEAD COMES TO LIFE 29. TROT REGULATES THE PINKIES 30. THE JOURNEY HOME

A LITTLE TALK TO MY READERS

WITH "The Sea Fairies, " my book for 1911, I ventured into a new fieldof fairy literature and to my delight the book was received with muchapproval by my former readers, many of whom have written me that theylike Trot "almost as well as Dorothy. " As Dorothy was an old, oldfriend and Trot a new one, I think this is very high praise for Cap'nBill's little companion. Cap'n Bill is also a new character who seemsto have won approval, and so both Trot and the old sailor are againintroduced in the present story, which may be called the second of theseries of adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill. 

But you will recognize some other acquaintances in "Sky Island. " Here, for instance, is Button-Bright, who once had an adventure with Dorothyin Oz, and without Button-Bright and his Magic Umbrella you will seethat the story of "Sky Island" could never have been written. AsPolychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, lives in the sky, it is naturalthat Trot and Button-Bright meet her during their adventures there. 

This story of Sky Island has astonished me considerably, and I think itwill also astonish you. The sky country is certainly a remarkable fairland, but after reading about it I am sure you will agree with me thatour old Mother Earth is a very good place to live upon and that Trotand Button-Bright and Cap'n Bill were fortunate to get back to it again. 

By the way, one of my little correspondents has suggested that I printmy address in this book, so that the children may know where letterswill reach me. I am doing this, as you see, and hope that many willwrite to me and tell me how they like "Sky Island. " My greatesttreasures are these letters from my readers and I am always delightedto receive them. 

L. FRANK BAUM. 

"OZCOT" at HOLLYWOOD in CALIFORNIA

A MYSTERIOUS ARRIVAL

CHAPTER 1

"Hello, " said the boy. 

"Hello, " answered Trot, looking up surprised. "Where did you come from?"

"Philadelphia, " said he. 

"Dear me, " said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then. "

"'Bout as far as I can get, in this country, " the boy replied, gazingout over the water. "Isn't this the Pacific Ocean?"

"Of course. "

"Why of course?" he asked. 

"Because it's the biggest lot of water in all the world. "

"How do you know?"

"Cap'n Bill told me, " she said. 

"Who's Cap'n Bill?"

"An old sailorman who's a friend of mine. He lives at my house, too--the white house you see over there on the bluff. "

"Oh; is that your home?"

"Yes, " said Trot proudly. "Isn't it pretty?"

"It's pretty small, seems to me, " answered the boy. 

"But it's big enough for mother and me, an' for Cap'n Bill, " said Trot. 

"Haven't you any father?"

"Yes, 'ndeed. Cap'n Griffith is my father, but he's gone most of thetime, sailin' on his ship. You mus' be a stranger in these parts, little boy, not to know 'bout Cap'n Griffith, " she added, looking ather new acquaintance intently. 

Trot wasn't very big herself, but the boy was not quite as big as Trot. He was thin, with a rather pale complexion, and his blue eyes wereround and earnest. He wore a blouse waist, a short jacket, andknickerbockers. Under his arm he held an old umbrella that was as tallas he was. Its covering had once been of thick, brown cloth, but thecolor had faded to a dull drab except in the creases, and Trot thoughtit looked very old-fashioned and common. The handle, though, was reallycurious. It was of wood and carved to resemble an elephant's head. Thelong trunk of the elephant was curved to make a crook for the handle. The eyes of the beast were small red stones, and it had two tiny tusksof ivory. 

The boy's dress was rich and expensive, even to his fine silk stockingsand tan shoes, but the umbrella looked old and disreputable. 

"It isn't the rainy season now, " remarked Tot with a smile. 

The boy glanced at his umbrella and hugged it tighter. "No, " he said, "but umbrellas are good for other things 'sides rain. "

"'Fraid of gett'n sun-struck?" asked Trot. 

He shook his head, still gazing far out over the water. "I don'tb'lieve this is bigger than any other ocean, " said he. "I can't see anymore of it than I can of the Atlantic. "

"You'd find out if you had to sail across it, " she declared. 

"When I was in Chicago I saw Lake Michigan, " he went on dreamily, "andit looked just as big as this water does. "

"Looks don't count, with oceans, " she asserted. "Your eyes can only seejus' so far, whether you're lookin' at a pond or a great sea. "

"Then it doesn't make any difference how big an ocean is, " he replied. "What are those buildings over there?" pointing to the right, along theshore of the bay. 

"That's the town, " said Trot. "Most of the people earn their living byfishing. The town is half a mile from here, an' my house is almost ahalf-mile the other way, so it's 'bout a mile from my house to thetown. "

The boy sat down beside her on the flat rock. 

"Do you like girls?" asked Trot, making room for him. 

"Not very well, " the boy replied. "Some of 'em are pretty good fellows, but not many. The girls with brothers are bossy, an' the girls withoutbrothers haven't any 'go' to 'em. But the world's full o' both kinds, and so I try to take 'em as they come. They can't help being girls, ofcourse. Do you like boys?"

"When they don't put on airs or get roughhouse, " replied Trot. "My'sperience with boys is that they don't know much, but think they do. "

"That's true, " he answered. "I don't like boys much better than I dogirls, but some are all right, and--you seem to be one of 'em. "

"Much obliged, " laughed Trot. "You aren't so bad, either, an' if wedon't both turn out worse than we seem, we ought to be friends. "

He nodded rather absently and tossed a pebble into the water. "Been totown?" he asked. 

"Yes. Mother wanted some yarn from the store. She's knittin' Cap'n Billa stocking. "

"Doesn't he wear but one?"

"That's all. Cap'n Bill has one wooden leg, " she explained. "That's whyhe don't sailor any more. I'm glad of it, 'cause Cap'n Bill knowsev'rything. I s'pose he knows more than anyone else in all the world. "

"Whew!" said the boy. "That's taking a good deal for granted. Aone-legged sailor can't know much. "

"Why not?" asked Trot a little indignantly. "Folks don't learn thingswith their legs, do they?"

"No, but they can't get around without legs to find out things. "

"Cap'n Bill got 'round lively 'nough once, when he had two meat legs, "she said. "He's sailed to most ev'ry country on the earth, an' foundout all that the people in 'em knew and a lot besides. He wasshipwrecked on a desert island once, and another time a cannibal kingtried to boil him for dinner, an' one day a shark chased him sevenleagues through the water, an'--"

"What's a league?" asked the boy. 

"It's a--a distance, like a mile is. But a league isn't a mile, youknow. "

"What is it, then?"

"You'll have to ask Cap'n Bill. He knows ever'thing. "

"Not ever'thing, " objected the boy. "I know some things Cap'n Billdon't know. "

"If you do, you're pretty smart, " said Trot. 

"No, I'm not smart. Some folks think I'm stupid. I guess I am. But Iknow a few things that were wonderful. Cap'n Bill may know more'n Ido--a good deal more--but I'm sure he can't know the same things. Say, what's your name?"

"I'm Mayre Griffith, but ever'body calls me 'Trot. ' I's a nickname Igot when I was a baby, 'cause I trotted so fast when I walked, an' itseems to stick. What's YOUR name?"

"Button-Bright. "

"How did it happen?"

"How did what happen?"

"Such a funny name. "

The boy scowled a little. "Just like your own nickname happened, " heanswered gloomily. "My father once said I was bright as a button, an'it made ever'body laugh. So they always call me Button-Bright. "

"What's your real name?" she inquired. 

"Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith. "

"Guess I'll call you Button-Bright, " said Trot, sighing. "The onlyother thing would be 'Salad, ' an' I don't like salads. Don't you findit hard work to 'member all of your name?"

"I don't try to, " he said. "There's a lot more of it, but I'veforgotten the rest. "

"Thank you, " said Trot. "Oh, here comes Cap'n Bill!" as she glancedover her shoulder. 

Button-Bright turned also and looked solemnly at the old sailor whocame stumping along the path toward them. Cap'n Bill wasn't a veryhandsome man. He was old, not very tall, somewhat stout and chubby, with a round face, a bald head, and a scraggly fringe of reddishwhisker underneath his chin. But his blue eyes were frank and merry, and his smile like a ray of sunshine. He wore a sailor shirt with abroad collar, a short peajacket and wide-bottomed sailor trousers, oneleg of which covered his wooden limb but did not hide it. As he came"pegging" along the path--as he himself described his hobblingwalk--his hands were pushed into his coat pockets, a pipe was in hismouth, and his black neckscarf was fluttering behind him in the breezelike a sable banner. 

Button-Bright liked the sailor's looks. There was something verywinning--something jolly and carefree and honest and sociable--aboutthe ancient seaman that made him everybody's friend, so the strange boywas glad to meet him. 

"Well, well, Trot, " he said, coming up, "is this the way you hurry totown?"

"No, for I'm on my way back, " said she. "I did hurry when I was going, Cap'n Bill, but on my way home I sat down here to rest an' watch thegulls--the gulls seem awful busy today, Cap'n Bill--an' then I foundthis boy. "

Cap'n Bill looked at the boy curiously. "Don't think as ever I sawr himat the village, " he remarked. "Guess as you're a stranger, my lad. "

Button-Bright nodded. 

"Hain't walked the nine mile from the railroad station, have ye?" askedCap'n Bill. 

"No, " said Button-Bright. 

The sailor glanced around him. "Don't see no waggin er no autymob'l, "he added. 

"No, " said Button-Bright. 

"Catch a ride wi' some one?"

Button-Bright shook his head. 

"A boat can't land here; the rocks is too thick an' too sharp, "continued Cap'n Bill, peering down toward the foot of the bluff onwhich they sat and against which the waves broke in foam. 

"No, " said Button-Bright, "I didn't come by water. "

Trot laughed. "He must 'a' dropped from the sky, Cap'n Bill!" sheexclaimed. 

Button-Bright nodded very seriously. "That's it, " he said. 

"Oh, a airship, eh?" cried Cap'n Bill in surprise. "I've hearn tell o'them sky keeridges; someth'n' like flyin' autymob'ls, ain't they?"

"I don't know, " said Button-Bright. "I've never seen one. "

Both Trot and Cap'n Bill now looked at the boy in astonishment. "Nowthen, lemme think a minute, " said the sailor reflectively. "Here's ariddle for us to guess, Trot. He dropped from the sky, he says, an' yethe didn't come in a airship!"

 "'Riddlecum, riddlecum ree; What can the answer be?'"

Trot looked the boy over carefully. She didn't see any wings on him. The only queer thing about him was his big umbrella. "Oh!" she saidsuddenly, clapping her hands together. "I know now. "

"Do you?" asked Cap'n Bill doubtfully. "Then you're some smarter ner Iam, mate. "

"He sailed down with the umbrel!" she cried. "He used his umbrel as apara--para--"

"Shoot, " said Cap'n Bill. "They're called parashoots, mate; but why, Ican't say. Did you drop down in that way, my lad?" he asked the boy. 

"Yes, " said Button-Bright. "That was the way. "

"But how did you get up there?" asked Trot. "You had to get up in theair before you could drop down, an'--oh, Cap'n Bill! He says he's fromPhillydelfy, which is a big city way at the other end of America. "

"Are you?" asked the sailor, surprised. 

Button-Bright nodded again. "I ought to tell you my story, " he said, "and then you'd understand. But I'm afraid you won't believe me, and--"he suddenly broke off and looked toward the white house in the distance"--Didn't you say you lived over there?" he inquired. 

"Yes, " said Trot. "Won't you come home with us?"

"I'd like to, " replied Button-Bright. 

"All right, let's go then, " said the girl, jumping up. 

The three walked silently along the path. The old sailorman hadrefilled his pipe and lighted it again, and he smoked thoughtfully ashe pegged along beside the children. "Know anyone around here?" heasked Button-Bright. 

"No one but you two, " said the boy, following after Trot, with hisumbrella tucked carefully underneath his arm. 

"And you don't know us very well, " remarked Cap'n Bill. "Seems to meyou're pretty young to be travelin' so far from home an' amongstrangers. But I won't say anything more till we've heard your story. Then, if you need my advice, or Trot's advice--she's a wise littlegirl, fer her size, Trot is--we'll freely give it an' be glad to helpyou. "

"Thank you, " replied Button-Bright. "I need a lot of things, I'm sure, and p'raps advice is one of 'em. "

THE MAGIC UMBRELLA

CHAPTER 2

When they reached the neat frame cottage which stood on a high bluff alittle back from the sea and was covered with pretty green vines, awoman came to the door to meet them. She seemed motherly and good, andwhen she saw Button-Bright, she exclaimed, "Goodness me! Who's thisyou've got, Trot?"

"It's a boy I've just found, " explained the girl. "He lives way off inPhillydelphy. "

"Mercy sakes alive!" cried Mrs. Griffith, looking into his upturnedface. "I don't believe he's had a bite to eat since he started. Ain'tyou hungry, child?"

"Yes, " said Button-Bright. 

"Run, Trot, an' get two slices o' bread-an'-butter, " commanded Mrs. Griffith. "Cut 'em thick, dear, an' use plenty of butter. "

"Sugar on 'em?" asked Trot, turning to obey. 

"No, " said Button-Bright. "Just bread-an'-butter's good enough whenyou're hungry, and it takes time to spread sugar on. "

"We'll have supper in an hour, " observed Trot's mother briskly, "but ahungry child can't wait a whole hour, I'm sure. What are you grinningat, Cap'n Bill? How dare you laugh when I'm talking? Stop it thisminute, you old pirate, or I'll know the reason why!"

"I didn't, mum, " said Cap'n Bill meekly. "I on'y--"

"Stop right there, sir! How dare you speak when I'm talking?" Sheturned to Button-Bright, and her tone changed to one of much gentlenessas she said, "Come in the house, my poor boy, an' rest yourself. Youseem tired out. Here, give me that clumsy umbrella. "

"No, please, " said Button-Bright, holding the umbrella tighter. 

"Then put it in the rack behind the door, " she urged. 

The boy seemed a little frightened. "I--I'd rather keep it with me, ifyou please, " he pleaded. 

"Never mind, " Cap'n Bill ventured to say, "it won't worry him so muchto hold the umbrella, mum, as to let it go. Guess he's afraid he'lllose it, but it ain't any great shakes, to my notion. Why, see here, Button-Bright, we've got half-a-dozen umbrellas in the closet that'sbetter ner yours. "

"Perhaps, " said the boy. "Yours may look a heap better, sir, but--I'llkeep this one, if you please. "

"Where did you get it?" asked Trot, appearing just then with a plate ofbread-and-butter. 

"It--it belongs in our family, " said Button-Bright, beginning to eatand speaking between bites. "This umbrella has been in our familyyears, an' years, an' years. But it was tucked away up in our attic an'no one ever used it 'cause it wasn't pretty. "

"Don't blame 'em much, " remarked Cap'n Bill, gazing at it curiously. "It's a pretty old-lookin' bumbershoot. " They were all seated in thevine-shaded porch of the cottage--all but Mrs. Griffith, who had goneinto the kitchen to look after the supper--and Trot was on one side ofthe boy, holding the plate for him, while Cap'n Bill sat on the otherside. 

"It is old, " said Button-Bright. "One of my great-great-grandfatherswas a Knight--an Arabian Knight--and it was he who first found thisumbrella. "

"An Arabian Night!" exclaimed Trot. "Why, that was a magic night, wasn't it?"

"There's diff'rent sorts o' nights, mate, " said the sailor, "an' theknight Button-Bright means ain't the same night you mean. Soldiers usedto be called knights, but that were in the dark ages, I guess, an'likely 'nough Butt'n-Bright's great-gran'ther were that sort of aknight. "

"But he said an Arabian Knight, " persisted Trot. 

"Well, if he went to Araby, or was born there, he'd be an ArabianKnight, wouldn't he? The lad's gran'ther were prob'ly a furriner, an'yours an' mine were, too, Trot, if you go back far enough; for Amerikywasn't diskivered in them days. "

"There!" said Trot triumphantly. "Didn't I tell you, Button-Bright, that Cap'n Bill knows ever'thing?"

"He knows a lot, I expect, " soberly answered the boy, finishing thelast slice of bread-and-butter and then looking at the empty plate witha sigh. "But if he really knows ever'thing, he knows about the MagicUmbrella, so I won't have to tell you anything about it. "

"Magic!" cried Trot with big, eager eyes. "Did you say MAGIC Umbrel, Button-Bright?"

"I said 'Magic. ' But none of our family knew it was a Magic Umbrellatill I found it out for myself. You're the first people I've told thesecret to, " he added, glancing into their faces rather uneasily. 

"Glory me!" exclaimed the girl, clapping her hands in ecstacy. "It mustbe jus' ELEGANT to have a Magic Umbrel!"

Cap'n Bill coughed. He had a way of coughing when he was suspicious. "Magic, " he observed gravely, "was once lyin' 'round loose in theworld. That was in the Dark Ages, I guess, when the magic ArabianNights was. But the light o' Civilization has skeered it away long ago, an' magic's been a lost art since long afore you an' I was born, Trot. "

"I know that fairies still live, " said Trot reflectively. She didn'tlike to contradict Cap'n Bill, who knew "ever'thing. "

"So do I, " added Button-Bright. "And I know there's magic still in theworld--or in my umbrella, anyhow. "

"Tell us about it!" begged the girl excitedly. 

"Well, " said the boy, "I found it all out by accident. It rained inPhiladelphia for three whole days, and all the umbrellas in our housewere carried out by the family and lost or mislaid or something, sothat when I wanted to go to Uncle Bob's house, which is at Germantown, there wasn't an umbrella to be found. My governess wouldn't let me gowithout one, and--"

"Oh, " said Trot. "Do you have a governess?"

"Yes, but I don't like her. She's cross. She said I couldn't go toUncle Bob's because I had no umbrella. Instead she told me to go up inthe attic and play. I was sorry 'bout that, but I went up in the attic, and pretty soon I found in a corner this old umbrella. I didn't carehow it looked. It was whole and strong and big, and would keep me fromgetting wet on the way to Uncle Bob's. So off I started for the car, but I found the streets awful muddy, and once I stepped in a mud-holeway up to my ankle. 'Gee!, ' I said, 'I wish I could fly through the airto Uncle Bob's. '

"I was holding up the open umbrella when I said that, and as soon as Ispoke, the umbrella began lifting me up into the air. I was awfulscared at first, but I held on tight to the handle, and it didn't pullvery much, either. I was going pretty fast, for when I looked down allthe big buildings were sliding past me so swift that it made me dizzy, and before I really knew what had happened the umbrella settled downand stood me on my feet at Uncle Bob's front gate. 

"I didn't tell anybody about the wonderful thing that had happened, 'cause I thought no one would believe me. Uncle Bob looked sharp at thething an' said, 'Button-Bright, how did your father happen to let youtake that umbrella?' 'He didn't, ' I said. 'Father was away at theoffice, so I found it in the attic an' I jus' took it. ' Then Uncle Bobshook his head an' said I ought to leave it alone. He said it was afam'ly relic that had been handed down from father to son for manygenerations. But I told him my father had never handed it to me, thoughI'm his son. Uncle Bob said our fam'ly always believed that it brought'em good luck to own this umbrella. He couldn't say why, not knowingits early history, but he was afraid that if I lost the umbrella, badluck would happen to us. So he made me go right home to put theumbrella back where I got it. I was sorry Uncle Bob was so cross, and Ididn't want to go home yet, where the governess was crosser 'n he was. I wonder why folks get cross when it rains? But by that time it hadstopped raining--for awhile, anyhow--and Uncle Bob told me to gostraight home and put the umbrella in the attic an' never touch itagain. 

"When I was around the corner, I thought I'd see if I could fly as Ihad before. I'd heard of Buffalo, but I didn't know just where it was, so I said to the umbrella, 'Take me to Buffalo. ' Up in the air I went, just as soon as I said it, and the umbrella sailed so fast that I feltas if I was in a gale of wind. It was a long, long trip, and I gotawful tired holding onto the handle, but just as I thought I'd have tolet go, I began to drop down slowly, and then I found myself in thestreets of a big city. I put down the umbrella and asked a man what thename of the city was, and he said 'Buffalo'. "

"How wonderful!" gasped Trot. Cap'n Bill kept on smoking and saidnothing. 

"It was magic, I'm sure, " said Button-Bright. "It surely couldn't havebeen anything else. "

"P'raps, " suggested Trot, "the umbrella can do other magic things. "

"No, " said the boy. "I've tried it. When I landed in Buffalo I was hotand thirsty. I had ten cents car fare, but I was afraid to spend it. SoI held up the umbrella and wished I had an ice-cream soda, but I didn'tget it. Then I wished for a nickel to buy an ice-cream soda with, but Ididn't get that, either. I got frightened and was afraid the umbrelladidn't have any magic left, so to try it I said 'Take me to Chicago. ' Ididn't want to go to Chicago, but that was the first place I thoughtof, and I soon saw this was going to be another long journey, so Icalled out to the umbrella, 'Never mind. Stop! I guess I won't go toChicago. I've changed my mind, so take me home again. ' But the umbrellawouldn't. It kept right on flying, and I shut my eyes and held on. Atlast I landed in Chicago, and then I was in a pretty fix. It was nearlydark, and I was too tired and hungry to make the trip home again. Iknew I'd get an awful scolding, too, for running away and taking thefamily luck with me, so I thought that as long as I was in for it, I'dbetter see a good deal of the country while I had the chance. Iwouldn't be allowed to come away again, you know. "

"No, of course not, " said Trot. 

"I bought some buns and milk with my ten cents, and then I walkedaround the streets of Chicago for a time and afterward slept on a benchin one of the parks. In the morning I tried to get the umbrella to giveme a magic breakfast, but it won't do anything but fly. I went to ahouse and asked a woman for something to eat, and she gave me all Iwanted and advised me to go straight home before my mother worriedabout me. She didn't know I lived in Philadelphia. That was thismorning. "

"This mornin'!" exclaimed Cap'n Bill. "Why, lad, it takes three or fourdays for the railroad trains to get to this coast from Chicago. "

"I know, " replied Button-Bright. "But I didn't come on a railroadtrain. This umbrella goes faster than any train ever did. This morningI flew from Chicago to Denver, but no one there would give me anylunch. A policeman said he'd put me in jail if he caught me begging, soI got away and told the umbrella to take me to the Pacific Ocean. WhenI stopped I landed over there by the big rock. I shut up the umbrellaand saw a girl sitting on the rock, so I went up and spoke to her. That's all. "

"Goodness me!" said Trot. "If that isn't a fairy story, I never heardone. "

"It IS a fairy story, " agreed Button-Bright. "Anyhow, it's a magicstory, and the funny part of it is, it's true. I hope you believe me, but I don't know as I'd believe it myself if it hadn't been me that ithappened to. "

"I believe ev'ry word of it!" declared Trot earnestly. 

"As fer me, " said Cap'n Bill slowly, "I'm goin' to believe it, too, by'm'by, when I've seen the umbrel fly once. "

"You'll see me fly away with it, " asserted the boy. "But at presentit's pretty late in the day, and Philadelphia is a good way off. Do yous'pose, Trot, your mother would let me stay here all night?"

"Course she would!" answered Trot. "We've got an extra room with a nicebed in it, and we'd love to have you stay just as long as you want to, wouldn't we, Cap'n Bill?"

"Right you are, mate, " replied the old man, nodding his bald head. "Whether the umbrel is magic or not, Butt'n-Bright is welcome. "

Mrs. Griffith came out soon after and seconded the invitation, so theboy felt quite at home in the little cottage. It was not long beforesupper was on the table and in spite of all the bread-and-butter he hadeaten Button-Bright had a fine appetite for the good things Trot'smother had cooked. Mrs. Griffith was very kind to the children, but notquite so agreeable toward poor Cap'n Bill. When the old sailorman atone time spilled some tea on the tablecloth, Trot's mother flew angryand gave the culprit such a tongue-lashing that Button-Bright was sorryfor him. But Cap'n Bill was meek and made no reply. "He's used to it, you know, " whispered Trot to her new friend, and indeed, Cap'n Billtook it all cheerfully and never minded a bit. 

Then it came Trot's turn to get a scolding. When she opened the parcelshe had bought at the village, it was found she had selected the wrongcolor of yarn, and Mrs. Griffith was so provoked that Trot's scoldingwas almost as severe as that of Cap'n Bill. Tears came to the littlegirl's eyes, and to comfort her the boy promised to take her to thevillage next morning with his magic umbrella, so she could exchange theyarn for the right color. 

Trot quickly brightened at this promise, although Cap'n Bill lookedgrave and shook his head solemnly. When supper was over and Trot hadhelped with the dishes, she joined Button-Bright and the sailorman onthe little porch again. Dusk had fallen, and the moon was just rising. They all sat in silence for a time and watched the silver trail thattopped the crests of the waves far out to sea. 

"Oh, Button-Bright!" cried the little girl presently. "I'm so gladyou're going to let me fly with you way to town and back tomorrow. Won't it be fine, Cap'n Bill?"

"Dunno, Trot, " said he. "I can't figger how both of you can hold on tothe handle o' that umbrel. "

Trot's face fell. "I'll hold on to the handle, " said Button-Bright, "and she can hold on to me. It doesn't pull hard at all. You've no ideahow easy it is to fly that way after you get used to it. "

"But Trot ain't used to it, " objected the sailor. "If she happened tolose her hold and let go, it's goodbye Trot. I don't like to risk it, for Trot's my chum, an' I can't afford to lose her. "

"Can't you tie us together, then?" asked the boy. 

"We'll see, we'll see, " replied Cap'n Bill, and began to think verydeeply. He forgot that he didn't believe the umbrella could fly, andafter Button-Bright and Trot had both gone to bed, the old sailor wentout into the shed and worked a while before he, too, turned into his"bunk. " The sandman wasn't around, and Cap'n Bill lay awake for hoursthinking of the strange tale of the Magic Umbrella before he finallysank into slumber. Then he dreamed about it, and waking or dreaming hefound the tale hard to believe. 

A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE

CHAPTER 3

They had early breakfasts at Trot's house, because they all went to bedearly, and it is possible to sleep only a certain number of hours ifone is healthy in body and mind. And right after breakfast Trot claimedButton-Bright's promise to take her to town with the Magic Umbrella. 

"Any time suits me, " said the boy. He had taken his precious umbrellato bed with him and even carried it to the breakfast table, where hestood it between his knees as he ate; so now he held it close to himand said he was ready to fly at a moment's notice. This confidenceimpressed Cap'n Bill, who said with a sigh:

"Well, if you MUST go, Trot, I've pervided a machine that'll carry youboth comf'table. I'm summat of an inventor myself, though there ain'tany magic about me. "

Then he brought from the shed the contrivance he had made the nightbefore. It was merely a swing seat. He had taken a wide board that wasjust long enough for both the boy and girl to sit upon, and had boredsix holes in it, two holes at each end and two in the middle. Throughthese holes he had run stout ropes in such a way that the seat couldnot turn and the occupants could hold on to the ropes on either side ofthem. The ropes were all knotted together at the top, where there was aloop that could be hooked upon the crooked handle of the umbrella. 

Button-Bright and Trot both thought Cap'n Bill's invention very clever. The sailor placed the board upon the ground while they sat in theirplaces, Button-Bright at the right of Trot, and then the boy hooked therope loop to the handle of the umbrella, which he spread wide open. "Iwant to go to the town over yonder, " he said, pointing with his fingerto the roofs of the houses that showed around the bend in the cliff. 

At once the umbrella rose into the air, slowly at first, but quicklygathering speed. Trot and Button-Bright held fast to the ropes and werecarried along very easily and comfortably. It seemed scarcely a minutebefore they were in the town, and when the umbrella set them down justin front of the store--for it seemed to know just where they wanted togo--a wondering crowd gathered around them. Trot ran in and changed theyarn, while Button-Bright stayed outside and stared at the people whostared at him. They asked questions, too, wanting to know what sort ofan aeroplane this was and where his power was stored and lots of otherthings, but the boy answered not a sound. When the little girl cameback and took her seat, Button-Bright said, "I want to go to Trot'shouse. "

The simple villagers could not understand how the umbrella suddenlylifted the two children into the air and carried them away. They hadread of airships, but here was something wholly beyond theircomprehension. 

Cap'n Bill had stood in front of the house, watching with a feelingakin to bewilderment the flight of the Magic Umbrella. He could followits course until it descended in the village, and he was so amazed andabsorbed that his pipe went out. He had not moved from his positionwhen the umbrella started back. The sailor's big blue eyes watched itdraw near and settle down with its passengers upon just the spot it hadstarted from. 

Trot was joyous and greatly excited. "Oh, Cap'n, it's gal-lor-ious!"she cried in ecstasy. "It beats ridin' in a boat or--or--in anythingelse. You feel so light an' free an'--an'--glad! I'm sorry the tripdidn't last longer, though. Only trouble is, you go too fast. "

Button-Bright was smiling contentedly. He had proved to both Trot andCap'n Bill that he had told the truth about the Magic Umbrella, howevermarvelous his tale had seemed to them. "I'll take you on another trip, if you like, " said he. "I'm in no hurry to go home, and if you will letme stay with you another day, we can make two or three little tripswith the family luck. "

"You mus' stay a whole week, " said Trot decidedly. "An' you mus' takeCap'n Bill for an air-ride, too. "

"Oh, Trot! I dunno as I'd like it, " protested Cap'n Bill nervously. 

"Yes you would. You're sure to like it. "

"I guess I'm too heavy. "

"I'm sure the umbrella could carry twenty people if they could befastened to the handle, " said Button-Bright. 

"Solid land's pretty good to hold on to, " decided Cap'n Bill. "A ropemight break, you know. "

"Oh, Cap'n Bill! You're scared stiff, " said Trot. 

"I ain't, mate. It ain't that at all. But I don't see that humancritters has any call to fly in the air, anyhow. The air were made forthe birds, an'--an' muskeeters, an'--"

"An' flyin'-fishes, " added Trot. "I know all that, Cap'n, but whywasn't it made for humans, too, if they can manage to fly in it? Webreathe the air, an' we can breathe it high up, just as well as down onthe earth. "

"Seein' as you like it so much, Trot, it would be cruel for me to gowith Butt'n-Bright an' leave you at home, " said the sailor. "When Iwere younger--which is ancient history--an' afore I had a wooden leg, Icould climb a ship's ropes with the best of 'em, an' walk out on a boomor stand atop a mast. So you know very well I ain't skeered about thehighupness. "

"Why can't we all go together?" asked the boy. "Make another seat, Cap'n, and swing it right under ours. Then we can all three rideanywhere we want to go. "

"Yes, do!" exclaimed Trot. "And see here, Cap'n, let's take a day offand have a picnic. Mother is a little cross today, and she wants tofinish knitting your new stockin', so I guess she'll be glad to get ridof us. "

"Where'll we go?" he asked, shifting on his wooden leg uneasily. 

"Anywhere. I don't care. There'll be the air-ride there an' theair-ride back, an' that's the main thing with ME. If you say we'll go, Cap'n, I'll run in an' pack a basket of lunch. "

"How'll we carry it?"

"Swing it to the bottom of your seat. "

The old sailor stood silent a moment. He really longed to take theair-ride but was fearful of danger. However, Trot had gone safely totown and back and had greatly enjoyed the experience. "All right, " hesaid. "I'll risk it, mate, although I guess I'm an old fool fortemptin' fate by tryin' to make a bird o' myself. Get the lunch, Trot, if your mother'll let you have it, and I'll rig up the seat. "

He went into the shed and Trot went to her mother. Mrs. Griffith, busywith her work, knew nothing of what was going on in regard to theflight of the Magic Umbrella. She never objected when Trot wanted to goaway with Cap'n Bill for a day's picnicking. She knew the child wasperfectly safe with the old sailor, who cared for Trot even better thanher mother would have done. If she had asked any questions today andhad found out they intended to fly in the air, she might have seriouslyobjected, but Mrs. Griffith had her mind on other things and merelytold the girl to take what she wanted from the cupboard and not botherher. So Trot, remembering that Button-Bright would be with them and hadproved himself to be a hearty eater, loaded the basket with all thegood things she could find. 

By the time she came out, lugging the basket with both hands, Cap'nBill appeared with the new seat he had made for his own use, which heattached by means of ropes to the double seat of the boy and girl. "Nowthen, where'll we go?" asked Trot. 

"Anywhere suits me, " replied Cap'n Bill. They had walked to the highbluff overlooking the sea, where a gigantic acacia tree stood on thevery edge. A seat had been built around the trunk of the tree, for thiswas a favorite spot for Trot and Cap'n Bill to sit and talk and watchthe fleet of fishing boats sail to and from the village. When they cameto this tree, Trot was still trying to think of the most pleasant placeto picnic. She and Cap'n Bill had been every place that was desirableand nearby, but today they didn't want a nearby spot. They must decideupon one far enough away to afford them a fine trip through the air. Looking far out over the Pacific, the girl's eyes fell upon a dimisland lying on the horizon line just where the sky and water seemed tomeet, and the sight gave her an idea. 

"Oh, Cap'n Bill!" she exclaimed. "Let's go to that island for ourpicnic. We've never been there yet, you know. "

The sailor shook his head. "It's a good many miles away, Trot, " hesaid, "further than it looks to be from here. "

"That won't matter, " remarked Button-Bright. "The umbrella will carryus there in no time. "

"Let's go!" repeated Trot. "We'll never have another such chance, Cap'n. It's too far to sail or row, and I've always wanted to visitthat island. "

"What's the name of it?" inquired Button-Bright while the sailorhesitated to decide. 

"Oh, it's got an awful hard name to pernounce, " replied the girl, "soCap'n Bill and I jus' call it 'Sky Island' 'cause it looks as if it washalf in the sky. We've been told it's a very pretty island, and a fewpeople live there and keep cows and goats and fish for a living. Thereare woods and pastures and springs of clear water, and I'm sure wewould find it a fine place for a picnic. "

"If anything happened on the way, " observed Cap'n Bill, "we'd drop inthe water. "

"Of course, " said Trot, "and if anything happened while we were flyin'over the land, we'd drop there. But nothing's goin' to happen, Cap'n. Didn't Button-Bright come safe all the way from Philydelfy?"

"I think I'd like to go to Sky Island, " said the boy. "I've alwaysflown above the land so far, and it will be something new to fly overthe ocean. "

"All right, I'm agree'ble, " decided Cap'n Bill. "But afore we starts onsuch a long journey, s'pose we make a little trial trip along thecoast. I want to see if the new seat fits me an' make certain theumbrel will carry all three of us. "

"Very well, " said Button-Bright. "Where shall we go?"

"Let's go as far as Smuggler's Cove an' then turn 'round an' come back. If all's right an' shipshape, then we can start for the island. "

They put the broad double seat on the ground, and then the boy and girlsat in their places and Button-Bright spread open the Magic Umbrella. Cap'n Bill sat in his seat just in front of them, all being upon theground. 

"Don't we look funny?" said Trot with a chuckle of glee. "But hold fastthe ropes, Cap'n, an' take care of your wooden leg. "

Button-Bright addressed the umbrella, speaking to it very respectfully, for it was a thing to inspire awe. "I want to go as far as Smuggler'sCove and then turn around in the air and come back here, " he said. Atonce the umbrella rose into the air, lifting after it first the seat inwhich the children sat, and then Cap'n Bill's seat. 

"Don't kick your heels, Trot!" cried the sailor in a voice that provedhe was excited by his novel experience. "You might bump me in the nose. "

"All right, " she called back. "I'll be careful. "

It was really a wonderful, exhilarating ride, and Cap'n Bill wasn'tlong making up his mind he liked the sensation. When about fifty feetabove the ground the umbrella began moving along the coast towardSmuggler's Cove, which it soon reached. Looking downward, Cap'n Billsuddenly exclaimed, "Why, there' a boat cast loose, an' it's goin' tosmash on the rocks. Hold on a minute, Butt'n-Bright, till we can landan' drag it ashore. "

"Hold on a minute, Umbrella!" cried the boy. But the Magic Umbrellakept steadily upon its way. It made a circle over the Cove and thenstarted straight back the way it had come. "It's no use, sir, " saidButton-Bright to the sailor. "If I once tell it to go to a certainplace, the umbrella will go there, and nowhere else. I've found thatout before this. You simply CAN'T stop it. "

"Won't let you change your mind, eh?" replied Cap'n Bill. "Well, thathas its advantidges, an' its disadvantiges. If your ol' umbrel hadn'tbeen so obstinate, we could have saved that boat. "

"Never mind, " said Trot briskly, "here we are safe back again. Wasn'tit jus' the--the fascinatingest ride you ever took, Cap'n?"

"It's pretty good fun, " admitted Cap'n Bill. "Beats them aeroplanes an'things all holler, 'cause it don't need any regulatin. '"

"If we're going to that island, we may as well start right away, " saidButton-Bright when they had safely landed. 

"All right. I'll tie on the lunch-basket, " answered the sailor. Hefastened it so it would swing underneath his own seat, and they alltook their places again. 

"Ready?" asked the boy. 

"Let 'er go, my lad. "

"I want to go to Sky Island, " said Button-Bright to the umbrella, usingthe name Trot had given him. The umbrella started promptly. It rosehigher than before, carrying the three voyagers with it, and thenstarted straight away over the ocean. 

THE ISLAND IN THE SKY

CHAPTER 4

They clung tightly to the ropes, but the breeze was with them, so aftera few moments, when they became accustomed to the motion, they began toenjoy the ride immensely. 

Larger and larger grew the island, and although they were headeddirectly toward it, the umbrella seemed to rise higher and higher intothe air the farther it traveled. They had not journeyed ten minutesbefore they came directly over the island, and looking down they couldsee the forests and meadows far below them. But the umbrella kept upits rapid flight. 

"Hold on, there!" cried Cap'n Bill. "If it ain't keerful, the ol' thingwill pass by the island. "

"I--I'm sure it has passed it already, " exclaimed Trot. "What's wrong, Button-Bright? Why don't we stop?"

Button-Bright seemed astonished, too. 

"Perhaps I didn't say it right, " he replied after a moment's thought. Then, looking up at the umbrella, he repeated distinctly, "I said Iwanted to go to Sky Island! Sky Island, don't you understand?"

The umbrella swept steadily along, getting farther and farther out tosea and rising higher and higher toward the clouds. 

"Mack'rel an' herrings!" roared Cap'n Bill, now really frightened. "Ain't there any blamed way at all to stop her?"

"None that I know of, " said Button-Bright anxiously. 

"P'raps, " said Trot after a pause during which she tried hard to think. "P'raps 'Sky Island' isn't the name of that island at all. "

"Why, we know very well it ain't the name of it, " yelled Cap'n Billfrom below. "We jus' called it that 'cause its right name is too hardto say. "

"That's the whole trouble, then, " returned Button-Bright. "Somewhere inthe world there's a real Sky Island, and having told the Magic Umbrellato take us there, it's going to do so. "

"Well, I declare!" gasped the sailorman. "Can't we land anywhere else?"

"Not unless you care to tumble off, " said the boy. "I've told theumbrella to take us to Sky Island, so that's the exact place we'rebound for. I'm sorry. It was your fault for giving me the wrong name. "

They glided along in silence for a while. The island was now far behindthem, growing small in the distance. "Where do you s'pose the real SkyIsland can be?" asked Trot presently. 

"We can't tell anything about it until we get there, " Button-Brightanswered. "Seems to me I've heard of the Isle of Skye, but that's overin Great Britain, somewhere the other side of the world, and it isn'tSky Island, anyhow. "

"This miser'ble ol' umbrel is too pertic'ler, " growled Cap'n Bill. "Itwon't let you change your mind an' it goes ezzac'ly where you say. "

"If it didn't, " said Trot, "we'd never know where we were going. "

"We don't know now, " said the sailor. "One thing's certain, folks:we're gett'n' a long way from home. "

"And see how the clouds are rolling just above us, " remarked the boy, who was almost as uneasy as Cap'n Bill. 

"We're in the sky, all right, " said the girl. "If there could be anisland up here among the clouds, I'd think it was there we're going. "

"Couldn't there be one?" asked Button-Bright. "Why couldn't there be anisland in the sky that would be named Sky Island?"

"Of course not!" declared Cap'n Bill. "There wouldn't be anything tohold it up, you know. "

"What's holding US up?" asked Trot. 

"Magic, I guess. "

"Then magic might hold an island in the sky. Whee-e-e! What a blackcloud!"

It grew suddenly dark, for they were rushing through a thick cloud thatrolled around them in billows. Trot felt little drops of moisturestriking her face and knew her clothing was getting damp and soggy. "It's a rain cloud, " she said to Button-Bright, "and it seems like anawful big one, 'cause it takes so long for us to pass through it. "

The umbrella never hesitated a moment. It made a path through thelength of the heavy, black cloud at last and carried its passengersinto a misty, billowy bank of white, which seemed as soft and fleecy asa lady's veil. When this broke away, they caught sight of a majesticrainbow spanning the heavens, its gorgeous colors glinting brightly inthe sun, its arch perfect and unbroken from end to end. But it was onlya glimpse they had, for quickly they dove into another bank of cloudsand the rainbow disappeared. 

Here the clouds were not black, nor heavy, but they assumed queershapes. Some were like huge ships, some like forest trees, and otherspiled themselves into semblances of turreted castles and wonderfulpalaces. The shapes shifted here and there continually, and thevoyagers began to be bewildered by the phantoms. 

"Seems to me we're goin' down, " called Trot. 

"Down where?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"Who knows?" said Button-Bright. "But we're dropping, all right. "

It was a gradual descent. The Magic Umbrella maintained a uniformspeed, swift and unfaltering, but its path through the heavens was nowin the shape of an arch, as a flying arrow falls. The queer shapes ofthe clouds continued for some time, and once or twice Trot was a littlefrightened when a monstrous airy dragon passed beside them or a hugegiant stood upon a peak of cloud and stared savagely at the intrudersinto his domain. But none of these fanciful, vapory creatures seemedinclined to molest them or to interfere with their flight, and after awhile the umbrella dipped below this queer cloudland and entered aclear space where the sky was of an exquisite blue color. 

"Oh, look!" called Cap'n Bill. "There's land below us. " The boy andgirl leaned over and tried to see this land, but Cap'n Bill was alsoleaning over, and his big body hid all that was just underneath them. 

"Is it an island?" asked Trot solemnly. 

"Seems so, " the old sailor replied. "The blue is around all one side ofit an' a pink sunshine around the other side. There's a big cloud justover the middle, but I guess it's surely an island, Trot, an' bein' asit's in the sky, it's likely to be Sky Island. "

"Then we shall land there, " said the boy confidently. "I knew theumbrella wouldn't make a mistake. "

Presently Cap'n Bill spoke again. "We're goin' down on the blue part o'the island, " he said. "I can see trees an' ponds an' houses. Holdtight, Trot! Hold tight, Butt'n-Bright! I'm afeared we're a'goin' tobump somethin'!"

They were certainly dropping very quickly now, and the rush of air madetheir eyes fill with water so that they could not see much below them. Suddenly, the basket that was dangling below Cap'n Bill strucksomething with a loud thud, and this was followed by a yell of anger. Cap'n Bill sat flat upon the ground, landing with such a force thatjarred the sailorman and made his teeth click together, while down uponhim came the seat that Trot and Button-Bright occupied, so that for amoment they were all tangled up. 

"Get off from me! Get off from my feet, I say!" cried an excited voice. "What in the Sky do you mean by sitting on my feet? Get off! Get off atonce!"

THE BOOLOOROO OF THE BLUES

CHAPTER 5

Cap'n Bill suspected that these remarks were addressed to him, but hecouldn't move just then because the seat was across him, and a boy andgirl were sprawling on the seat. As the Magic Umbrella was now asmotionless as any ordinary umbrella might be, Button-Bright firstreleased the catch and closed it up, after which he unhooked thecrooked handle from the rope and rose to his feet. Trot had managed bythis time to stand up, and she pulled the board off from Cap'n Bill. All this time the shrill, excited voice was loudly complaining becausethe sailor was on his feet, and Trot looked to see who was making theprotest, while Cap'n Bill rolled over and got on his hands and knees sohe could pull his meat leg and his wooden leg into an upright position, which wasn't a very easy thing to do. 

Button-Bright and Trot were staring with all their might at thequeerest person they had ever seen. They decided it must be a manbecause he had two long legs, a body as round as a ball, a neck like anostrich, and a comical little head set on the top of it. But the mostcurious thing about him was his skin, which was of a lovely sky-bluetint. His eyes were also sky-blue, and his hair, which was trainedstraight up and ended in a curl at the top of his head, was likewiseblue in color and matched his skin and his eyes. He wore tight-fittingclothes made of sky-blue silk, with a broad blue ruffle around his longneck, and on his breast glittered a magnificent jewel in the form of astar, set with splendid blue stones. 

If the blue man astonished the travelers, they were no less surprisedby his surroundings, for look where they might, everything they beheldwas of the same blue color as the sky above. They seemed to have landedin a large garden, surrounded by a high wall of blue stone. The treeswere all blue, the grass was blue, the flowers were blue, and even thepebbles in the paths were blue. There were many handsomely carvedbenches and seats of blue wood scattered about the garden, and nearthem stood a fountain made of blue marble, which shot lovely sprays ofblue water into the blue air. 

But the angry inhabitants of this blue place would not permit them tolook around them in peace, for as soon as Cap'n Bill rolled off histoes, he began dancing around in an excited way and saying verydisrespectful things of his visitors. "You brutes! You apes! Youmiserable, white-skinned creatures! How dare you come into my gardenand knock me on the head with that awful basket and then fall on mytoes and cause me pain and suffering? How dare you, I say? Don't youknow you will be punished for your impudence? Don't you know theBoolooroo of the Blues will have revenge? I can have you patched forthis insult, and I will--just as sure as I'm the Royal Boolooroo of SkyIsland!"

"Oh, is this Sky Island, then?" asked Trot. 

"Of course it's Sky Island. What else could it be? And I'm its Ruler, its King, its sole Royal Potentate and Dictator. Behold in thePersonage you have injured the Mighty Quitey Righty Boolooroo of theBlues!" Here he strutted around in a very pompous manner and wagged hislittle head contemptuously at them. 

"Glad to meet you, sir, " said Cap'n Bill. "I allus had a likin' forkings, bein' as they're summat unusual. Please 'scuse me for a-sittin'on your royal toes, not knowin' as your toes were there. "

"I won't excuse you!" roared the Boolooroo. "But I'll punish you. Youmay depend upon that. "

"Seems to me, " said Trot, "you're actin' rather imperlite to strangers. If anyone comes to our country to visit us, we always treat 'em decent. "

"YOUR country!" exclaimed the Boolooroo, looking at them more carefullyand seeming interested in their appearance. "Where in the Sky did youcome from, then, and where is your country located?"

"We live on the Earth when we're at home, " replied the girl. 

"The Earth? Nonsense! I've heard of the Earth, my child, but it isn'tinhabited. No one can live there because it's just a round, cold, barren ball of mud and water, " declared the Blueskin. 

"Oh, you're wrong about that, " said Button-Bright. 

"You surely are, " added Cap'n Bill. 

"Why, we live there ourselves, " cried Trot. 

"I don't believe it. I believe you are living in Sky Island, where youhave no right to be, with your horrid white skins. And you've intrudedinto the private garden of the palace of the Greatly Stately IratelyBoolooroo, which is a criminal offense. And you've bumped my head withyour basket and smashed my toes with your boards and bodies, which is acrime unparalleled in all the history of Sky Island! Aren't you sorryfor yourselves?"

"I'm sorry for you, " replied Trot, "'cause you don't seem to know theproper way to treat visitors. But we won't stay long. We'll go homepretty soon. "

"Not until you have been punished!" exclaimed the Boolooroo sternly. "You are my prisoners. "

"Beg parding, your Majesty, " said Cap'n Bill, "but you're takin' a gooddeal for granted. We've tried to be friendly and peaceable, an' we've'poligized for hurtin' you, but if that don't satisfy you, you'll haveto make the most of it. You may be the Boolooroo of the Blues, but youain't even a tin whistle to us, an' you can't skeer us for half aminute. I'm an ol' man, myself, but if you don't behave, I'll spank youlike I would a baby, an' it won't be any trouble at all to do it, thank'e. As a matter o' fact, we've captured your whole bloomin' blueisland, but we don't like the place very much, and I guess we'll giveit back. It gives us the blues, don't it, Trot? So as soon as we eat abite of lunch from our basket, we'll sail away again. "

"Sail away? How?" asked the Boolooroo. 

"With the Magic Umbrel, " said Cap'n Bill, pointing to the umbrella thatButton-Bright was holding underneath his arm. 

"Oh, ho! I see, I see, " said the Boolooroo, nodding his funny head. "Goahead, then, and eat your lunch. "

He retreated a little way to a marble seat beside the fountain, butwatched the strangers carefully. Cap'n Bill, feeling sure he had wonthe argument, whispered to the boy and girl that they must eat and getaway as soon as possible, as this might prove a dangerous country forthem to remain in. Trot longed to see more of the strange blue island, and especially wanted to explore the magnificent blue palace thatadjoined the garden and which had six hundred tall towers and turrets;but she felt that her old friend was wise in advising them to get awayquickly. So she opened the basket, and they all three sat in a row on astone bench and began to eat sandwiches and cake and pickles and cheeseand all the good things that were packed in the lunch basket. 

They were hungry from the long ride, and while they ate they kept theireyes busily employed in examining all the queer things around them. TheBoolooroo seemed quite the queerest of anything, and Trot noticed thatwhen he pulled the long curl that stuck up from the top of his head, abell tinkled somewhere in the palace. He next pulled at the bottom ofhis right ear, and another faraway bell tinkled; then he touched theend of his nose, and still another bell was faintly heard. TheBoolooroo said not a word while he was ringing the bells, and Trotwondered if that was the way he amused himself. But now the frown diedaway from his face and was replaced with a look of satisfaction. 

"Have you nearly finished?" he inquired. 

"No, " said Trot, "we've got to eat our apples yet. "

"Apples? Apples? What are apples?" he asked. 

Trot took some from the basket. "Have one?" she said. "They're awfulgood. "

The Boolooroo advanced a step and took the apple, which he regardedwith much curiosity. 

"Guess they don't grow anywhere but on the Earth, " remarked Cap'n Bill. 

"Are they good to eat?" asked the Boolooroo. 

"Try it and see, " answered Trot, biting into an apple herself. 

The Blueskin sat down on the end of their bench, next to Button-Bright, and began to eat his apple. He seemed to like it, for he finished it ina hurry, and when it was gone he picked up the Magic Umbrella. 

"Let that alone!" said Button-Bright, making a grab for it. But theBoolooroo jerked it away in an instant, and standing up he held theumbrella behind him and laughed aloud. 

"Now then, " said he, "you can't get away until I'm willing to let yougo. You are my prisoners. "

"I guess not, " returned Cap'n Bill, and reaching out one of his longarms, the sailorman suddenly grasped the Boolooroo around his long, thin neck and shook him until his whole body fluttered like a flag. "Drop that umbrel. Drop it!" yelled Cap'n Bill, and the Booloorooquickly obeyed. The Magic Umbrella fell to the ground, andButton-Bright promptly seized it. Then the sailor let go his hold andthe King staggered to a seat, choking and coughing to get his breathback. 

"I told you to let things alone, " growled Cap'n Bill. "If you don'tbehave, your Majesty, this Blue Island'll have to get anotherBoolooroo. "

"Why?" asked the Blueskin. 

"Because I'll prob'ly spoil you for a king, an' mebbe for anythingelse. Anyhow, you'll get badly damaged if you try to interfere with us, an' that's a fact. "

"Don't kill him, Cap'n Bill, " said Trot cheerfully. 

"Kill me? Why, he couldn't do that, " observed the King, who was tryingto rearrange the ruffle around his neck. "Nothing can kill me. "

"Why not?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"Because I haven't lived my six hundred years yet. Perhaps you don'tknow that every Blueskin in Sky Island lives exactly six hundred yearsfrom the time he is born. "

"No, I didn't know that, " admitted the sailor. 

"It's a fact, " said the King. "Nothing can kill us until we've lived tothe last day of our appointed lives. When the final minute is up, wedie; but we're obliged to live all of the six hundred years whether wewant to or not. So you needn't think of trying to kill anybody on SkyIsland. It can't be done. "

"Never mind, " said Cap'n Bill. "I'm no murderer, thank goodness, and Iwouldn't kill you if I could, much as you deserve it. "

"But isn't six hundred years an awful long time to live?" questionedTrot. 

"It seems like it at first, " replied the King, "but I notice thatwhenever any of my subjects get near the end of their six hundred, theygrow nervous and say the life is altogether too short. "

"How long have you lived?" asked Button-Bright. 

The King coughed again and turned a bit bluer. "That is considered animpertinent question in Sky Island, " he answered, "but I will say thatevery Boolooroo is elected to reign three hundred years, and I'vereigned not quite--ahem!--two hundred. "

"Are your kings elected, then?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"Yes, of course. This is a Republic, you know. The people elect alltheir officers from the King down. Every man and every woman is avoter. The Boolooroo tells them whom to vote for, and if they don'tobey, they are severely punished. It's a fine system of government, andthe only thing I object to is electing the Boolooroo for only threehundred years. It ought to be for life. My successor has already beenelected, but he can't reign for a hundred years to come. "

"I think three hundred years is plenty long enough, " said Trot. "Itgives someone else a chance to rule, an' I wouldn't be s'prised if thenext king is a better one. Seems to me you're not much of a Boolooroo. "

"That, " replied the King indignantly, "is a matter of opinion. I likemyself very much, but I can't expect you to like me, because you'redeformed and ignorant. "

"I'm not!" cried Trot. 

"Yes, you are. Your legs are too short and your neck is nothing at all. Your color is most peculiar, but there isn't a shade of blue about anyof you, except the deep-blue color of the clothes the old ape thatchoked me wears. Also, you are ignorant because you know nothing of SkyIsland, which is the Center of the Universe and the only place anyonewould care to live. "

"Don't listen to him, Trot, " said Button-Bright. "He's an ignoranthimself. "

Cap'n Bill packed up the lunch basket. One end of the rope was stilltied to the handle of the basket, and the other end to his swing seat, which lay on the ground before them. 

"Well, " said he, "let's go home. We've seen enough of this Blue Countryand its Blue Boolooroo, I guess, an' it's a long journey back again. "

"All right, " agreed Trot, jumping up. 

Button-Bright stood on the bench and held up the Magic Umbrella, so hecould open it, and the sailor had just attached the ropes when a thinblue line shot out from behind them and in a twinkling wound itselfaround the umbrella. At the same instant another blue cord wound itselfaround the boy's body, and others caught Trot and Cap'n Bill in theircoils, so that all had their arms pinned fast to their sides and foundthemselves absolutely helpless. 

THE SIX SNUBNOSED PRINCESSES

CHAPTER 6

The Boolooroo was laughing and dancing around in front of them as ifwell pleased. For a moment the prisoners could not imagine what hadhappened to them, but presently half a dozen Blueskins, resembling inshape and costume their ruler but less magnificently dressed, steppedin front of them and bowed low to the Boolooroo. 

"Your orders, most Mighty, Flighty, Tight and Righty Monarch, have beenobeyed, " said the leader. 

"Very well, Captain. Take that umbrella and carry it to my RoyalTreasury. See that it is safely locked up. Here's the key, and if youdon't return it to me within five minutes, I'll have you patched. "

The Captain took the key and the Magic Umbrella and hastened away tothe palace. Button-Bright had already hooked the ropes to theelephant-trunk handle, so that when the Captain carried away theumbrella, he dragged after him first the double seat, then Cap'n Bill'sseat, which was fastened to it, and finally the lunch-basket, which wasattached to the lower seat. At every few steps some of these would tripup the Captain and cause him to take a tumble, but as he had only fiveminutes' time in which to perform his errand, he would scramble to hisfeet again and dash along the path until a board or the basket trippedhim up again. 

They all watched him with interest until he had disappeared within thepalace, when the King turned to his men and said:

"Release the prisoners. They are now quite safe, and cannot escape me. "

So the men unwound the long cords that were twined around the bodies ofour three friends, and set them free. These men seemed to be soldiers, although they bore no arms except the cords. Each cord had a weight atthe end, and when the weight was skillfully thrown by a soldier, itwound the cord around anything in the twinkling of an eye and held fastuntil it was unwound again. 

Trot decided these Blueskins must have stolen into the garden whensummoned by the bells the Boolooroo had rung, but they had kept out ofsight and crept up behind the bench on which our friends were seateduntil a signal from the king aroused them to action. 

The little girl was greatly surprised by the suddenness of her capture, and so was Button-Bright. Cap'n Bill shook his head and said he wasafeared they'd get into trouble. "Our mistake, " he added, "was instoppin' to eat our lunch. But it's too late now to cry over spiltmilk. "

"I don't mind, not much anyhow, " asserted Trot bravely. "We're in nohurry to get back, are we, Button-Bright?"

"I'm not, " said the boy. "If they hadn't taken the umbrella, I wouldn'tcare how long we stopped in this funny island. Do you think it's afairy country, Trot?"

"Can't say, I'm sure, " she answered. "I haven't seen anything here yetthat reminds me of fairies, but Cap'n Bill said a floating island inthe sky was sure to be a fairyland. "

"I think so yet, mate, " returned the sailor. "But there's all sorts o'fairies, I've heard. Some is good, an' some is bad, an' if all theBlueskins are like their Boolooroo, they can't be called fust-class. "

"Don't let me hear any more impudence, prisoners!" called the Boolooroosternly. "You are already condemned to severe punishment, and if I haveany further trouble with you, you are liable to be patched. "

"What's being patched?" inquired the girl. 

The soldiers all laughed at this question, but the King did not reply. Just then a door in the palace opened and out trooped a group of girls. There were six of them, all gorgeously dressed in silken gowns withmany puffs and tucks and ruffles and flounces and laces and ribbons, everything being in some shade of blue, grading from light blue to deepblue. Their blue hair was elaborately dressed and came to a point atthe top of their heads. The girls approached in a line along the gardenpath, all walking with mincing steps and holding their chins high. Their skirts prevented their long legs from appearing as grotesque asdid those of the men, but their necks were so thin and long that theruffles around them only made them seem the more absurd. 

"Ah, " said the King with a frown, "here come the Six SnubnosedPrincesses, the most beautiful and aristocratic ladies in Sky Island. "

"They're snubnosed, all right, " observed Trot, looking at the girlswith much interest, "but I should think it would make 'em mad to call'em that. "

"Why?" asked the Boolooroo in surprise. "Is not a snub nose the highestmark of female beauty?"

"Is it?" asked the girl. 

"Most certainly. In this favored island, which is the Center of theUniverse, a snub nose is an evidence of high breeding which any ladywould be proud to possess. "

The Six Snubnosed Princesses now approached the fountain and stood in arow, staring with haughty looks at the strangers. 

"Goodness me, your Majesty!" exclaimed the first. "What queer, dreadful-looking creatures are these? Where in all the Sky did theycome from?"

"They say they came from the Earth, Cerulia, " answered the Boolooroo. 

"But that is impossible, " said another Princess. "Our scientists haveproved that the Earth is not inhabited. "

"Your scientists'll have to guess again, then, " said Trot. 

"But how did they get to Sky Island?" inquired the third snubnosed one. 

"By means of a Magic Umbrella, which I have captured and put away in myTreasure Chamber, " replied the Boolooroo. 

"What will you do with the monsters, papa?" asked the fourth Princess. 

"I haven't decided yet, " said the Boolooroo. "They're curiosities, yousee, and may serve to amuse us. But as they're only half civilized, Ishall make them my slaves. "

"What are they good for? Can they do anything useful?" asked the fifth. 

"We'll see, " returned the King impatiently. "I can't decide in a hurry. Give me time, Azure, give me time. If there's anything I hate, it's ahurry. "

"I've an idea, your Majesty, " announced the sixth Snubnosed Princess, whose complexion was rather darker than that of her sisters, "and ithas come to me quite deliberately, without any hurry at all. Let ustake the little girl to be our maid--to wait upon us and amuse us whenwe're dull. All the other ladies of the court will be wild with envy, and if the child doesn't prove of use to us, we can keep her for aliving pincushion. "

"Oh! Ah! That will be fine!" cried all the other five, and theBoolooroo said:

"Very well, Indigo, it shall be as you desire. " Then he turned to Trotand added, "I present you to the Six Lovely Snubnosed Princesses, to betheir slave. If you are good and obedient, you won't get your earsboxed oftener than once an hour. "

"I won't be anybody's slave, " protested Trot. "I don't like thesesnubnosed, fussy females, an' I won't have anything to do with 'em. "

"How impudent!" cried Cerulia. 

"How vulgar!" cried Turquoise. 

"How unladylike!" cried Sapphire. 

"How silly!" cried Azure. 

"How absurd!" cried Cobalt. 

"How wicked!" cried Indigo. And then all six held up their hands as ifhorrified. 

The Boolooroo laughed. "You'll know how to bring her to time, Iimagine, " he remarked, "and if the girl isn't reasonable and obedient, send her to me and I'll have her patched. Now, then, take her away. "

But Trot was obstinate and wouldn't budge a step. "Keep us together, your Majesty, " begged Cap'n Bill. "If we're to be slaves, don'tseparate us, but make us all the same kind o' slaves. "

"I shall do what pleases me, " declared the Boolooroo angrily. "Don'ttry to dictate, old Moonface, for there's only one Royal Will in SkyIsland, and that's my own. "

He then gave a command to a soldier, who hastened away to the palaceand soon returned with a number of long, blue ribbons. One he tiedaround Trot's waist and then attached to it six other ribbons. Each ofthe Six Snubnosed Princesses held the end of a ribbon, and then theyturned and marched haughtily away to the palace, dragging the littlegirl after them. 

"Don't worry, Trot, " cried Button-Bright. "We'll get you out of thistrouble pretty soon. "

"Trust to us, mate, " added Cap'n Bill. "We'll manage to take care o'you. "

"Oh, I'm all right, " answered Trot with fine courage. "I'm not afraidof these gawkies. "

But the princesses pulled her after them, and soon they had alldisappeared into one of the entrances to the Blue Palace. 

"Now, then, " said the Boolooroo. "I will instruct you two in yourfuture duties. I shall make old Moonface--"

"My name's Cap'n Bill Weedles, " interrupted the sailor. 

"I don't care what your name is. I shall call you old Moonface, "replied the king, "for that suits you quite well. I shall appoint youthe Royal Nectar Mixer to the court of Sky Island, and if you don't mixour nectar properly, I'll have you patched. "

"How do you mix it?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"I don't mix it. It's not the Boolooroo's place to mix nectar, " was thestern reply. "But you may inquire of the palace servants, and perhapsthe Royal Chef or the Major-domo will condescend to tell you. Take himto the servants' quarters, Captain Ultramarine, and give him a suit ofthe royal livery. "

So Cap'n Bill was lad away by the chief of the soldiers, and when hehad gone, the king said to Button-Bright, "You, slave, shall be theRoyal Bootblue. Your duty will be to keep the boots and shoes of theroyal family nicely polished with blue. "

"I don't know how, " answered Button-Bright surlily. 

"You'll soon learn. The Royal Steward will supply you with blue paste, and when you've brushed this on our shoes, you must shine them withQ-rays of Moonshine. Do you understand?"

"No, " said Button-Bright. 

Then the Boolooroo told one of the soldiers to take the boy to theshoeblue den and have him instructed in his duties, and the soldierspromptly obeyed and dragged Button-Bright away to the end of the palacewhere the servants lived. 

GHIP-GHISIZZLE PROVES FRIENDLY

CHAPTER 7

The Royal Palace was certainly a magnificent building, with large andlofty rooms and superb furnishings, all being in shades of blue. Thesoldier and the boy passed through several broad corridors and thencame to a big hall where many servants were congregated. These werestaring in bewilderment at Cap'n Bill, who had been introduced to themby Captain Ultramarine. Now they turned in no less surprise to examinethe boy, and their looks expressed not only astonishment but dislike. 

The servants were all richly attired in blue silk liveries, and theyseemed disposed to resent the fact that these strangers had been addedto their ranks. They scowled and muttered and behaved in a veryunfriendly way, even after Captain Ultramarine had explained that thenewcomers were merely base slaves, and not to be classed with the freeroyal servants of the palace. 

One of those present, however, showed no especial enmity toButton-Bright and Cap'n Bill, and this Blueskin attracted the boy'snotice because his appearance was so strange. He looked as if he weremade of two separate men, each cut through the middle and then joinedtogether, half of one to half of the other. One side of his blue hairwas curly and the other half straight; one ear was big and stuck outfrom the side of his head, while the other ear was small and flat; oneeye was half shut and twinkling, while the other was big and staring;his nose was thin on one side and flat on the other, while one side ofhis mouth curled up and the other down. Button-Bright also noticed thathe limped as he walked because one leg was a trifle longer than theother, and that one hand was delicate and slender and the other thickand hardened by use. 

"Don't stare at him, " a voice whispered in the boy's ear. "The poorfellow has been patched, that's all. "

Button-Bright turned to see who had spoken and found by his side a tallyoung Blueskin with a blue-gold chain around his neck. He was quite thebest looking person the boy had seen in Sky Island, and he spoke in apleasant way and seemed quite friendly. But the two-sided man hadoverheard the remark, and he now stepped forward and said in a carelesstone:

"Never mind. It's no disgrace to be patched in a country ruled by sucha cruel Boolooroo as we have. Let the boy look at me if he wants to. I'm not pretty, but that's not my fault. Blame the Boolooroo. "

"I--I'm glad to meet you, sir, " stammered Button-Bright. "What is yourname, please?"

"I'm now named Jimfred Jonesjinks, and my partner is called FredjimJinksjones. He's busy at present guarding the Treasure Chamber, butI'll introduce you to him when he comes back. We've had the misfortuneto be patched, you know. "

"What is being patched?" asked the boy. 

"They cut two of us in halves and mismatch the halves--half of one tohalf of the other, you know--and then the other two halves are patchedtogether. It destroys our individuality and makes us complex creatures, so it's the worst punishment than can be inflicted in Sky Island. "

"Oh, " said Button-Bright, alarmed at such dreadful butchery. "Doesn'tit hurt?"

"No, it doesn't hurt, " replied Jimfred. "But it makes one frightfullynervous. They stand you under a big knife, which drops and slices youneatly in two, exactly in the middle. Then they match half of you toanother person who has likewise been sliced, and there you are, patchedto someone you don't care about and haven't much interest in. If yourhalf wants to do something, the other half is likely to want to dosomething different, and the funny part of it is you don't quite knowwhich is your half and which is the other half. It's a terriblepunishment, and in a country where one can't die or be killed until hehas lived his six hundred years, to be patched is a great misfortune. "

"I'm sure it is, " said Button-Bright earnestly. "But can't you everget--get--UNpatched again?"

"If the Boolooroo would consent, I think it could be done, " Jimfredreplied, "but he never will consent. This is about the meanestBoolooroo who ever ruled this land, and he was the first to inventpatching people as a punishment. I think we will all be glad when histhree hundred years of rule are ended. "

"When will that be?" inquired the boy. 

"Hush-sh-sh!" cried everyone in a chorus, and they all looked overtheir shoulders as if frightened by the question. The officer with theblue-gold chain pulled Button-Bright's sleeve and whispered, "Followme, please. " And then he beckoned to Cap'n Bill and led the two slavesto another room where they were alone. 

"I must instruct you in your duties, " said he when they were allcomfortably seated in cozy chairs with blue cushions. "You must learnhow to obey the Boolooroo's commands, so he won't become angry and haveyou patched. "

"How could he patch US?" asked the sailorman curiously. 

"Oh, he'd just slice you all in halves and then patch half of the boyto half of the girl, and the other half to half of you, and the otherhalf of you to the other half of the girl. See?"

"Can't say I do, " said Cap'n Bill, much bewildered. "It's a reg'larmix-up. "

"That's what it's meant to be, " explained the young officer. 

"An' seein' as we're Earth folks, an' not natives of Sky Island, I'vean idea the slicing machine would about end us, without bein' patched, "continued the sailor. 

"Oh, " said Button-Bright, "so it would. "

"While you are in this country, you can't die till you've lived sixhundred years, " declared the officer. 

"Oh, " said Button-Bright. "That's different, of course. But who areyou, please?"

"My name is Ghip-Ghi-siz-zle. Can you remember it?"

"I can 'member the 'sizzle, '" said the boy, "but I'm 'fraid theGwip--Grip--Glip--"

"Ghip-Ghi-siz-zle" repeated the officer slowly. "I want you to remembermy name, because if you are going to live here, you are sure to hear ofme a great many times. Can you keep a secret?"

"I can try, " said Button-Bright. 

"I've kep' secrets--once in a while, " asserted Cap'n Bill. 

"Well, try to keep this one. I'm to be the next Boolooroo of SkyIsland. "

"Good for you!" cried the sailor. "I wish you was the Boolooroo now, sir. But it seems you've got to wait a hundred years or more afore youcan take his place. "

Ghip-Ghisizzle rose to his feet and paced up and down the room for atime, a frown upon his face. Then he halted and faced Cap'n Bill. "Sir, " said he, "there lies all my trouble. I'm quite sure the presentBoolooroo has reigned three hundred years next Thursday, but he claimsit is only two hundred years, and as he holds the Royal Book of Recordsunder lock and key in the Royal Treasury, there is no way for us toprove he is wrong. "

"Oh, " said Button-Bright. "How old is the Boolooroo?"

"He was two hundred years old when he was elected, " repliedGhip-Ghisizzle. "If he has already reigned three hundred years as Isuspect, then he is now five hundred years old. You see, he is tryingto steal another hundred years of rule so as to remain a tyrant all hislife. "

"He don't seem as old as that, " observed Cap'n Bill thoughtfully. "Why, I'm only sixty myself, an' I guess I look twice as old as your kingdoes. "

"We do not show our age in looks, " the officer answered. "I am justabout your age, sir--sixty-two my next birthday--but I'm sure I don'tlook as old as that. "

"That's a fact, " agreed Cap'n Bill. Then he turned to Button-Bright andadded, "Don't that prove Sky Island is a fairy country as I said?"

"Oh, I've known that all along, " said the boy. "The slicing andpatching proves it, and so do lots of other things. "

"Now then, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle, "let us talk over your duties. Itseems you must mix the royal nectar, Cap'n Bill. Do you know how to dothat?"

"I'm free to say as I don't, friend Sizzle. "

"The Boolooroo is very particular about his nectar. I think he hasgiven you this job so he can find fault with you and have you punished. But we will fool him. You are strangers here, and I don't want youimposed upon. I'll send Tiggle to the royal pantry and keep him thereto mix the nectar. Then when the Boolooroo or the Queen or any of theSnubnosed Princesses call for a drink, you can carry it to them and itwill be sure to suit them. "

"Thank'e sir, " said Cap'n Bill. "That's real kind of you. "

"Your job, Button-Bright, is easier, " continued Ghip-Ghisizzle. 

"I'm no bootblack, " declared the boy. "The Boolooroo has no right tomake me do his dirty work. "

"You're a slave, " the officer reminded him, "and a slave must obey. "

"Why?" asked Button-Bright. 

"Because he can't help himself. No slave ever wants to obey, but hejust has to. And it isn't dirty work at all. You don't black the royalboots and shoes, you merely blue them with a finely perfumed bluepaste. Then you shine them neatly and your task is done. You will notbe humiliated by becoming a bootblack. You'll be a bootblue. "

"Oh, " said Button-Bright. "I don't see much difference, but perhapsit's a little more respectable. "

"Yes, the Royal Bootblue is considered a high official in Sky Island. You do your work at evening or early morning, and the rest of the dayyou are at liberty to do as you please. "

"It won't last long, Button-Bright, " said Cap'n Bill consolingly. "Somethin's bound to happen pretty soon, you know. "

"I think so myself, " answered the boy. 

"And now, " remarked Ghip-Ghisizzle, "since you understand your newduties, perhaps you'd like to walk out with me and see the Blue Cityand the glorious Blue Country of Sky Island. "

"We would that!" cried Cap'n Bill promptly. 

So they accompanied their new friend through a maze of passages--forthe palace was very big--and then through a high, arched portal intothe streets of the City. So rapid had been their descent when theumbrella landed them in the royal garden that they had not even caughta glimpse of the Blue City, so now they gazed with wonder and interestat the splendid sights that met their eyes. 

THE BLUE CITY

CHAPTER 8

The Blue City was quite extensive, and consisted of many broad streetspaved with blue marble and lined with splendid buildings of the samebeautiful material. There were houses and castles and shops for themerchants, and all were prettily designed and had many slender spiresand imposing turrets that rose far into the blue air. Everything wasblue here, just as was everything in the Royal Palace and gardens, anda blue haze overhung all the city. 

"Doesn't the sun ever shine?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"Not in the blue part of Sky Island, " replied Ghip-Ghisizzle. "The moonshines here every night, but we never see the sun. I am told, however, that on the other half of the Island--which I have never seen--the sunshines brightly but there is no moon at all. "

"Oh, " said Button-Bright. "Is there another half to Sky Island?'

"Yes, a dreadful place called the Pink Country. I'm told everythingthere is pink instead of blue. A fearful place it must be, indeed!"said the Blueskin with a shudder. 

"I dunno 'bout that, " remarked Cap'n Bill. "That Pink Country soundskind o' cheerful to me. Is your Blue Country very big?"

"It is immense, " was the proud reply. "This enormous city extends ahalf mile in all directions from the center, and the country outsidethe City is fully a half-mile further in extent. That's very big, isn'tit?"

"Not very, " replied Cap'n Bill with a smile. "We've cities on the Earthten times bigger, an' then some big besides. We'd call this a smalltown in our country. "

"Our Country is thousands of miles wide and thousands of mileslong--it's the great United States of America!" added the boy earnestly. 

Ghip-Ghisizzle seemed astonished. He was silent a moment, and then hesaid, "Here in Sky Island we prize truthfulness very highly. OurBoolooroo is not very truthful, I admit, for he is trying tomisrepresent the length of his reign, but our people as a rule speakonly the truth. "

"So do we, " asserted Cap'n Bill. "What Button-Bright said is the honesttruth, every word of it. "

"But we have been led to believe that Sky Island is the greatestcountry in the universe--meaning, of course, our half of it, the BlueCountry. "

"It may be for you, perhaps, " the sailor stated politely. "An' I don'timagine any island floatin' in the sky is any bigger. But the Universeis a big place, an' you can't be sure of what's in it till you'vetraveled like we have. "

"Perhaps you are right, " mused the Blueskin, but he still seemed todoubt them. 

"Is the Pink side of Sky Island bigger than the Blue side?" askedButton-Bright. 

"No, it is supposed to be the same size, " was the reply. 

"Then why haven't you ever been there? Seems to me you could walkacross the whole island in an hour, " said the boy. 

"The two parts are separated by an impassable barrier, " answeredGhip-Ghisizzle. "Between them lies the Great Fog Bank. "

"A fog bank? Why, that's no barrier!" exclaimed Cap'n Bill. 

"It is indeed, " returned the Blueskin. "The Fog Bank is so thick andheavy that it blinds one, and if once you got into the Bank, you mightwander forever and not find your way out again. Also, it is full ofdampness that wets your clothes and your hair until you becomemiserable. It is furthermore said that those who enter the Fog Bankforfeit the six hundred years allowed them to live and are liable todie at any time. Here we do not die, you know; we merely pass away. "

"How's that?" asked the sailor. "Isn't 'pass'n' away' jus' the same asdyin'?"

"No indeed. When our six hundred years are ended, we march into theGreat Blue Grotto, through the Arch of Phinis, and are never seenagain. "

"That's queer, " said Button-Bright. "What would happen if you didn'tmarch through the Arch?"

"I do not know, for no one has ever refused to do so. It is the Law, and we all obey it. "

"It saves funeral expenses, anyhow, " remarked Cap'n Bill. "Where isthis Arch?"

"Just outside the gates of the City. There is a mountain in the centerof the Blue land, and the entrance to the Great Blue Grotto is at thefoot of the mountain. According to our figures, the Boolooroo ought tomarch into this Grotto a hundred years from next Thursday, but he istrying to steal a hundred years and so perhaps he won't enter the Archof Phinis. Therefore, if you will please be patient for about a hundredyears, you will discover what happens to one who breaks the Law. "

"Thank'e, " remarked Cap'n Bill. "I don't expect to be very curious ahundred years from now. "

"Nor I, " added Button-Bright, laughing at the whimsical speech. "But Idon't see how the Boolooroo is able to fool you all. Can't any of youremember two or three hundred years back when he first began to rule?"

"No, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle, "that's a long time to remember, and weBlueskins try to forget all we can, especially whatever is unpleasant. Those who remember are usually the unhappy ones; only those able toforget find the most joy in life. "

During this conversation they had been walking along the streets of theBlue City, where many of the Blueskin inhabitants stopped to gazewonderingly at the sailor and the boy, whose strange appearancesurprised them. They were a nervous, restless people, and theiregg-shaped heads, set on the ends of long, thin necks, seemed sogrotesque to the strangers that they could scarcely forbear laughing atthem. The bodies of these people were short and round and their legsexceptionally long, so when a Blueskin walked, he covered twice as muchground at one step as Cap'n Bill or Button-Bright did. The women seemedjust as repellent as the men, and Button-Bright began to understandthat the Six Snubnosed Princesses were, after all, rather betterlooking than most of the females of the Blue Country and so had acertain right to be proud and haughty. 

There were no horses nor cows in this land, but there were plenty ofblue goats, from which the people got their milk. Children tended thegoats--wee Blueskin boys and girls whose appearance was so comical thatButton-Bright laughed whenever he saw one of them. 

Although the natives had never seen before this any human beings madeas Button-Bright and Cap'n Bill were, they took a strong dislike to thestrangers and several times threatened to attack them. Perhaps ifGhip-Ghisizzle, who was their favorite, had not been present, theywould have mobbed our friends with vicious ill-will and might haveseriously injured them. But Ghip-Ghisizzle's friendly protection madethem hold aloof. 

By and by they passed through a City gate, and their guide showed themthe outer walls, which protected the City from the country beyond. There were several of these gates, and from their recesses stone stepsled to the top of the wall. They mounted a flight of these steps andfrom their elevation plainly saw the low mountain where the Arch ofPhinis was located, and beyond that the thick, blue-gray Fog Bank, which constantly rolled like billows of the ocean and really seemed, from a distance, quite forbidding. 

"But it wouldn't take long to get there, " decided Button-Bright, "andif you were close up, it might not be worse than any other fog. Is thePink Country on the other side of it?"

"So we are told in the Book of Records, " replied Ghip-Ghisizzle. "Noneof us now living know anything about it, but the Book of Records callsit the 'Sunset Country' and says that at evening the pink shades aredrowned by terrible colors of orange and crimson and golden-yellow andred. Wouldn't it be horrible to be obliged to look upon such a sight?It must give the poor people who live there dreadful headaches. "

"I'd like to see that Book of Records, " mused Cap'n Bill, who didn'tthink the description of the Sunset Country at all dreadful. 

"I'd like to see it myself, " returned Ghip-Ghisizzle with a sigh, "butno one can lay hands on it because the Boolooroo keeps it safely lockedup in his Treasure Chamber. "

"Where's the key to the Treasure Chamber?" asked Button-Bright. 

"The Boolooroo keeps it in his pocket night and day, " was the reply. "He is afraid to let anyone see the Book because it would prove he hasalready reigned three hundred years next Thursday, and then he wouldhave to resign the throne to me and leave the Palace and live in acommon house. "

"My Magic Umbrella is in that Treasure Chamber, " said Button-Bright, "and I'm going to try to get it. "

"Are you?" inquired Ghip-Ghisizzle eagerly. "Well, if you manage toenter the Treasure Chamber, be sure to bring me the Book of Records. Ifyou can do that, I will be the best and most grateful friend you everhad!"

"I'll see, " said the boy. "It ought not to be hard work to break intothe Treasure chamber. Is it guarded?"

"Yes. The outside guard is Jimfred Jinksjones, the double patch of theFredjim whom you have met, and the inside guard is a ravenous creatureknown as the Blue Wolf, which has teeth a foot long and as sharp asneedles. "

"Oh, " said Button-Bright. "But never mind the Blue Wolf; I must manageto get my umbrella somehow or other. "

They now walked back to the palace, still objects of much curiosity tothe natives, who sneered at them and mocked them but dared notinterfere with their progress. At the palace they found that dinner wasabout to be served in the big dining hall of the servants anddependents and household officers of the royal Boolooroo. Ghip-Ghisizzle was the Majordomo and Master of Ceremonies, so he tookhis seat at the end of the long table and placed Cap'n Bill on one sideof him and Button-Bright on the other, to the great annoyance of theother Blueskins present, who favored the strangers with nothingpleasanter than envious scowls. 

The Boolooroo and his Queen and daughters--the Six SnubnosedPrincesses--dined in formal state in the Banquet Hall, where they werewaited upon by favorite soldiers of the Royal Bodyguard. Here in theservants' hall there was one vacant seat next to Button-Bright whichwas reserved for Trot; but the little girl had not yet appeared, andthe sailorman and the boy were beginning to be uneasy about her. 

THE TRIBULATION OF TROT

CHAPTER 9

The apartments occupied by the Six Snubnosed Princesses were somagnificent that when Trot first entered them, led by her haughtycaptors, she thought they must be the most beautiful rooms in theworld. There was a long and broad reception room, with forty-sevenwindows in it, and opening out of it were six lovely bedchambers, eachfurnished in the greatest luxury. Adjoining each sleeping room was amarble bath, and each Princess had a separate boudoir and a dressingroom. The furnishings were of the utmost splendor, blue-gold and bluegems being profusely used in the decorations, while the divans andchairs were of richly carved bluewood upholstered in blue satins andsilks. The draperies were superbly embroidered, and the rugs upon themarble floors were woven with beautiful scenes in every conceivableshade of blue. 

When they first reached the reception room, Princess Azure cast herselfupon a divan while her five sisters sat or reclined in easy chairs withtheir heads thrown back and their blue chins scornfully elevated. Trot, who was much annoyed at the treatment she had received, did nothesitate to seat herself also in a big easy chair. 

"Slave!" cried Princess Cerulia, "Fetch me a mirror. "

"Slave!" cried Princess Turquoise, "A lock of my hair is loosened; bindit up. "

"Slave!" cried Princess Cobalt, "Unfasten my shoes; they're too tight. "

"Slave!" cried Princess Sapphire, "Bring hither my box of bluechocolates. "

"Slave!" cried Princess Azure, "Stand by my side and fan me. "

"Slave!" cried Princess Indigo, "Get out of that chair. How dare yousit in our presence?"

"If you're saying all those things to me, " replied Trot, "you may aswell save your breath. I'm no slave. " And she cuddled down closer inthe chair. 

"You ARE a slave!" shouted the six all together. 

"I'm not!"

"Our father, the Revered and Resplendent Royal Ruler of the Blues, hasmade you our slave, " asserted Indigo with a yawn. 

"But he can't, " objected the little girl. "I'm some Royal an' Rapturousan' Ridic'lous myself, an' I won't allow any cheap Boolooroo to orderme 'round. "

"Are you of royal birth?" asked Azure, seeming surprised. 

"Royal! Why, I'm an American, Snubnoses, and if there's anythingroyaler than an American, I'd like to know what it is. "

The Princesses seemed uncertain what reply to make to this speech andbegan whispering together. Finally, Indigo said to Trot, "We do notthink it matters what you were in your own country, for having leftthere you have forfeited your rank. By recklessly intruding into ourdomain, you have become a slave, and being a slave you must obey us orsuffer the consequences. "

"What cons'quences?" asked the girl. 

"Dare to disobey us and you will quickly find out, " snapped Indigo, swaying her head from side to side on its long, swan-like neck like thependulum of a clock. 

"I don't want any trouble, " said Trot gravely. "We came to Sky Islandby mistake and wanted to go right away again; but your father wouldn'tlet us. It isn't our fault we're still here, an' I'm free to say you'rea very dis'gree'ble an' horrid lot of people with no manners to speakof, or you'd treat us nicely. "

"No impertinence!" cried Indigo savagely. 

"Why, it's the truth, " replied Trot. 

Indigo made a rush and caught Trot by both shoulders. The Princess wastwice the little girl's size, and she shook her victim so violentlythat Trot's teeth rattled together. Then Princess Cobalt came up andslapped one side of the slave's face, and Princess Turquoise ranforward and slapped the other side. Cerulia gave Trot a push one way, and Sapphire pushed her the other way, so the little girl was quite outof breath and very angry when finally her punishment ceased. She hadnot been much hurt, though, and she was wise enough to understand thatthese Princesses were all cruel and vindictive, so that her safest planwas to pretend to obey them. 

"Now then, " commanded Princess Indigo, "go and feed my little blue dogthat crows like a rooster. "

"And feed my pretty blue cat that sings like a bird, " said PrincessAzure. 

"And feed my soft, blue lamb that chatters like a monkey, " saidPrincess Cobalt. 

"And feed my poetic blue parrot that barks like a dog, " said PrincessSapphire. 

"And feed my fuzzy blue rabbit that roars like a lion, " said PrincessTurquoise. 

"And feed my lovely blue peacock that mews like a cat, " said PrincessCerulia. 

"Anything else?" asked Trot, drawing a long breath. 

"Not until you have properly fed our pets, " replied Azure with a scowl. 

"What do they eat, then?"

"Meat!"

"Milk!"

"Clover!"

"Seeds!"

"Bread!"

"Carrots!"

"All right, " said Trot, "where do you keep the menagerie?"

"Our pets are in our boudoirs, " said Indigo harshly. "What a littlefool you are!"

"Perhaps, " said Trot, pausing as she was about to leave the room, "whenI grow up I'll be as big a fool as any of you. "

Then she ran away to escape another shaking, and in the first boudoirshe found the little blue dog curled up on a blue cushion in a corner. Trot patted his head gently, and this surprised the dog, who wasaccustomed to cuffs and kicks. So he licked Trot's hand and wagged hisfunny little tail and then straightened up and crowed like a rooster. The girl was delighted with the queer doggie, and she found some meatin a cupboard and fed him out of her hand, patting the tiny creatureand stroking his soft blue hair. The doggie had never in his life knownanyone so kind and gentle, so when Trot went into the next boudoir, theanimal followed close at her heels, wagging his tail every minute. 

The blue cat was asleep on a window seat, but it woke up when Trottenderly took it in her lap and fed it milk from a blue-gold dish. Itwas a pretty cat and instantly knew the little girl was a friend vastlydifferent from its own bad-tempered mistress, so it sang beautifully asa bird sings, and both the cat and the dog followed Trot into the thirdboudoir. 

Here was a tiny baby lamb with fleece as blue as a larkspur and as softas milk. 

"Oh, you darling!" cried Trot, hugging the little lamb tight in herarms. At once the lamb began chattering just as a monkey chatters, onlyin the most friendly and grateful way, and Trot fed it a handful offresh blue clover and smoothed and petted it until the lamb was eagerto follow her wherever she might go. 

When she came to the fourth boudoir, a handsome blue parrot sat on ablue perch and began barking as if it were nearly starved. Then itcried out, "Rub-a-dub, dub, Gimme some grub!"

Trot laughed and gave it some seeds, and while the parrot ate them shestroked gently his soft feathers. The bird seemed much astonished atthe unusual caress and turned upon the girl first one little eye andthen the other as if trying to discover why she was so kind. He hadnever experienced kind treatment in all his life. So it was no wonderthat when the little girl entered the fifth boudoir she was followed bythe parrot, the lamb, the cat and the dog, who all stood beside her andwatched her feed the peacock, which she found strutting around andmewing like a cat for his dinner. Said the parrot, "I spy a peacock's eye On every feather. I wonder why?"

The peacock soon came to love Trot as much as the other bird and allthe beasts did, and it spread its tail and strutted after her into thenext boudoir, the sixth one. As she entered this room, Trot gave astart of fear, for a terrible roar like the roar of a lion greeted her. But there was no lion there; a fuzzy, blue rabbit was making all thenoise. "For goodness sake keep quiet, " said Trot. "Here's a nice bluecarrot for you. The color seems all wrong, but it may taste jus' asgood as if it was red. "

Evidently it did taste good, for the rabbit ate it greedily. When itwas not roaring, the creature was so soft and fluffy that Trot playedwith it and fondled it a long time after it had finished eating, andthe rabbit played with the cat and the dog and the lamb and did notseem a bit afraid of the parrot or the peacock. But all of a sudden inpounced Princess Indigo with a yell of anger. 

"So this is how you waste your time, is it?" exclaimed the Princess, and grabbing Trot's arm, she jerked the girl to her feet and beganpushing her from the room. All the pets began to follow her, and seeingthis, Indigo yelled at them to keep back. As they paid no attention tothis command, the princess seized a basin of water and dashed the fluidover the beasts and birds, after which she renewed her attempt to pushTrot from the room. The pets rebelled at such treatment, and believingthey ought to protect Trot, whom they knew to be their friend, theyproceeded to defend her. The little blue dog dashed at Indigo and bither right ankle, while the blue cat scratched her left leg with itsclaws and the parrot flew upon her shoulder and pecked her ear. Thelamb ran up and butted Indigo so that she stumbled forward on her face, when the peacock proceeded to pound her head with his wings. Indigo, screaming with fright, sprang to her feet again, but the rabbit ranbetween her legs and tripped her up, all the time roaring loudly like alion, and the dog crowed triumphantly, as a rooster crows, while thecat warbled noisily and the lamb chattered and the parrot barked andthe peacock screeched "me-ow!"

Altogether, Indigo was, as Trot said, "scared stiff, " and she howledfor help until her sisters ran in and rescued her, pulling her throughthe bedchamber into the reception room. When she was alone, Trot satdown on the floor and laughed until the tears came to her eyes, and shehugged all the pets and kissed them every one and thanked them forprotecting her. 

 "That's all right; We like a fight, "

declared the parrot in reply. 

The Princesses were horrified to find Indigo so scratched and bitten, and they were likewise amazed at the rebellion of their six pets, whichthey had never petted, indeed, but kept in their boudoirs so they couldabuse them whenever they felt especially wicked or ill-natured. None ofthe snubnosed ones dared enter the room where the girl was, but theycalled through a crack in the door for Trot to come out instantly. Trot, pretending not to hear, paid no attention to these demands. 

Finding themselves helpless and balked of their revenge, the SixSnubnosed Princesses finally recovered from their excitement andsettled down to a pleasant sisterly quarrel, as was their customaryamusement. Indigo wanted to have Trot patched, and Cerulia wanted herbeaten with knotted cords, and Cobalt wanted her locked up in a darkroom, and Sapphire wanted her fed on sand, and Turquoise wanted herbound to a windmill, and so between these various desires, theyquarreled and argued until dinner time arrived. 

Trot was occupying Indigo's room, so that Princess was obliged to dresswith Azure, not daring to enter her own chamber, and the two sistersquarreled so enthusiastically that they almost came to blows beforethey were ready for dinner. 

Before the Six Snubnosed Princesses went to the Royal Banquet Hall, Cobalt stuck her head through a crack of the door and said to Trot, "Ifyou want any dinner, you'll find it in the servants' hall. I advise youto eat, for after our dinner we will decide upon a fitting punishmentfor you, and then I'm sure you won't have much appetite. "

"Thank you, " replied the girl. "I'm right hungry, jus' now. " She waiteduntil the snubnosed sextette had pranced haughtily away, and then shecame out, followed by all the pets, and found her way to the servants'quarters. 

THE KING'S TREASURE CHAMBER

CHAPTER 10

All the Blueskins assembled in the servants' hall were amazed to seethe pets of the Princesses trailing after the strange little girl, butTrot took her place next to Button-Bright at the table, and the parrotperched upon her shoulder, while the peacock stood upon one side of herchair, and the lamb upon the other, and the cat and dog lay at her feetand the blue rabbit climbed into her lap and cuddled down there. Someof the Blueskins insisted that the animals and birds must be put out ofthe room, but Ghip-Ghisizzle said they could remain, as they were thefavored pets of the lovely Snubnosed Princesses. 

Cap'n Bill was delighted to see his dear little friend again, and sowas Button-Bright, and now that they were reunited--for a time, atleast--they paid little heed to the sour looks and taunting remarks ofthe ugly Blueskins and ate heartily of the dinner, which was reallyvery good. 

The meal was no sooner over than Ghip-Ghisizzle was summoned to thechamber of his Majesty the Boolooroo, but before he went away, he tookTrot and Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright into a small room and advisedthem to stay there until he returned so that the servants and soldierswould not molest them. "My people seem to dislike strangers, " said theMajordomo thoughtfully, "and that surprises me because you are thefirst strangers they have ever seen. I think they imagine you willbecome favorites of the Boolooroo and of the Princesses, and that iswhy they are jealous and hate you. "

"They needn't worry 'bout that, " replied Trot. "The Snubnoses hate meworse than the people do. "

"I can't imagine a bootblue becoming a royal favorite, " grumbledButton-Bright. 

"Or a necktie mixer, " added Cap'n Bill. 

"You don't mix neckties; you're a nectar mixer, " said Ghip-Ghisizzlecorrecting the sailor. "I'll not be gone long, for I'm no favorite ofthe Boolooroo, either, so please stay quietly in this room until myreturn. "

The Majordomo found the Boolooroo in a bad temper. He had finished hisdinner, where his six daughters had bitterly denounced Trot all throughthe meal and implored their father to invent some new and terriblepunishment for her. Also, his wife, the Queen, had made him angry bybegging for gold to buy ribbons with. Then, when he had retired to hisown private room, he decided to send for the umbrella he had stolenfrom Button-Bright and test its magic powers. But the umbrella, in hishands, proved just as common as any other umbrella might be. He openedit and closed it, and turned it this way and that, commanding it to doall sorts of things, but of course the Magic Umbrella would obey no onebut a member of the family that rightfully owned it. At last theBoolooroo threw it down and stamped upon it and then kicked it into acorner, where it rolled underneath a cabinet. Then he sent forGhip-Ghisizzle. 

"Do you know how to work that Magic Umbrella?" he asked the Majordomo. 

"No, your Majesty, I do not, " was the reply. 

"Well, find out. Make the Whiteskins tell you so that I can use it formy own amusement. "

"I'll do my best, your Majesty, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle. 

"You'll do more than that, or I'll have you patched!" roared the angryBoolooroo. "And don't waste any time, either, for as soon as we findout the secret of the umbrella I'm going to have the three strangersmarched through the Arch of Phinis, and that will be the end of them. "

"You can't do that, your Majesty, " said the Majordomo. 

"Why can't I?"

"They haven't lived six hundred years yet, and only those who havelived that length of time are allowed to march through the Arch ofPhinis into the Great Blue Grotto. "

The King looked at him with a sneer. "Has anyone ever come out of thatArch alive?" he asked. 

"No, " said Ghip-ghisizzle, "but no one has ever gone into the BlueGrotto until his allotted time was up. "

"Well, I'm going to try the experiment, " declared the Boolooroo. "Ishall march these three strangers through the Arch, and if by chancethey come out alive, I'll do a new sort of patching--I'll chop offtheir heads and mix 'em up, putting the wrong head on each of 'em. Ha, ha! Won't it be funny to see the old Moonface's head on the littlegirl? Ho, ho! I really hope they'll come out of the Great Blue Grottoalive!"

"I also hope they will, " replied Ghip-Ghisizzle. 

"Then I'll bet you four buttonholes they don't. I've a suspicion thatonce they enter the Great Blue Grotto that's the last of them. "

Ghip-Ghisizzle went away quite sad and unhappy. He did not approve theway the strangers were being treated and thought it was wicked andcruel to try to destroy them. 

During his absence, the prisoners had been talking together veryearnestly. "We must get away from here somehow 'r other, " said Cap'nBill, "but o' course we can't stir a step without the Magic Umbrel. "

"No, I must surely manage to get my umbrella first, " said Button-Bright. 

"Do it quick, then, " urged Trot, "for I can't stand those snubnosesmuch longer. "

"I'll do it tonight, " said the boy. 

"The sooner, the better, my lad, " remarked the sailor, "but seein' asthe Blue Boolooroo has locked it up in his Treasure Chamber, it mayn'tbe easy to get hold of. "

"No, it won't be easy, " Button-Bright admitted. "But it has to be done, Cap'n Bill, and there's no use waiting any longer. No one here likesus, and in a few days they may make an end of us. "

"Oh, Button-Bright! There's a Blue Wolf in the Treasure Chamber!"exclaimed Trot. 

"Yes, I know. "

"An' a patched man on guard outside, " Cap'n Bill reminded him. 

"I know, " repeated Button-Bright. 

"And the key's in the King's own pocket, " added Trot despairingly. 

The boy nodded. He didn't say how he would overcome all thesedifficulties, so the little girl feared they would never see the MagicUmbrella again. But their present position was a very serious one, andeven Cap'n Bill dared not advise Button-Bright to give up the desperateattempt. 

When Ghip-Ghisizzle returned, he said, "You must be very careful not toanger the Boolooroo, or he may do you a mischief. I think the littlegirl had better keep away from the Princesses for tonight unless theydemand her presence. The boy must go for the King's shoes and blue themand polish them and then take them back to the Royal Bedchamber. Cap'nBill won't have anything to do, for I've ordered Tiggle to mix thenectar. "

"Thank 'e, friend Sizzle, " said Cap'n Bill. 

"Now follow me, and I will take you to your rooms. "

He led them to the rear of the palace, where he gave them three smallrooms on the ground floor, each having a bed in it. Cap'n Bill's roomhad a small door leading out into the street of the City, but GhipGhisizzle advised him to keep this door locked, as the city peoplewould be sure to hurt the strangers if they had the chance to attackthem. 

"You're safer in the palace than anywhere else, " said the Majordomo, "for there is no way you can escape from the island, and here theservants and soldiers dare not injure you for fear of the Boolooroo. "

He placed Trot and her six pets--which followed her wherever shewent--in one room, and Cap'n Bill in another, and took Button-Brightaway with him to show the boy the way to the King's bedchamber. As theyproceeded, they passed many rooms with closed doors, and before one ofthese a patched Blueskin was pacing up and down in a tired and sleepyway. It was Jimfred Jinksjones, the double of the Fredjim Jonesjinksthey had talked with in the servants' hall, and he bowed low before theMajordomo. 

"This is the King's new bootblue, a stranger who has lately arrivedhere, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle, introducing the boy to the patched man. 

"I'm sorry for him, " muttered Jimfred. "He's a queer-looking chap, withhis pale yellow skin, and I imagine our cruel Boolooroo is likely topatch him before long, as he did me--I mean us. "

"No he won't, " said Button-Bright positively. "The Boolooroo's afraidof me. "

"Oh, that's different, " said Jimfred. "You're the first person I everknew that could scare our Boolooroo. "

They passed on, and Ghip-Ghisizzle whispered, "That is the RoyalTreasure Chamber. " Button-Bright nodded. He had marked the place wellso he couldn't miss it when he wanted to find it again. When they cameto the King's apartments there was another guard before the door, thistime a long-necked soldier with a terrible scowl. 

"This slave is the Royal Bootblue, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle to the guard. "You will allow him to pass into his Majesty's chamber to get the royalshoes and to return them when they are blued. "

"All right, " answered the guard. "Our Boolooroo is in an ugly moodtonight. It will go hard with this little short-necked creature if hedoesn't polish the shoes properly. "

Then Ghip-Ghisizzle left Button-Bright and went away, and the boypassed through several rooms to the Royal Bedchamber, where his Majestysat undressing. 

"Hi, there! What are you doing here?" he roared as he saw Button-Bright. 

"I've come for the shoes, " said the boy. 

The king threw them at his head, aiming carefully, but Button-Brightdodged the missiles, and one smashed a mirror while the other shattereda vase on a small table. His Majesty looked around for something elseto throw, but the boy seized the shoes and ran away, returning to hisown room. 

While he polished the shoes he told his plans to Cap'n Bill and Trotand asked them to be ready to fly with him as soon as he returned withthe Magic Umbrella. All they need to do was to step out into thestreet, through the door of Cap'n Bill's room, and open the umbrella. Fortunately, the seats and the lunch-basket were still attached to thehandle--or so they thought--and there would be nothing to prevent theirquickly starting on the journey home. 

They waited a long time, however, to give the Boolooroo time to get tosleep, so it was after midnight when Button-Bright finally took theshoes in his hand and started for the Royal Bedchamber. He passed theguard of the Royal Treasury and Fredjim nodded good-naturedly to theboy. But the sleepy guard before the King's apartments was cross andsurly. 

"What are you doing here at this hour?" he demanded. 

"I'm returning his Majesty's shoes, " said Button-Bright. 

"Go back and wait till morning, " commanded the guard. 

"If you prevent me from obeying the Boolooroo's orders, " returned theboy quietly, "he will probably have you patched. "

This threat frightened the long-necked guard, who did not know whatorders the Boolooroo had given his Royal Bootblue. "Go in, then, " saidhe, "but if you make a noise and waken his Majesty, the chances areyou'll get yourself patched. "

"I'll be quiet, " promised the boy. 

Indeed, Button-Bright had no desire to waken the Boolooroo, whom hefound snoring lustily with the curtains of his high-posted bed drawntightly around him. The boy had taken off his own shoes after he passedthe guard and now he tiptoed carefully into the room, set down theroyal shoes very gently and then crept to the chair where his Majesty'sclothes were piled. Scarcely daring to breathe for fear of awakeningthe terrible monarch, the boy searched in the royal pockets until hefound a blue-gold key attached to a blue-gold chain. At once he decidedthis must be the key to the Treasure Chamber, but in order to make surehe searched in every other pocket--without finding another key. 

Then Button-Bright crept softly out of the room again, and in one ofthe outer rooms he sat down near a big cabinet and put on his shoes. Poor Button-Bright did not know that lying disregarded beneath thatvery cabinet at his side was the precious umbrella he was seeking, orthat he was undertaking a desperate adventure all for nothing. Hepassed the long-necked guard again, finding the man half asleep, andthen made his way to the Treasure Chamber. Facing Jimfred, he said tothe patched man in a serious tone, "His Majesty commands you to go atonce to the corridor leading to the apartments of the Six SnubnosedPrincesses and to guard the entrance until morning. You are to permitno one to enter or leave the apartments. "

"But--good gracious!" exclaimed the surprised Jimfred. "Who will guardthe Treasure Chamber?"

"I am to take your place, " said Button-Bright. 

"Oh, very well, " replied Jimfred. "This is a queer freak for ourBoolooroo to indulge in, but he is always doing something absurd. You're not much of a guard, seems to me, but if anyone tries to rob theTreasure Chamber you must ring this big gong, which will alarm thewhole palace and bring the soldiers to your assistance. Do youunderstand?"

"Yes, " said Button-Bright. 

Then Fredjim stalked away to the other side of the palace to guard thePrincesses, and Button-Bright was left alone with the key to theTreasure Chamber in his hand. But he had not forgotten that theferocious Blue Wolf was guarding the interior of the Chamber, so hesearched in some of the rooms until he found a sofa-pillow, which heput under his arm and then returned to the corridor. 

He placed the key in the lock, and the bolt turned with a sharp click. Button-Bright did not hesitate. He was afraid, to be sure, and hisheart was beating fast with the excitement of the moment, but he knewhe must regain the Magic Umbrella if he would save his comrades andhimself from destruction, for without it they could never return to theEarth. So he summoned up his best courage, opened the door, steppedquickly inside, and closed the door after him. 

BUTTON-BRIGHT ENCOUNTERS THE BLUE WOLF

CHAPTER 11

A low, fierce growl greeted him. The Treasure Chamber was pretty dark, although the moonlight came in through some of the windows, but the boyhad brought with him the low brass lamp that lighted the corridor, andthis he set upon a table beside the door before he took time to lookaround him. 

The Treasure Chamber was heaped and crowded with all the riches theBoolooroo had accumulated during his reign of two or three hundredyears. Piles of gold and jewels were on all sides, and preciousornaments and splendid cloths, rare pieces of carved furniture, vases, bric-a-brac and the like, were strewn about the room in astonishingprofusion. 

Just at the boy's feet crouched a monstrous animal of most fearfulaspect. He knew at a glance it was the terrible Blue Wolf, and thesight of the beast sent a shiver through him. The Blue Wolf's head wasfully as big as that of a lion, and its wide jaws were armed with rowsof long, pointed teeth. His shoulders and front legs were huge andpowerful, but the rest of the wolf's body dwindled away until at thetail it was no bigger than a dog. The jaws were therefore the dangerouspart of the creature, and its small blue eyes flashed wickedly at theintruder. 

Just as the boy made his first step forward, the Blue Wolf sprang uponhim with its enormous jaws stretched wide open. Button-Bright jammedthe sofa-pillow into the brute's mouth and crowded it in as hard as hecould. The terrible teeth came together and buried themselves in thepillow, and then Mr. Wolf found he could not pull them outagain--because his mouth was stuffed full. He could not even growl oryelp, but rolled upon the floor trying in vain to release himself fromthe conquering pillow. 

Button-Bright paid no further attention to the helpless animal, butcaught up the blue-brass lamp and began a search for his umbrella. Ofcourse he could not find it, as it was not there. He came across asmall book bound in light-blue leather which lay upon an exquisitelycarved center-table. It was named, in dark-blue letters stamped on theleather, "The Royal Record Book, " and remembering Ghip-Ghisizzle longedto possess this book, Button-Bright hastily concealed it inside hisblouse. Then he renewed his search for the umbrella, but it was quitein vain. He hunted in every crack and corner, bumbling the treasureshere and there in the quest, but at last he became positive that theMagic Umbrella was not there. 

The boy was bitterly disappointed and did not know what to do next. Buthe noticed that the Blue Wolf had finally seized an edge of thesofa-pillow in its sharp claws and was struggling to pull the thing outof his mouth; so, there being no object in his remaining longer in theroom where he might have to fight the wolf again, Button-Bright wentout and locked the door behind him. 

While he stood in the corridor wondering what to do next, a suddenshouting reached his ears. It was the voice of the Boolooroo, saying"My Key, my Key! Who has stolen my golden Key?" And then there followedshouts of soldiers and guards and servants, and the rapid pattering offeet was heard throughout the palace. 

Button-Bright took to his heels and ran along the passages until hecame to Cap'n Bill's room, where the sailorman and Trot were anxiouslyawaiting him. 

"Quick!" cried the boy. "We must escape from here at once, or we willbe caught and patched. "

"Where's the umbrel?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"I don't know. I can't find it. But all the palace is aroused, and theBoolooroo is furious. Come, let's get away at once!"

"Where'll we go?" inquired Trot. 

"We must make for the open country and hide in the Fog Bank or in theArch of Phinis, " replied the boy. 

They did not stop to argue any longer, but all three stepped out of thelittle door into the street, where they first clasped hands so theywould not get separated in the dark, and then ran as swiftly as theycould down the street, which was deserted at this hour by the citizens. They could not go very fast because the sailorman's wooden leg wasawkward to run with and held them back, but Cap'n Bill hobbled quickerthan he had ever hobbled before in all his life, and they really madepretty good progress. 

They met no one on the streets and continued their flight until at lastthey came to the City Wall, which had a blue-iron gate in it. Here wasa Blueskin guard, who had been peacefully slumbering when aroused bythe footsteps of the fugitives. "Halt!" cried the guard fiercely. 

Cap'n Bill halted long enough to grab the man around his long neck withone hand and around his long leg with the other hand. Then he raisedthe Blueskin in the air and threw him far over the wall. A moment laterthey had unfastened the gate and fled into the open country, where theyheaded toward the low mountain whose outlines were plainly visible inthe moonlight. 

The guard was now howling and crying for help. In the city wereanswering shouts. A hue and cry came from every direction, reaching asfar as the palace. Lights began to twinkle everywhere in the streets, and the Blue city hummed like a beehive filled with angry bees. "Itwon't do for us to get caught now, " panted Cap'n Bill as they ranalong. "I'm more afeared o' them Blue citizens ner I am 'o the BlueBoolooroo. They'd tear us to pieces if they could. "

Sky Island was not a very big place, especially the blue part of it, and our friends were now very close to the low mountain. Presently theypaused before a grim archway of blue marble, above which was carved theone word, "Phinis. " The interior seemed dark and terrible as theystopped to regard it as a possible place of refuge. 

"Don't like that place, Cap'n, " whispered Trot. 

"No more do I, mate, " he answered. 

"I think I'd rather take a chance on the Fog Bank, " said Button-Bright. 

Just then they were all startled by a swift flapping of wings, and avoice cried in shrill tones, "Where are you, Trot? As like as not I've been forgot!"

Cap'n Bill jumped this way and Button-Bright that, and then therealighted on Trot's shoulder the blue parrot that had been the pet ofthe Princess Cerulia. Said the bird, "Gee! I've flown Here all alone. It's pretty far, But here we are!"

and then he barked like a dog and chuckled with glee at having foundhis little friend. 

In escaping the palace, Trot had been obliged to leave all the petsbehind her, but it seemed that the parrot had found some way to getfree and follow her. They were all astonished to hear the birdtalk--and in poetry, too--but Cap'n Bill told Trot that some parrots hehad known had possessed a pretty fair gift of language, and he addedthat this blue one seemed an unusually bright bird. "As fer po'try, "said he, "that's as how you look at po'try. Rhymes come from your head, but real po'try from your heart, an' whether the blue parrot has aheart or not, he's sure got a head. "

Having decided not to venture into the Arch of Phinis, they againstarted on, this time across the country straight toward the Fog Bank, which hung like a blue-grey cloud directly across the center of theisland. They knew they were being followed by bands of the Blueskins, for they could hear the shouts of their pursuers growing louder andlouder every minute, since their long legs covered the ground morequickly than our friends could possibly go. Had the journey been muchfarther, the fugitives would have been overtaken, but when the leadersof the pursuing Blueskins were only a few yards behind them, theyreached the edge of the Fog Bank and without hesitation plunged intoits thick mist, which instantly hid them from view. 

The Blueskins fell back, horrified at the mad act of the strangers. Tothem the Fog Bank was the most dreadful thing in existence, and noBlueskin had ever ventured within it even for a moment. 

"That's the end of those short-necked Yellowskins, " said one, shakinghis head. "We may as well go back and report the matter to theBoolooroo. "

THROUGH THE FOG BANK

CHAPTER 12

It was rather moist in the Fog Bank. "Seems like a reg'lar drizzle, "said Trot. "I'll be soaked through in a minute. " She had been given acostume of blue silk in exchange for her own dress, and the silk was sothin that the moisture easily wetted it. 

"Never mind, " said Cap'n Bill. "When it's a case of life 'n' death, clo's don't count for much. I'm sort o' drippy myself. "

Cried the parrot, fluttering his feathers to try to keep them fromsticking together, "Floods and gushes fill our path-- This is not my day for a bath! Shut if off, or fear my wrath. "

"We can't, " laughed Trot. "We'll jus' have to stick it out till we getto the other side. "

"Had we better go to the other side?" asked Button-Bright anxiously. 

"Why not?" returned Cap'n Bill. "The other side's the only safe sidefor us. "

"We don't know that, sir, " said the boy. "Ghip-Ghisizzle said it was aterrible country. "

"I don't believe it, " retorted the sailor stoutly. "Sizzle's never beenthere, an' he knows nothing about it. 'The Sunset Country' sounds sorto' good to me. "

"But how'll we ever manage to get there?" inquired Trot. "Aren't wealready lost in this fog?"

"Not yet, " said Cap'n Bill. "I've kep' my face turned straight aheadever since we climbed inter this bank o' wetness. If we don't gettwisted any, we'll go straight through to the other side. "

It was no darker in the Fog Bank than it had been in the Blue Country. They could see dimly the mass of fog, which seemed to cling to them, and when they looked down, they discovered that they were walking uponwhite pebbles that were slightly tinged with the blue color of the sky. Gradually this blue became fainter until, as they progressed, everything became a dull gray. 

"I wonder how far it is to the other side, " remarked Trot wearily. 

"We can't say till we get there, mate, " answered the sailor in acheerful voice. Cap'n Bill had a way of growing more and more cheerfulwhen danger threatened. 

"Never mind, " said the girl. "I'm as wet as a dishrag now, and I'llnever get any wetter. "

 "Wet, wet, wet! It's awful wet, you bet!"

moaned the parrot on her shoulder. 

 "I'm a fish-pond, I'm a well; I'm a clam without a shell!"

"Can't you dry up?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

 "Not this evening, thank you, sir; To talk and grumble I prefer, "

replied the parrot dolefully. 

They walked along more slowly now, still keeping hold of hands, foralthough they were anxious to get through the Fog Bank, they were tiredwith the long run across the country and with their day's adventures. They had no sleep and it was a long time past midnight. 

"Look out!" cried the parrot sharply; and they all halted to find amonstrous frog obstructing their path. Cap'n Bill thought it was as bigas a whale, and as it squatted on the gray pebbles, its eyes were on alevel with those of the old sailor. 

"Ker-chug, herk-choo!" grunted the frog. "What in the Sky is THIScrowd?"

"W-we're strangers, " stammered Trot, "an' we're tryin' to 'scape fromthe Blueskins an' get into the Pink Country. "

"I don't blame you, " said the frog in a friendly tone. "I hate thoseBlueskins. The Pinkies, however, are very decent neighbors. "

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that!" cried Button-Bright. "Can you tell us, Mister--Mistress--good Mr. Frog--eh, eh, your Royal Highness, if we'reon the right road to the Pink Country?"

The frog seemed to laugh, for he gurgled in his throat in a very funnyway. "I'm no Royal Highness, " he said. "I'm just a common frog, and alittle wee tiny frog, too. But I hope to grow in time. This Fog Bank isthe Paradise of Frogs, and our King is about ten times as big as I am. "

"Then he's a big 'un, an' no mistake, " admitted Cap'n Bill. "I'm gladyou like your country, but it's a mite too damp for us, an' we'd beglad to get out of it. "

"Follow me, " said the frog. "I'll lead you to the border. It's onlyabout six jumps. " He turned around, made a mighty leap and disappearedin the gray mist. Our friends looked at one another in bewilderment. 

"Don't see how we can foller that lead, " remarked Cap'n Bill, "but wemay as well start in the same direction. "

 "Brooks and creeks, How it leaks!"

muttered the parrot. 

 "How can we jog To a frog in the fog?"

The big frog seemed to understand their difficulty, for he kept makingnoises in his throat to guide them to where he had leaped. When at lastthey came up to him, he made a second jump--out of sight, asbefore--and when they attempted to follow, they found a huge lizardlying across the path. Cap'n Bill thought it must be a giant alligatorat first, it was so big, but he looked at them sleepily and did notseem at all dangerous. 

"O, Liz--you puffy Liz--Get out of our way and mind your biz, " criedthe parrot. 

 "Creep-a-mousie, crawl-a-mousie, please move on! We can't move a step till you are gone. "

"Don't disturb me, " said the lizard. "I'm dreaming about parsnips. Didyou ever taste a parsnip?"

"We're in a hurry, if it's the same to you, sir, " said Cap'n Billpolitely. 

"Then climb over me or go around, I don't care which, " murmured thelizard. "When they're little, they're juicy; when they're big, there'smore of 'em; but either way there's nothing so delicious as a parsnip. There are none here in the Fog Bank, so the best I can do is dream ofthem. Oh, parsnips, par-snips, p-a-r-snips!" He closed his eyessleepily and resumed his dreams. 

Walking around the lizard, they resumed their journey and soon came tothe frog, being guided by its grunts and croaks. Then off it wentagain, its tremendous leap carrying it far into the fog. Suddenly, Cap'n Bill tripped and would have fallen flat had not Trot andButton-Bright held him up. Then he saw that he had stumbled over theclaw of a gigantic land-crab, which lay sprawled out upon the pebblybottom. 

"Oh, beg parding, I'm sure!" exclaimed Cap'n Bill, backing away. 

"Don't mention it, " replied the crab in a tired tone. "You did notdisturb me, so there is no harm done. "

"We didn't know you were here, " explained Trot. 

"Probably not, " said the crab. "It's no place for me, anyhow, for Ibelong in the Constellations, you know, with Taurus and Gemini and theother fellows. But I had the misfortune to tumble out of the Zodiacsome time ago. My name is Cancer, but I'm not a disease. Those whoexamine the heavens in these days, alas! can find no Cancer there. "

"Yes we can, sir, Mister Cancer!" said the parrot with a chuckle. 

"Once, " remarked Cap'n Bill, "I sawr a picter of you in an almanac. "

"Ah, the almanacs always did us full justice, " the crab replied, "butI'm told they're not fashionable now. "

"If you don't mind, we'd like to pass on, " said Button-Bright. 

"No, I don't mind, but be careful not to step on my legs. They'rerheumatic, it's so moist here. "

They climbed over some of the huge legs and walked around others. Soonthey had left the creature far behind. "Aren't you rather slow?" askedthe frog when once more they came up to him. 

"It isn't that, " said Trot. "You are rather swift, I guess. " The frogchuckled and leaped again. They noticed that the fog had caught a softrose tint and was lighter and less dense than before, for which reasonthe sailor remarked that they must be getting near to the Pink Country. 

On this jump they saw nothing but a monstrous turtle, which lay asleepwith its head and legs drawn into its shell. It was not in their way, so they hurried on and rejoined the frog, which said to them, "I'msorry, but I'm due at the King's Court in a few minutes, and I can'twait for your short, weak legs to make the journey to the Pink Country. But if you will climb upon my back, I think I can carry you to theborder in one more leap. "

"I'm tired, " said Trot, "an' this awful fog's beginnin' to choke me. Let's ride on the frog, Cap'n. "

"Right you are, mate, " he replied, and although he shook a bit withfear, the old man at once began to climb to the frog's back. Trotseated herself on one side of him and Button-bright on the other, andthe sailor put his arms around them both to hold them tight together. 

"Are you ready?" asked the frog. 

"Ding-dong!" cried the parrot. 

 "All aboard, let 'er go! Jump the best jump that you know. "

"Don't--don't! Jump sort o' easy, please, " begged Cap'n Bill. 

But the frog was unable to obey his request. Its powerful hind legsstraightened like steel springs and shot the big body, with itspassengers, through the fog like an arrow launched from a bow. Theygasped for breath and tried to hang on, and then suddenly the froglanded just at the edge of the Fog Bank, stopping so abruptly that histhree riders left his back and shot far ahead of him. They felt the fogmelt away and found themselves bathed in glorious rays of sunshine, butthey had no time to consider this change because they were stillshooting through the air, and presently--before they could think ofanything at all--all three were rolling heels over head on the softgrass of a meadow. 

THE PINK COUNTRY

CHAPTER 13

When the travelers could collect their senses and sit up, they staredabout them in bewilderment, for the transition from the sticky, dampfog to this brilliant scene was so abrupt as to daze them at first. 

It was a Pink Country indeed. The grass was a soft pink, the trees werepink, all the fences and buildings which they saw in the near distancewere pink--even the gravel in the pretty paths was pink. Many shades ofcolor were there, of course, grading from a faint blush rose to deeppink verging on red, but no other color was visible. In the sky hung apink glow, with rosy clouds floating here and there, and the sun wasnot silvery white, as we see it from the Earth, but a distinct pink. 

The sun was high in the sky just now, which proved the adventurers hadbeen a long time in passing through the Fog Bank. But all of them werewonderfully relieved to reach this beautiful country in safety, foraside from the danger that threatened them in the Blue Country, theother side of the island was very depressing. Here the scene thatconfronted them was pretty and homelike, except for the prevailingcolor and the fact that all the buildings were round, without a singlecorner or angle. 

Half a mile distant was a large City, its pink tintings glisteningbravely in the pink sunshine, while hundreds of pink banners floatedfrom its numerous domes. The country between the Fog Bank and the citywas like a vast garden, very carefully kept and as neat as wax. 

The parrot was fluttering its wings and pruning its feathers to removethe wet of the fog. Trot and Button-Bright and Cap'n Bill were allsoaked to the skin and chilled through, but as they sat upon the pinkgrass they felt the rays of the sun sending them warmth and rapidlydrying their clothes; so, being tired out, they laid themselvescomfortably down and first one and then another fell cozily asleep. 

It was the parrot that aroused them. 

 "Look out--look out-- There's folks about!"

it screamed. 

"The apple-dumplings, fat and pink, Will be here quicker than a wink!"

Trot stared up in alarm and rubbed her eyes; Cap'n Bill rolled over andblinked, hardly remembering where he was; Button-Bright was on his feetin an instant. Advancing toward them were four of the natives of thePink Country. 

Two were men and two were women, and their appearance was in sharpcontrast to that of the Blueskins. For the Pinkies were round andchubby--almost like "apple-dumplings, " as the parrot called them--andthey were not very tall, the highest of the men being no taller thanTrot or Button-Bright. They all had short necks and legs, pink hair andeyes, rosy cheeks and pink complexions, and their faces weregood-natured and jolly in expression. 

The men wore picturesque pink clothing and round hats with pinkfeathers in them, but the apparel of the women was still more gorgeousand striking. Their dresses consisted of layer after layer of gauzytuck and ruffles and laces, caught here and there with bows of daintyribbon. The skirts--which of course were of many shades of pink--wereso fluffy and light that they stuck out from the fat bodies of thePinkie women like the skirts of ballet-dancers, displaying their chubbypink ankles and pink kid shoes. They wore rings and necklaces andbracelets and brooches of rose-gold set with pink gems, and all four ofthe new arrivals, both men and women, carried sharp-pointed sticks madeof rosewood for weapons. 

They halted a little way from our adventurers, and one of the womenmuttered in a horrified voice, "Blueskins!"

 "Guess again! The more you guess I rather think you'll know the less, "

retorted the parrot, and then he added grumblingly in Trot's ear, "Bluefeathers don't make bluebirds. "

"Really, " said the girl, standing up and bowing respectfully to thePinkies, "we are not Blueskins, although we are wearing the blueuniforms of the Boolooroo and have just escaped from the Blue Country. If you will look closely, you will see that our skins are white. "

"There is some truth in what she says, " remarked one of the menthoughtfully. "Their skins are not blue, but neither are they white. Tobe exact, I should call the skin of the girl and that of the boy amuddy pink, rather faded, while the skin of the gigantic monster withthem is an unpleasant brown. "

Cap'n Bill looked cross for a minute, for he did not like to be calleda "gigantic monster, " although he realized he was much larger than thepink people. 

"What country did you come from" asked the woman who had first spoken. 

"From the Earth, " replied Button-Bright. 

"The Earth! The Earth!" they repeated. "That is a country we have neverheard of. Where is it located?"

"Why, down below somewhere, " said the boy, who did now know in whichdirection the Earth lay. "It isn't just one country, but a good manycountries. "

"We have three countries in Sky Island, " returned the woman. "They arethe Blue Country, the Fog Country and the Pink Country. But of coursethis end of the Island is the most important. "

"How came you in the Blue Country, from whence you say you escaped?"asked the man. 

"We flew there by means of a Magic Umbrella, " explained Button-Bright, "but the wicked Boolooroo stole it from us. "

"Stole it! How dreadful, " they all cried in a chorus. 

"And they made us slaves, " said Trot. 

"An' wanted fer to patch us, " added Cap'n Bill indignantly. 

"So we ran away and passed through the Fog Bank and came here, " saidButton-Bright. 

The Pinkies turned away and conversed together in low tones. Then oneof the women came forward and addressed the strangers. "Your story isthe strangest we have ever heard, " said she, "and your presence here isstill more strange and astonishing. So we have decided to take you toTourmaline and let her decide what shall be your fate. "

"Who is Tourmaline?" inquired Trot doubtfully, for she didn't like theidea of being "taken" to anyone. 

"The Queen of the Pinkies. She is the sole Ruler of our country, so theword of Tourmaline is the Law of the Land. "

"Seems to me we've had 'bout enough of kings an' queens, " remarkedCap'n Bill. "Can't we shy your Tut-Tor-mar-line--or whatever you callher--in some way an' deal with you direct?"

"No. Until we prove your truth and honor we must regard you as enemiesof our race. If you had a Magic Umbrella, you may be magicians andsorcerers come here to deceive us and perhaps betray us to our naturalenemies, the Blueskins. "

 "Mud and bricks, fiddlesticks! We don't play such nasty tricks, "

yelled the parrot angrily, and this caused the Pinkies to shrink backin alarm, for they had never seen a parrot before. 

"Surely this is magic!" declared one of the men. "No bird can talkunless inspired by witchcraft. "

"Oh yes, parrots can, " said Trot. But this incident had determined thePinkies to consider our friends prisoners and to take them immediatelybefore their Queen. 

"Must we fight you?" asked the woman. "Or will you come with uspeaceably?"

"We'll go peaceable, " answered Cap'n Bill. "You're a-makin' a sadmistake, for we're as harmless as doves; but seein' as you'resuspicious, we'd better have it out with your Queen first as last. "

Their clothing was quite dry by this time, although much wrinkled anddiscolored by the penetrating fog, so at once they prepared to followthe Pinkies. The two men walked on either side of them, holding thepointed sticks ready to jab them if they attempted to escape, and thetwo women followed in the rear, also armed with sharp sticks. 

So the procession moved along the pretty roadways to the City, whichthey soon reached. There was a strong, high wall of pink marble aroundit, and they passed through a gate made of pink metal bars and foundthemselves in a most delightful and picturesque town. The houses werebig and substantial, all round in shape, with domed roofs and circularwindows and doorways. In all the place there was but one street--acircular one that started at the gate and wound like a corkscrew towardthe center of the City. It was paved with pink marble, and between thestreet and the houses that lined both sides of it were gardens filledwith pink flowers and pink grass lawns, which were shaded by pink treesand shrubbery. 

As the Queen lived in the very center of the city, the captives wereobliged to parade the entire length of this street, and that gave allthe Pink Citizens a chance to have a good look at the strangers. ThePinkies were every one short and fat and gorgeously dressed in pinkattire, and their faces indicated that they were contented and happy. They were much surprised at Cap'n Bill's great size and wooden leg--twovery unusual things in their experience--and the old sailor frightenedmore than one Pink boy and girl and sent them scampering into thehouses, where they viewed the passing procession from behind the windowshutters in comparative safety. As for the grown people, many of themgot out their sharp-pointed sticks to use as weapons in case thestrangers attacked them or broke away from their guards. A few, morebold than the others, followed on at the tail of the procession, and sopresently they all reached an open, circular place in the exact centerof the Pink City. 

TOURMALINE THE POVERTY QUEEN

CHAPTER 14

The open space which they entered was paved with pink marble, andaround it were two rows of large, pink statues, at least life-size andbeautifully sculptured. All were set upon nicely carved pink pedestals. They were, of course, statues of Pinky men and women, and all had bandsof pink metal around their foreheads, in the center of each band beinga glistening pink jewel. 

About the middle of the open space inside the statues, which appearedto be the public meeting place of the Pinkies, was a small, low house, domed like all the other houses but built of a coarse pink stoneinstead of the fine marble to be seen everywhere else. It had noornamentation, being exceedingly plain in appearance. No bannersfloated from it; no flowers grew near it. 

"Here, " said one of their guides as the procession halted before thelittle stone building, "is the palace of Tourmaline, who is our Queen. "

"What, that little cabin?" exclaimed Trot. 

"Of course. Did you suppose a palace would be like one of our handsomeresidences?" asked the woman, evidently surprised. 

"I thought it would be better, " said the girl. "All the palaces I'veseen were splendid. "

"A splendid palace!" exclaimed one of the Pinkies, and then they lookedat one another in amazement and seemed to doubt that their ears hadheard aright. 

"These intruders are very peculiar people, " remarked a man in the crowd. 

"They seem very ignorant, poor things!" said another in reply. 

"Come!" commanded the woman who led the party. "You three must followme to the presence of Tourmaline. The people must wait outside, forthere is no room for them in the palace. "

So they followed her through the low archway, and in a room beyond, very simply furnished, sat a young girl engaged in darning a pair ofpink stockings. She was a beautiful girl of about seventeen years ofage, not fat like all the rest of the Pinkies but slender and wellformed according to our own ideas of beauty. Her complexion was not adecided pink, but a soft, rosy tint not much deeper than that of Trot'sskin. Instead of a silken gown furbelowed like all the others they hadseen women wear in this land, Tourmaline was dressed in a severelyplain robe of coarse pink cloth much resembling bedticking. Across herbrow, however, was a band of rose gold, in the center of which was seta luminous pink jewel which gleamed more brilliantly than a diamond. Itwas her badge of office and seemed very incongruous when compared withher poor rainment and simple surroundings. 

As they entered, the girl sighed and laid down her work. Her expressionwas patient and resigned as she faced her audience. "What is it, Coralie?" she asked the woman. 

"Here are three strange people, Tourmaline, " was the reply, "who saythey have entered our country through the Fog Bank. They tell a queerstory of an escape from the Blueskins, so I decided to bring them toyou, that you may determine their fate. "

The Queen gazed upon our friends with evident interest. She smiled--alittle sadly--at Trot, seemed to approve Button-Bright's open, frankface, and was quite surprised because Cap'n Bill was so much biggerthan her own people. "Are you a giant?" she asked the sailor in a soft, sweet voice. 

"No, your Majesty, " he replied, "I'm only--"

"Majesty!" she exclaimed, flushing a deeper pink. "Are you addressingthat word to me?"

"O' course, ma'am, " answered Cap'n Bill. "I'm told that's the properway to speak to a Queen. "

"Perhaps you are trying to ridicule me, " she continued, regarding thesailor's face closely. "There is nothing majestic about me, as you knowvery well. Coralie, do you consider 'majesty' a proper word to use whenaddressing a Queen?" she added, appealing to the Pinky woman. 

"By no means, " was the prompt reply. 

"What shall I call her, then?" inquired Cap'n Bill. 

"Just Tourmaline. That is her name, and it is sufficient, " said thewoman. 

"The Ruler of a country ought to be treated with great respec', "declared Trot a little indignantly, for she thought the pretty littlequeen was not being properly deferred to. 

"Why?" asked Tourmaline curiously. 

"Because the Ruler is the mos' 'risticratic person in any land, "explained the little girl. "Even in America ever'body bows low to ourPresident, an' the Blueskins are so 'fraid o' their Boolooroo that theytremble whenever they go near him. "

"But surely that is all wrong, " said Tourmaline gravely. "The Ruler isappointed to protect and serve the people, and here in the Pink CountryI have the full power to carry out the laws. I even decree death whensuch a punishment is merited. Therefore I am a mere agent to direct thelaws, which are the Will of the People, and am only a public servantobliged constantly to guard the welfare of my subjects. "

"In that case, " said Button-Bright, "you're entitled to the best thereis to pay for your trouble. A powerful ruler ought to be rich and tolive in a splendid palace. Your folks ought to treat you with greatrespect, as Trot says. "

"Oh no, " responded Tourmaline quickly. "That would indeed be verywrong. Too much should never be given to anyone. If, with my greatpower, conferred upon me by the people, I also possessed great wealth, I might be tempted to be cruel and overbearing. In that case mysubjects would justly grow envious of my superior station. If I livedas luxuriously as my people do and had servants and costly gowns, thegood Pinkies would say that their Queen had more than they themselves, and it would be true. No, our way is best. The Ruler, be it king orqueen, has absolute power to rule, but no riches, no high station, nofalse adulation. The people have the wealth and honor, for it is theirdue. The Queen has nothing but the power to execute the laws, to adjustgrievances and to compel order. "

"What pays you, then, for all your bother?" asked Trot. 

"I have one great privilege. After my death a pink marble statue of mewill be set up in the Grand Court, with the statues of the other Kingsand Queens who have ruled this land, and all the Pinkies in ages tocome will then honor me as having been a just and upright queen. Thatis my reward. "

"I'm sorry for you, ma'am, " said Cap'n Bill. "Your pay for bein' aqueen is sort o' like a life-insurance. If don't come due till afteryou're dead, an' then you can't get much fun out o' it. "

"I did not choose to be the Queen, " answered Tourmaline simply. "Amisfortune of birth placed me here, and I cannot escape my fate. It ismuch more desirable to be a private citizen, happy and carefree. But wehave talked long enough of myself. Tell me who you are, and why youhave come here. "

Between them they told the story of how the Magic Umbrella had takenthem to Sky Island, which they did not know when they started wasanywhere in existence. Button-Bright told this, and then Trot relatedtheir adventures among the Blueskins and how the Boolooroo had stolenthe umbrella and prevented them from going home again. The parrot onher shoulder kept interrupting her continually, for the mention of theBoolooroo seemed to make the bird frantic with rage. 

 "Naughty, naughty Boolooroo! He's the worst I ever knew!"

the parrot repeated over and over again. 

Cap'n Bill finished the story by telling of their escape through theFog Bank. "We didn't know what your Pink Country was like, o' course, "he said, "but we knew it couldn't be worse than the Blue Country, an'we didn't take any stock in their stories that the Fog Bank would bethe death o' us. "

 "Pretty wet! Pretty wet Was the journey, you can bet!"

declared the parrot in conclusion. 

"Yes, it was wet an' sticky, all right, " agreed the sailor, "but thebig frog helped us an' we got through all right. "

"But what can you do here?" asked Tourmaline. "You are not like mypeople, the Pinkies, and there is no place for you in our country. "

"That's true enough, " said Cap'n Bill, "but we had to go somewhere, an'this was the likeliest place we could think of. Your Sky Island ain'tvery big, so when we couldn't stay in the Blue Country, where ever'bodyhated us, or in the Fog Bank, which ain't healthy an' is too wet forhumans to live in for long, we nat'rally were forced to enter the PinkCountry, where we expected to find nice people. "

"We ARE nice, " said Tourmaline, "but it is our country, not yours, andwe have no place here for strangers. In all our history you are thefirst people from outside our borders who have ever stepped a foot inour land. We do not hate you, as you say the Blueskins do, nor are wesavage or cruel, but we do not want you here, and I am really puzzledwhat to do with you. "

"Isn't there a law to cover this case?" asked Coralie. 

"I do not remember any such law, " replied the queen, "but I will searchin the Great Book and see if I can find anything that refers to strangepeople entering our land. "

"If not, " said the woman, "you must make a law. It is your duty. "

"I know, " answered Tourmaline, "but I hope such a responsibility willnot fall upon my shoulders. These poor strangers are in a veryuncomfortable position, and I wish I could help them to get back totheir own country. "

"Thank you, " said Trot. "We wish so, too. Haven't you any fairies here?"

"Oh, there are fairies, of course, as there are everywhere, " answeredTourmaline, "but none that we can call to our assistance or command todo our bidding. "

"How about witches?" asked Button-Bright. 

"I know of one witch, " said Tourmaline thoughtfully, "but she is notvery obliging. She says it makes her head ache to perform witchcraft, and so she seldom indulges in it. But if there is no other way, I maybe obliged to call upon Rosalie for help. I'll look in the Great Bookfirst. Meantime, you will go home with Coralie, who will feed you andgive you entertainment. Tomorrow morning come to me again and then Iwill decree your fate. " The little queen then picked up her stockingand began to darn the holes in it, and Coralie, without any formalparting, led the strangers from the miserable palace. 

THE SUNRISE TRIBE AND THE SUNSET TRIBE

CHAPTER 15

Although Trot and her comrades were still prisoners, they were far morecomfortable than they had been in the Blue Country. Coralie took themto her own home, where she lived in great luxury, being one of theprominent women of the Pinkies. In this country the women seemed fullyas important as the men, and instead of being coddled and petted, theyperformed their share of the work, both in public and private affairs, and were expected to fight in the wars exactly as the men did. 

Our friends learned considerable about the Pinkies during thatafternoon and evening, for their hostess proved kind and agreeable andfrankly answered all their questions. Although this half of Sky Islandwas no larger than the Blue Country, being no more than two milessquare, it had several hundred inhabitants. These were divided into twotribes, which were called the Sunrise Tribe and the Sunset Tribe. TheSunrise Tribe lived in the eastern half of the Pink Country and theSunset Tribe in the west half, and there was great rivalry betweenthem, and sometimes war. 

It was all a question of social importance. The Sunrise Tribe claimedthat every day the sun greeted them first of all, which proved theywere the most important; but on the other hand, the Sunset Tribeclaimed that the sun always deserted the other tribe and came to them, which was evidence that they were the most attractive people. On SkyIsland--at least on the Pink side--the sun arose in wonderful splendor, but also it set in a blaze of glory, and so there were arguments onboth sides, and for want of something better to argue about, thePinkies took this queer subject as a cause of dispute. 

Both Tribes acknowledged Tourmaline their Queen and obeyed the laws ofthe country, and just at this time there was peace in the land, and allthe inhabitants of the east and west were friendly. But they had beenknown, Coralie said, to fight one another fiercely with their sharpsticks, at which times a good many were sure to get hurt. 

"Why do they call this an Island?" asked Button-Bright. "There isn'tany water around it, is there?"

"No, but there is sky all around it, " answered Coralie. "And if oneshould step off the edge, he would go tumbling into the great sky andnever be heard of again. "

"Is there a fence around the edge?" asked Trot. 

"Only a few places are fenced, " was the reply. "Usually there are rowsof thick bushes set close to the edge to prevent people from fallingoff. Once there was a King of the Pinkies who was cruel and overbearingand imagined he was superior to the people he ruled, so one day hissubjects carried him to the edge of the island and threw him over thebushes. "

"Goodness me!" said Trot. "He might have hit someone on the Earth. "

"Guess he skipped it, though, " added Cap'n Bill, "for I never heard ofa Pinky till I came here. "

"And I have never heard of the Earth, " retorted Coralie. "Of course, there must be such a place, because you came from there, but the Earthis never visible in our sky. "

"No, " said Button-Bright, "'cause it's UNDER your island. But it'sthere, all right, and it's a pretty good place to live. I wish I couldget back to it. "

"So do I, Button-Bright!" exclaimed Trot. 

"Let's fly!" cried the parrot, turning his head so that one brightlittle eye looked directly into the girl's eye. "Say goodbye and let'sfly through the sky, far and high!"

"If we only had my umbrella, we'd fly in a minute, " sighedButton-Bright. "But the Boolooroo stole it. "

 "Naughty, naughty Boolooroo, What a wicked thing to do!"

wailed the parrot, and they all agreed with him. 

Coralie belonged to the Sunset Tribe, as she lived west of the queen'spalace, which was the center of the Pink Country. A servant came to theroom where they were conversing to state that the sun was about to set, and at once Coralie arose and took the strangers to an upper balcony, where all the household had assembled. 

The neighboring houses also had their balconies and roofs filled withpeople, for it seemed all the Sunset Tribe came out every night towitness the setting of the sun. It was really a magnificent sight, andTrot scarcely breathed as the great, golden ball sank low in the skyand colored all the clouds with gorgeous tints of orange, red andyellow. Never on the Earth was there visible such splendor, and as thelittle girl watched the ever-changing scene, she decided the SunsetTribe was amply justified in claiming that the West was the favoredcountry of the sun. 

"You see, " said Cap'n Bill, "the sky is all around us, an' we're highup, so the sun really loses itself in the clouds an' leaves a trail ofbeauty behind him. "

"He does that!" agreed Trot. "This is almost worth comin' for, Cap'n. "

"But not quite, " said Button-bright sadly. "I'd get along without thesunset if only we could go home. "

They went in to dinner after this, and sat at Coralie's own table withher husband and children and found the meal very good. After a pleasantevening, during which no reference was made to their being prisoners, they were shown to prettily furnished rooms--all in pink--and sleptsoundly in the soft beds provided for them. Trot wakened early the nextmorning and went out on the balcony to see the sunrise. The little girlwas well repaid, for the splendor of the rising sun was almost equal tothat of the setting sun. Surely this was a wonderful country and muchmore delightful than the Blue side of the island, where the sun washidden by the great Fog and only the moon was visible. 

When she went in, she found that both Button-Bright and Cap'n Bill wereup and dressed, so they decided to take a walk before breakfast. No onerestrained them or interfered with them in any way. "They know we can'tget away, " observed the sailor, "so they don't need to watch us. "

"We could go into the Fog Bank again, " suggested Trot. 

"We could, mate, but we won't, " answered Cap'n Bill. "If there's no wayfor us to get clean off'n Sky Island, I'd rather stay with the Pinkiesthan with the Blues. "

"I wonder what they'll do with us, " said Button-Bright. "The Queenseems like a nice girl, and I don't think she'll hurt us, whateverhappens. "

They walked freely along the circular street, seeing such sights as thePink City afforded, and then returned to Coralie's house for breakfast. Coralie herself was not there, as she had been summoned to the Queen'spalace, but her husband looked after the guests, and when breakfast wasfinished he said to them, "I am to take you to Tourmaline, who haspromised to decide your fate this morning. I am curious to know whatshe will do with you, for in all our history we have never before hadstrangers intrude upon us. "

"We're curious, too, " said Trot, "but we'll soon find out. " As theywalked down the street, they observed that the sky was now covered withdark clouds which entirely hid the sun. 

"Does it ever rain here?" inquired Button-Bright. 

"Certainly, " answered Coralie's husband, "that is the one drawback ofour country: it rains quite often. And although it makes the flowersand the grass grow, I think rain is very disagreeable. I am always gladto see the rainbow, which is a sign that the sun will shine again. "

"Looks like rain now, " remarked Cap'n Bill. 

"It does, " said the man, glancing at the sky. "We must hurry, or we mayget wet. "

"Haven't you any umbrellas?" asked Button-Bright. 

"No, we don't know what umbrellas are, " replied the Pinky man. 

It did not rain at once, and they reached Tourmaline's wretched hut insafety. There they found quite a number of Pinkies assembled, and aspirited discussion was taking place when they arrived. 

"Come in, please, " said Tourmaline, opening the door for them, and whenthey had entered, she placed a pinkwood bench for them to sit upon andwent back to her throne, which was a common rocking chair. At her rightwere seated six men and women of the Sunrise Tribe, and on her left sixmen and women of the Sunset Tribe, among the latter being Coralie. Thecontrast between the plain, simple dress of the Queen and the gorgeousapparel of her Counselors was quite remarkable, yet her beauty farsurpassed that of any of her people, and her demeanor was so modest andunassuming that it was difficult for the prisoners to believe that herword would decree life or death and that all the others weresubservient to her. Tourmaline's eyes were so deep a shade of pink thatthey were almost hazel, and her hair was darker than that of theothers, being a golden-red in color. These points, taken with herlight-pink skin and slender form, rendered her distinctive among thePinkies, whatever gown she might wear. 

When the strangers were seated, she turned to them and said, "I havesearched through the Great Book of Laws and found nothing about foreignpeople entering our land. There is a law that if any of the Blueskinsbreak through the Fog Bank, they shall be driven back with sharpsticks; but you are not Blueskins, so this Law does not apply to you. Therefore, in order to decide your fate, I have summoned a Council oftwelve of my people, who will vote as to whether you shall be permittedto remain here or not. They wanted to see you before they cast theirfinal vote, that they may examine you carefully and discover if you areworthy to become inhabitants of the Pink Country. "

 "The rose is red, the violet's blue, But Trot is sweeter than the two!"

declared the parrot in a loud voice. It was a little verse Cap'n Billhad taught the bird that very morning while Trot was seeing the sunrise. 

The Pinkies were startled and seemed a little frightened at hearing abird speak so clearly. Trot laughed and patted the bird's head inreturn for the compliment. "Is the Monster Man whose legs are part wooda dangerous creature?" asked one of the Sunrise Tribe. 

"Not to my friends, " replied Cap'n Bill, much amused. "I s'pose I couldfight your whole crowd of Pinkies if I had to, an' make you run foryour lives, but bein' as you're friendly to us, you ain't in anydanger. " The sailor thought this speech was diplomatic and might "headoff any trouble, " but the Pinkies seemed uneasy, and several of thempicked up their slender, pointed sticks and held them in their hands. They were not cowardly, but it was evident they mistrusted the big man, who on Earth was not considered big at all, but rather undersized. 

"What we'd like, " said Trot, "is to stay here, cozy an' peaceable, tillwe can find a way to get home to the Earth again. Your country is muchnicer than the Blue Country, and we like you pretty well from whatwe've seen of you, so if you'll let us stay, we won't be any moretrouble to you than we can help. "

They all gazed upon the little girl curiously, and one of them said, "How strangely light her color is! And it is pink, too, which is in herfavor. But her eyes are of that dreadful blue tint which prevails inthe other half of Sky Island, while her hair is a queer color unknownto us. She is not like our people and would not harmonize with theuniversal color here. "

"That's true, " said another. "The three strangers are all inharmonious. If allowed to remain here, they would ruin the color scheme of thecountry, where all is now pink. "

"In spite of that, " said Coralie, "they are harmless creatures and havedone us no wrong. "

"Yes they have, " replied a nervous little Sunrise man, "they wronged usby coming here. "

"They could not help doing that, " argued Coralie, "and it is theirmisfortune that they are here on Sky Island at all. Perhaps if we keepthem with us for a while, they may find a way to return safely to theirown country. "

"We'll fly through the sky by-and-by--ki-yi!" yelled the parrot withstartling suddenness. 

"Is that true?" asked a Pinky seriously. 

"Why, we would if we could, " answered Trot. "We flew to this island, anyhow. "

"Perhaps, " said another, "if we pushed them off the edge, they couldfly down again. Who knows?"

"We know, " answered Cap'n Bill hastily. "We'd tumble, but we wouldn'tfly. "

 "They'd take a fall-- And that is all!"

observed the parrot, fluttering its wings. There was silence for amoment while all the Pinkies seemed to think deeply. Then the Queenasked the strangers to step outside while they counseled together. Ourfriends obeyed, and leaving the room they all entered the courtyard andexamined the rows of pink marble statues for nearly an hour before theywere summoned to return to the little room in Tourmaline's palace. 

"We are now ready to vote as to your fate, " said the pretty Queen tothem. "We have decided there are but two things for us do to: eitherpermit you to remain here as honored guests or take you to an edge ofthe island and throw you over the bushes into the sky. "

They were silent at hearing this dreadful alternative, but the parrotscreamed shrilly, "Oh, what a dump! Oh, what a jump! Won't we all thump when we land with a bump?"

"If we do, " said Cap'n Bill thoughtfully, "we'll none of us know it. "

ROSALIE THE WITCH

CHAPTER 16

Trot and Button-Bright had now become worried and anxious, for theyknew if they were tossed over the edge of the island they would bekilled. Cap'n Bill frowned and set his jaws tight together. The oldsailor had made up his mind to make a good fight for his boy and girl, as well as for his own life, if he was obliged to do so. 

The twelve Counselors then voted, and when the vote was counted, Tourmaline announced that six had voted to allow the strangers toremain and six to toss them over the bushes. "We seem evenly divided onthis matter, " remarked the Queen with a puzzled look at her Council. 

Trot thought the pretty Queen was their friend, so she said, "Of courseyou'll have the deciding vote, then, you being the Ruler. "

"Oh no, " replied Tourmaline. "Since I have asked these good people toadvise me, it would be impolite to side against some of them and withthe others. That would imply that the judgment of some of my Counselorsis wrong, and the judgment of others right. I must ask someone else tocast the deciding vote. "

"Who will it be, then?" inquired Trot. "Can't I do it? Or Cap'n Bill orButton-Bright?"

Tourmaline smiled and shook her head, while all the Counselors murmuredtheir protests. 

 "Let Trot do it Or you'll rue it!"

advised the parrot, and then he barked like a dog and made them alljump. 

"Let me think a moment, " said the Queen, resting her chin on her hand. 

 "A Pink can think As quick's a wink!"

the parrot declared. But Tourmaline's thoughts required time, and allher Counselors remained silent and watched her anxiously. 

At last she raised her head and said, "I shall call upon Rosalie theWitch. She is wise and honest and will decide the matter justly. "

The Pinkies seemed to approve this choice, so Tourmaline rose and tooka small, pink paper parcel from a drawer. In it was a pink powder, which she scattered upon the seat of a big armchair. Then she lightedthis powder, which at first flashed vivid pink and then filled all thespace around the chair with a thick, pink cloud of smoke. Presently thesmoke cleared away, when they all saw seated within the chair Rosaliethe Witch. 

This famous woman was much like the other Pinkies in appearance exceptthat she was somewhat taller and not quite so fat as most of thepeople. Her skin and hair and eyes were all of a rosy, pink color, andher gown was of spiderweb gauze that nicely matched her complexion. Shedid not seem very old, for her features were smiling and attractive andpleasant to view. She held in her hand a slender staff tipped with alustrous pink jewel. 

All the Pinkies present bowed very respectfully to Rosalie, whoreturned the salutation with a dignified nod. Then Tourmaline began toexplain the presence of the three strangers and the difficulty ofdeciding what to do with them. 

"I have summoned you here that you may cast the deciding vote, " addedthe Queen. "What shall we do, Rosalie, allow them to remain here ashonored guests, or toss them over the bushes into the sky?"

Rosalie, during Tourmaline's speech, had been attentively examining thefaces of the three Earth people. Now she said, "Before I decide, I must see who these strangers are. I will followtheir adventures in a vision to discover if they have told you thetruth. And in order that you may all share my knowledge, you shall seethe vision as I see it. " She then bowed her head and closed her eyes. 

 "Rock-a-bye, baby, on a treetop; Don't wake her up, or the vision will stop, "

muttered the parrot, but no one paid any attention to the noisy bird. 

Gradually, a pink mist formed in the air about the Witch, and in thismist the vision began to appear. 

First, there was Button-bright in the attic of his house, finding theMagic Umbrella. Then his first flight was shown, and afterward his tripacross the United States until he landed on the bluff where Trot sat. In rapid succession the scenes shifted and disclosed the trial flights, with Trot and Cap'n Bill as passengers, then the trip to Sky Island andthe meeting with the Boolooroo. No sound was heard, but it was easyfrom the gestures of the actors for the Pinkies to follow all theadventures of the strangers in the Blue Country. Button-Bright wasgreatly astonished to see in this vision how the Boolooroo had testedthe Magic Umbrella and in a fit of rage cast it into a cornerunderneath the cabinet, with the seats and lunch basket still attachedto the handle by means of the rope. The boy now knew why he could notfind the umbrella in the Treasure Chamber, and he was provoked to thinkhe had several times been quite close to it without knowing it wasthere. The last scene ended with the trip through the Fog Bank and theassistance rendered them by the friendly frog. After the three tumbledupon the grass of the Pink Country, the vision faded away, and Rosalielifted her head with a smile of triumph at the success of herwitchcraft. 

"Did you see clearly?" she asked. 

"We did, O Wonderful Witch!" they declared. 

"Then, " said Rosalie, "there can be no doubt in your minds that thesestrangers have told you the truth. "

"None at all, " they admitted. 

"What arguments are advanced by the six Counselors who voted to allowthem to remain here as guests?" inquired the Witch. 

"They have done us no harm, " answered Coralie, speaking for her side, "therefore we should, in honor and justice, do them no harm. "

Rosalie nodded. "What arguments have the others advanced?" she asked. 

"They interfere with our color scheme and do not harmonize with ourpeople, " a man of the Sunrise Tribe answered. 

Again Rosalie nodded, and Trot thought her eyes twinkled a little. 

"I think I now fully comprehend the matter, " said she, "and so I willcast my vote. I favor taking the Earth people to the edge of the islandand casting them into the sky. "

For a moment there was perfect silence in the room. All presentrealized that this was a decree of death to the strangers. Trot wasgreatly surprised at the decision, and for a moment she thought herheart had stopped beating, for a wave of fear swept over her. Button-Bright flushed red as a Pinky and then grew very pale. He creptcloser to Trot and took her hand in his own, pressing it to give thelittle girl courage. As for Cap'n Bill, he was watching the smilingface of the Witch in a puzzled but not hopeless way, for he thought shedid not seem wholly in earnest in what she had said. 

"The case is decided, " announced Tourmaline in a clear, cold voice. "The three strangers shall be taken at once to the edge of the islandand thrown over the bushes into the sky. "

"It's raining hard outside, " announced Coralie, who sat near the door. "Why not wait until this shower is over?"

"I have said 'at once, '" replied the little Queen with dignity, "and soit must be at once. We are accustomed to rain, so it need not delay us, and when a disagreeable duty is to be performed, the sooner it isaccomplished the better. "

"May I ask, ma'am, " said Cap'n Bill, addressing the Witch, "why youhave decided to murder of us in this cold-blooded way?"

"I did not decide to murder you, " answered Rosalie. 

"To throw us off the island will be murder, " declared the sailor. 

"Then they cannot throw you off, " the Witch replied. 

"The Queen says they will. "

"I know, " said Rosalie, "but I'm quite positive her people can't do it. "

This statement astonished all the Pinkies, who looked at the Witchinquiringly. "Why not?" asked Tourmaline. 

"It is evident to me, " said the Witch, speaking slowly and distinctly, "that these Earth people are protected in some way by fairies. They maynot be aware of this themselves, nor did I see any fairies in myvision. But if you will think upon it carefully, you will realize thatthe Magic Umbrella has no power in itself, but is enchanted by fairypower so that it is made to fly and carry passengers through the air BYFAIRIES. This being the case, I do not think you will be allowed toinjure these favored people in any way; but I am curious to see in whatmanner the fairies will defend them, and therefore I have voted to havethem thrown off the island. I bear these strangers no ill will, nor doI believe they are in any danger. But since you, Tourmaline, havedetermined to attempt this terrible thing at once, I shall go with youand see what will happen. "

Some of the Pinkies looked pleased and some troubled at this speech, but they all prepared to escort the prisoners to the nearest edge ofthe island. The rain was pouring down in torrents, and umbrellas wereunknown; but all of them, both men and women, slipped gossamerraincoats over their clothing, which kept the rain from wetting them. Then they caught up their sharp sticks and surrounding the doomedcaptives commanded them to march to meet their fate. 

THE ARRIVAL OF POLYCHROME

CHAPTER 17

Cap'n Bill had determined to fight desperately for their lives, but hewas a shrewd old sailorman, and he found much that was reasonable inthe Witch's assertion that fairies would protect them. He had oftenwondered how the Magic Umbrella could fly and obey spoken commands, butnow he plainly saw that the thing must be directed by some invisiblepower, and that power was quite likely to save them from the crueldeath that had been decreed. To be sure, the Magic Umbrella was now inthe Blue Country, and the fairies that directed its flight might bewith the umbrella instead of with them, yet the old sailor had alreadyexperienced some strange adventures in Trot's company and knew she hadmanaged to escape every danger that had threatened. So he decided notto fight until the last moment and meekly hobbled along the street ashe was commanded to do. Trot was also encouraged by the Witch'ssuggestion, for she believed in fairies and trusted them; butButton-Bright could find no comfort in their situation, and his facewas very sad as he marched along by Trot's side. 

If they had followed the corkscrew windings of the street, it wouldhave been a long journey to the outer edge of the Pink Country, butTourmaline took a shortcut, leading them through private gardens andeven through houses, so that they followed almost a bee line to theirdestination. It rained all the way and the walking was verydisagreeable, but our friends were confronting an important crisis intheir strange adventures, and with possible death at their journey'send, they were in no hurry to arrive there. 

Once free of the City they traversed the open country, and here theyoften stepped into sticky, pink mud up to their ankles. Cap'n Bill'swooden leg would often go down deep and stick fast in this mud, and atsuch times he would be helpless until two of the Pinkies--who were astrong people--pulled him out again. The parrot was getting itsfeathers sadly draggled in the rain, and the poor bird soon presented awet and woebegone appearance. 

 "Soak us again, Drown us with rain!"

it muttered in a resigned tone; and then it would turn to Trot andmoan, "The rose is red, the violet's blue, The Pinkies are a beastlycrew!"

The country was not so trim and neatly kept near the edge, for it wasevident the people did not care to go too near to the dangerous place. There was a row of thick bushes which concealed the gulf below, and asthey approached these bushes the rain abruptly ceased, and the cloudsbegan to break and drift away in the sky. "Two of you seize the girland throw her over, " said Tourmaline in a calm, matter-of-fact way, "and two others must throw the boy over. It may take four, perhaps, tolift the huge and ancient man. "

"More'n that, " said Cap'n Bill grimly. "I'm pretty sure it'll take allo' you, young lady, an' the chances are you won't do it then. "

They had halted a short distance from the bushes, and now theresuddenly appeared through a rift in the clouds an immense Rainbow. Itwas perfectly formed and glistened with a dozen or more superb tintingsthat were so vivid and brilliant and blended into one another soexquisitely that everyone paused to gaze enraptured upon the sight. Steadily, yet with wonderful swiftness, the end of the great bowdescended until it rested upon the pink field--almost at the feet ofthe little party of observers. Then they saw, dancing gaily upon thearch, a score of beautiful maidens, dressed in fleecy robes of rainbowtints which fluttered around them like clouds. 

"The Daughters of the Rainbow!" whispered Tourmaline in an awed voice, and the Witch beside her nodded and said, "Fairies of the sky. What didI tell you, Tourmaline?"

Just then one of the maidens tripped lightly down the span of the archuntil near the very end, leaning over to observe the group below. Shewas exquisitely fair, dainty as a lily and graceful as a bough swayingin the breeze. "Why, it's Polychrome!" exclaimed Button-Bright in avoice of mingled wonder and delight. "Hello, Polly! Don't you rememberme?"

"Of course I remember Button-Bright, " replied the maiden in a sweet, tinkling voice. "The last time I saw you was in the Land of Oz. "

"Oh!" cried Trot, turning to stare at the boy with big, wide-open eyes. "Were you ever in the Land of Oz?"

"Yes, " he answered, still looking at the Rainbow's Daughter, and thenhe said appealingly, "These people want to kill us, Polly. Can't youhelp us?"

 "Polly wants a cracker! Polly wants a cracker!"

screeched the parrot. 

Polychrome straightened up and glanced at her sisters. "Tell Father tocall for me in an hour or two, " said she. "There is work for me to dohere, for one of my old friends is in trouble. "

With this she sprang lightly from the rainbow and stood besideButton-Bright and Trot, and scarcely had she left the splendid archwhen it lifted and rose into the sky. The other end had been hidden inthe clouds, and now the Rainbow began to fade gradually, like mist, andthe sun broke through the clouds and shot its cheering rays over thePink Country until presently the Rainbow had vanished altogether andthe only reminder of it was the lovely Polychrome standing among thewondering band of Pinkies. "Tell me, " she said gently to the boy, "whyare you here, and why do these people of the sky wish to destroy you?"

In a few hurried words Button-Bright related their adventures with theMagic Umbrella and how the Boolooroo had stolen it and they had beenobliged to escape into the Pink Country. Polychrome listened and thenturned to the Queen. "Why have you decreed death to these innocentstrangers?" she asked. 

"They do not harmonize with our color scheme, " replied Tourmaline. 

"That is utter nonsense, " declared Polychrome impatiently. "You're sodreadfully pink here that your color, which in itself is beautiful, hadbecome tame and insipid. What you really need is some sharp contrast toenhance the charm of your country, and to keep these three people herewould be a benefit rather than an injury to you. "

At this, the Pinkies looked downcast and ashamed, while only Rosaliethe Witch laughed and seemed to enjoy the rebuke. "But, " protestedTourmaline, "the Great Book of Laws says our country shall harbor nonebut the Pinkies. "

"Does it indeed?" asked the Rainbow's Daughter. "Come, let us return atonce to your City and examine your Book of Laws. I am quite sure I canfind in them absolute protection for these poor wanderers. "

They dared not disobey Polychrome's request, so at once they all turnedand walked back to the City. As it was still muddy underfoot, theRainbow's Daughter took a cloak from one of the women, partly rolledit, and threw it upon the ground. Then she stepped upon it and beganwalking forward. The cloak unrolled as she advanced, affording aconstant carpet for her feet and for those of the others who followedher. So, being protected from the mud and wet, they speedily gained theCity and in a short time were all gathered in the low room ofTourmaline's palace, where the Great Book of Laws lay upon a table. 

Polychrome began turning over the leaves, while the others all watchedher anxiously and in silence. "Here, " she said presently, "is a Lawwhich reads as follows: 'Everyone in the Pink Country is entitled tothe protection of the Ruler and to a house and a good living, exceptonly the Blueskins. If any of the natives of the Blue Country shouldever break through the Fog Bank, they must be driven back with sharpsticks. ' Have you read this Law, Tourmaline?"

"Yes, " said the Queen, "but how does that apply to these strangers?"

"Why, being in the Pink Country, as they surely are, and not beingBlueskins, they are by this Law entitled to protection, to a home andgood living. The Law does not say 'Pinkies, ' it says any who are in thePink Country. "

"True, " agreed Coralie, greatly pleased, and all the other Pinkiesnodded their heads and repeated, "True, true!"

 "The rose is red, the violet's blue, The law's the thing, because it's true!"

cried the parrot. 

"I am indeed relieved to have you interpret the Law in this way, "declared Tourmaline. "I knew it was cruel to throw these poor peopleover the edge, but that seemed to us the only thing to be done. "

"It was cruel and unjust, " answered Polychrome as sternly as her sweetvoice could speak. "But here, " she added, for she had still continuedto turn the leaves of the Great Book, "is another Law which you havealso overlooked. It says, 'The person, whether man or woman, boy orgirl, living in the Pink Country who has the lightest skin shall be theRuler--King or Queen--as long as he or she lives, unless someone of alighter skin is found, and this Ruler's commands all the people mustobey. ' Do you know this Law?"

"Oh yes, " replied Tourmaline. "That is why I am the Queen. You willnotice my complexion is of a lighter pink than that of any other of mypeople. "

"Yes, " remarked Polychrome, looking at her critically, "when you weremade Queen without doubt you had the lightest-colored skin in all thePink Country. But now you are no longer Queen of the Pinkies, Tourmaline. "

Those assembled were so startled by this statement that they gazed atthe Rainbow's Daughter in astonishment for a time. Then Tourmalineasked, "Why not, your Highness?"

"Because here is one lighter in color than yourself, " pointed to Trot. "This girl is, by the Law of the Great Book, the rightful Queen of thePinkies, and as loyal citizens you are all obliged to obey hercommands. Give me that circlet from your brow, Tourmaline. " Withouthesitation Tourmaline removed the rose-gold circlet with its glitteringjewel and handed it to Polychrome, who turned and placed it upon Trot'sbrow. Then she called in a loud, imperative voice, "Greet your newQueen, Pinkies!"

One by one they all advanced, knelt before Trot and pressed her hand totheir lips. "Long live Queen Mayre!" called out Cap'n Bill, dancingaround on his wooden leg in great delight. "Vive la--Vive la--ah, ah, Trot!"

"Thank you, Polly, " said Button-Bright gratefully. "This will fix usall right, I'm sure. "

"Why, I have done nothing, " returned Polychrome, smiling upon him. "Itis the Law of the Country. Isn't it surprising how little people knowof their Laws? Are you all contented, Pinkies?" she asked, turning tothe people. 

"We are!" they cried. Then several of the men ran out to spread thenews throughout the City and Country, so that a vast crowd soon beganto gather in the Court of the Statues. 

MAYRE, QUEEN OF THE PINK COUNTRY

CHAPTER 18

Polychrome now dismissed all but Button-Bright, Cap'n Bill, Rosalie theWitch and the new Queen of the Pinkies. Tourmaline hastened away to herfather's house to put on a beautiful gown all covered with flounces andribbons, for she was glad to be relieved of the duties of the Queen andwas eager to be gaily dressed and one of the people again. 

"I s'pose, " said Trot, "I'll have to put on one of Tourmaline's commonpink dresses. "

"Yes, " replied Polychrome, "you must follow the customs of the country, absurd though they may be. In the little sleeping chamber adjoiningthis room you will find plenty of gowns poor enough for the Queen towear. Shall I assist you to put one on?"

"No, " answered Trot, "I guess I can manage it alone. "

When she withdrew to the little chamber, the Rainbow's Daughter beganconversing with the Witch, whom she urged to stay with the new queenand protect her as long as she ruled the Pink Country. Rosalie, wholonged to please the powerful Polychrome, whose fairy powers asDaughters of the Rainbow were far superior to her own witchcraft, promised faithfully to devote herself to Queen Mayre as long as shemight need her services. 

By the time Trot was dressed in pink and had returned to the room, there was an excited and clamorous crowd assembled in the court, andPolychrome took the little girl's hand and led her out to greet her newsubjects. The Pinkies were much impressed by the fact that theRainbow's Daughter was their new Queen's friend, and that Rosalie theWitch stood on Trot's left hand and treated her with humble deference. So they shouted their approval very enthusiastically and pressedforward one by one to kneel before their new Ruler and kiss her hand. 

The parrot was now on Cap'n Bill's shoulder, for Trot thought a Queenought not to carry a bird around, but the parrot did not mind thechange and was as much excited as anyone in the crowd. "Oh, what blissto kiss a miss!" he shouted as Trot held out her hand to be kissed byher subjects, and then he would scream, "We're in the sky and flyin' high; We're goin' to live instead of die, It's time to laugh instead of cry; Oh, my! Ki-yi! Ain't this a pie?"

Cap'n Bill let the bird jabber as he pleased, for the occasion was ajoyful one, and it was no wonder the parrot was excited. And while thethrong shouted greetings to the Queen, suddenly the great Rainbowappeared in the sky and dropped its end right on the Court of theStatues. Polychrome stooped to kiss Trot and Button-Bright, gave Cap'nBill a charming smile and Rosalie the Witch a friendly nod of farewell. Then she sprang lightly upon the arch of the Rainbow and was greeted bythe bevy of dancing, laughing maidens who were her sisters. "I shallkeep watch over you, Button-Bright, " she called to the boy. "Don'tdespair, whatever happens, for behind the clouds is always the Rainbow!"

"Thank you, Polly, " he answered, and Trot also thanked the lovelyPolychrome, and so did Cap'n Bill. The parrot made quite a long speech, flying high above the arch where Polychrome stood and then back toCap'n Bill's shoulder. Said he, "We Pollys know our business, and we're all right! We'll take good care of Cap'n Bill and Trot and Button-Bright. You watch 'em from the Rainbow, and I'll watch day and night, And we'll call a sky policeman if trouble comes in sight!"

Suddenly, the bow lifted and carried the dancing maidens into the sky. The colors faded, the arch slowly dissolved and the heavens were clear. Trot turned to the Pinkies. "Let's have a holiday today, " she said. "Have a good time and enjoy yourselves. I don't jus' know how I'm goin'to rule this country yet, but I'll think it over an' let you know. "Then she went into the palace hut with Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright andRosalie the Witch, and the people went away to enjoy themselves andtalk over the surprising events of the day. 

"Dear me, " said Trot, throwing herself into a chair, "wasn't that asudden change of fortune, though? That Rainbow's Daughter is a prettygood fairy. I'm glad you know her, Button-Bright. "

"I was sure something would happen to save you, " remarked Rosalie, "andthat was why I voted to have you thrown off the edge. I wanted todiscover who would come to your assistance, and I found out. Now I havemade a friend of Polychrome, and that will render me more powerful as aWitch, for I can call upon her for assistance whenever I need her. "

"But see here, " said Cap'n Bill. "You can't afford to spend your timea-rulin' this tucked-up country, Trot. "

"Why not?" asked Trot, who was pleased with her new and importantposition. 

"It'd get pretty tiresome, mate, after you'd had a few quarrels withthe Pinkies, for they expec' their Queen to be as poor as poverty an'never have any fun in life. "

"You wouldn't like it for long, I'm sure, " added Button-Brightseriously. 

Trot seemed thoughtful. "No, I don't know's I would, " she admitted. "But as long as we stay here, it seems a pretty good thing to be Queen. I guess I'm a little proud of it. I wish mother could see me rulin' thePinkies, an' Papa Griffith, too. Wouldn't they open their eyes?"

"They would, mate, but they can't see you, " said Cap'n Bill. "So thequestion is, what's to be done?"

"We ought to get home, " observed the boy. "Our folks will worry aboutus, and Earth's the best place to live, after all. If we could only gethold of my Magic Umbrella, we'd be all right. "

 "The rose is red, the violet's blue, But the umbrel's stolen by the Boolooroo!"

screamed the parrot. 

"That's it, " said Cap'n Bill. "The Boolooroo's got the umbrel, an' thatsettles the question. "

"Tell me, " said Rosalie, "If you had your Magic Umbrella, could you flyhome again in safety?"

"Of course we could, " replied Button-Bright. 

"And would you prefer to go home to remaining here?"

"We would indeed!"

"Then why do you not get the umbrella?"

"How?" asked Trot eagerly. 

"You must go into the Blue Country and force the Boolooroo to give upyour property. "

"Through the Fog Bank?" asked Cap'n Bill doubtfully. 

"And let the Boolooroo capture us again?" demanded Button-Bright with ashiver. 

"An' have to wait on the Snubnoses instead of bein' a Queen?" said Trot. 

"You must remember that conditions have changed, and you are now apowerful Ruler, " replied Rosalie. "The Pinkies are really a greatnation, and they are pledged to obey your commands. Why not assemble anarmy, march through the Fog Bank, fight and conquer the Boolooroo andrecapture the Magic Umbrella?"

"Hooray!" shouted Cap'n Bill, pounding his wooden leg on the floor. "That's the proper talk! Let's do it, Queen Trot. "

"It doesn't seem like a bad idea, " added Button-Bright. 

"Do you think the Pinkies would fight the Blueskins?" asked Trot. 

"Why not?" replied the sailorman. "They have sharp sticks an' know howto use 'em, whereas the Blueskins have only them windin'-up cords withweights on the ends. "

"The Blueskins are the biggest people, " said the girl. 

"But they're cowards, I'm sure, " declared the boy. 

"Anyhow, " the sailor remarked, "that's our only hope of ever gett'n'home again. I'd like to try it, Trot. "

"If you decide on this adventure, " said Rosalie, "I believe I can be ofmuch assistance to you. "

"That'll help, " asserted Cap'n Bill. 

"And we've one good friend among the Blueskins, " said Button-Bright. "I'm sure Ghip-Ghisizzle will side with us, and I've got the RoyalRecord Book, which proves that the Boolooroo has already reigned hislawful three hundred years. "

"Does the book say that?" inquired Trot with interest. 

"Yes, I've been reading it. "

"Then Sizzle'll be the new Boolooroo, " said the girl, "an' p'raps wewon't have to fight, after all. "

"We'd better go prepared, though, " advised Cap'n Bill, "fer that awfulol' Boolooroo won't give up without a struggle. When shall we start?"

Trot hesitated, so they all looked to Rosalie for advice. "Just as soonas we can get the army together and ready, " decided the Witch. "Thatwill not take long. Perhaps two or three days. "

"Good!" cried Cap'n Bill, and the parrot screamed, "Here's a lovely how-d'y'-do-- We're going to fight the Boolooroo! We'll get the Six Snubnoses, too, And make 'em all feel mighty blue. "

"Either that or the other thing, " said Trot. "Anyhow, we're in for it. "

THE WAR OF THE PINKS AND BLUES

CHAPTER 19

Much to the surprise of the Earth people, the Pinkies made no objectionwhatever to undertaking the adventure. Their lives were so monotonousand uninteresting that they welcomed anything in the way of excitement. This march through the unknown Fog Bank to fight the unknown Blueskinsaroused them to enthusiasm, and although the result of the expeditioncould not be foretold and some of them were almost certain to get hurt, they did not hesitate to undertake the war. 

It appeared that Coralie was Captain of the Sunset Tribe and a mannamed Tintint the Captain of the Sunrise Tribe. Tintint had a very pinkskin and eyes so faded in their pink color that he squinted badly inorder to see anything around him. He was a fat and pompous littlefellow and loved to strut up and down his line of warriors twirling hislong, pointed stick so that all might admire him. 

By Rosalie's advice the Army of Conquest consisted of one hundredSunsets and one hundred Sunrises. Many more were eager to go, but theWitch thought that would be enough. The warriors consisted of both menand women, equally divided, and there was no need to provide uniformsfor them because their regular pink clothing was a distinctive uniformin itself. Each one bore a long, pointed stick as the main weapon andhad two short, pointed sticks stuck in his belt. 

While the army was getting ready, Rosalie the Witch went to the centraledge of the Fog Bank and fearlessly entered it. There she called forthe King of the Giant Frogs, who came at her bidding, and the two heldan earnest and long talk together. Meantime, Cap'n Bill had the armyassembled in the Court of the Statues, where Queen Mayre appeared andtold the Pinkies that the sailorman was to be Commander in Chief of theExpedition and all must obey his commands. Then Cap'n Bill addressedthe army and told them what the Fog Bank was like. He advised them allto wear their raincoats over their pretty pink clothes so they wouldnot get wet, and he assured them that all the creatures to be met within the Fog were perfectly harmless. 

"When we come to the Blue Country, though, " he added, "you're liable tobe pretty busy. The Blueskins are tall an' lanky, an' ugly an' fierce, an' if they happen to capture you, you'll all be patched, which is adeep disgrace an' a uncomfortable mix-up. "

"Will they throw us over the edge?" asked Captain Tintint. 

"I don't think so, " replied Cap'n Bill. "While I was there I neverheard the edge mentioned. They're cruel enough to do that--'speciallythe Boolooroo--but I guess they've never thought o' throwin' folks overthe edge. They fight with long cords that have weights on the ends, which coil 'round you an' make you helpless in a jiffy; so wheneverthey throw them cords you mus' ward 'em off with your long sticks. Don't let 'em wind around your bodies, or you're done for. "

He told them other things about the Blueskins, so they would not befrightened when they faced the enemy and found them so different inappearance from themselves, and also he assured them that the Pinkieswere so much the braver and better armed that he had no doubt theywould easily conquer. 

On the third day, just at sunrise, the army moved forward to the FogBank, headed by Cap'n Bill, clad in an embroidered pink coat with wide, flowing pink trousers, and accompanied by Trot and Button-Bright andRosalie the Witch, all bundled up in their pink raincoats. The parrotwas there, too, as the bird refused to be left behind. 

They had not advanced far into the deep fog when they were halted by aqueer barrier consisting of a long line of gigantic frogs, crouching soclose together that no Pinkie could squeeze between them. As the headsof the frogs were turned the other way, toward the Blue Country, thearmy could not at first imagine what the barrier was. But Rosalie saidto them, "Our friends the frogs have agreed to help us through the FogBank. Climb upon their backs, as many on each frog as are able to holdon, and then we shall make the journey more quickly. " Obeying thisinjunction, the Pinkies began climbing upon the frogs, and by crowdingclose together, all were able to find places. On the back of the KingFrog rode Trot and her parrot, besides Rosalie, Button-Bright, Cap'nBill and the captains of the two companies of the army. 

When all were seated, clinging to one another so they would not slideoff, Cap'n Bill gave the word of command and away leaped the frogs, alltogether. They bounded a long distance at this jump--some farther thanothers--and as soon as they landed they jumped again, without givingtheir passengers a chance to get their breaths. It was a bewilderingand exciting ride, but a dozen of the huge jumps accomplished thejourney, and at the edge of the Fog Bank each frog stopped so suddenlythat the Pinkies went flying over their heads to tumble into the bluefields of the Blue Country, where they rolled in a confused mass untilthey could recover and scramble to their feet. No one was hurt, however, and the King Frog had been wise enough to treat his passengersmore gently by slowing down at the edge and allowing his riders to slipto the ground very comfortably. 

Cap'n Bill at once formed his army into line of battle and had them allremove the cumbersome raincoats, which they piled in a heap at the edgeof the Fog Bank. It was a splendid array of warriors, and from wherethey stood they could discover several Blueskins rushing in a panictoward the Blue City as fast as their long, blue legs could carry them. 

"Well, they know we're here, anyhow, " said Cap'n Bill, "and instead ofwaitin' to see what'll they do, I guess we'll jus' march on the Cityan' ask 'em to please surrender. "

GHIP-GHISIZZLE HAS A BAD TIME

CHAPTER 20

The Boolooroo was quite busy at the time the Pinkies invaded hiscountry. He had discovered the loss of the Book of Records, and afterbeing frightened 'most to death at the prospect of his fraud on thepeople's being made public, he decided to act boldly and hold hisposition as Boolooroo at any cost. 

Since Ghip-Ghisizzle was to be the next Boolooroo, the king suspectedhim first of all, so he had the Majordomo bound with cords and broughtbefore him, when he accused him of stealing the Book of Records. Ofcourse, Ghip-Ghisizzle denied taking the Book, but he became almost asnervous at its loss as had the Boolooroo. He secretly believed thatButton-Bright had taken the Book from the Treasure Chamber, and if thiswere true it might prove as great a misfortune as if the king had keptit locked up. For Button-Bright had escaped into the Fog Bank, andGhip-Ghisizzle was afraid the boy would never again be seen in the BlueCountry. 

He did not tell the Boolooroo of this suspicion, because in that casethe king would realize he was secure and that his deception could neverbe proved against him. The Majordomo simply denied taking the RecordBook, and the Boolooroo did not believe he spoke truly. To prevent hisrival from ever becoming the Ruler of the Blue Country, the Boolooroodetermined to have him patched, but for some time he could find noother Blueskin to patch him with. No one had disobeyed a command ordone anything wrong, so the king was in a quandary until he discoveredthat a servant named Tiggle had mixed the royal nectar for Cap'n Bill, who had been ordered to do it at the time of his capture. This wassufficient excuse for the Boolooroo, who at once had Tiggle made aprisoner and brought before him. 

This servant was not so long-legged as Ghip-Ghisizzle, and his head wasthicker and his nose flatter. But that pleased the Boolooroo all themore. He realized that when the great knife had sliced the prisoners intwo and their halves were patched together, they would present aridiculous sight and all the Blueskins would laugh at them and avoidthem. So on the very morning that the Pinkies arrived, the Boolooroohad ordered his two prisoners brought into the room of the palace wherethe Great Knife stood, and his soldiers were getting ready to performthe operation of patching Ghip-Ghisizzle with Tingle when a messengercame running to say that a great army of the Pinkies had broken throughthe Fog Bank. 

"Never mind, " said the Boolooroo, "I'll attend to them in a minute. I'mbusy now. "

"They are marching on the City, " said the frightened messenger. "If youdelay, Most High and Mighty One, we shall all be captured. You'd bettersave your City first and do your patching afterward. "

"What!" roared the Boolooroo. "Dare you dictate to me?" But he wasimpressed by the man's logic. After locking the prisoners, who werestill bound, in the Room of the Great Knife, the Ruler hurried away toassemble his soldiers. By this time the Pinkies had advanced halfway tothe walls of the City, so the first thing the Boolooroo did was toorder all the gates closed and locked, and then he placed a line ofsoldiers on the wall to prevent any of the Pinkies from climbing over. Therefore, when Cap'n Bill's army reached the wall, he was obliged tohalt his ranks until he could find a way to enter the City. 

Now when the Boolooroo looked through the blue-steel bars of the maingate and saw the enemy armed with sharp-pointed sticks, he began totremble; and when he thought how painful it would be to have his bodyand arms and legs prodded and pricked by such weapons, he groaned aloudand was very miserable. But the thought occurred to him that if hecould avoid being caught by the Pinkies, they would be unable to harmhim. So he went among his people and reminded them how horrible itwould feel to be punched full of holes by the invaders and urged themto fight desperately and drive the Pinkies back into the Fog Bank. 

Only a few of the Blueskins were soldiers, and these all belonged tothe King's bodyguard, but the citizens realized that they must indeedfight bravely to save themselves from getting hurt, so they promisedthe Boolooroo to do all they could. They armed themselves with longcords having weights fastened to the ends and practiced throwing theseweights in such a manner that the cords would wind around theirenemies. Also, they assembled in the streets in small groups and toldeach other in frightened whispers that all their trouble was due to theBoolooroo's cruel treatment of the Earth people. If he had receivedthem as friends instead of making them slaves, they would never haveescaped to the Pinkies and brought an army into the Blue Country thatthey might be revenged. The Blueskins had not liked their Boolooroobefore this, and now they began to hate him, forgetting they had alsotreated the strangers in a very disagreeable manner. 

Meantime, the Six Snubnosed Princesses had seen from their rooms in atower of the palace the army of the Pinkies marching upon them, and thesight had served to excite them greatly. They had been quarrelingbitterly among themselves all morning, and strangely enough thisquarrel was all about which of them should marry Ghip-Ghisizzle. Theyknew that some day the Majordomo would become Boolooroo, and each oneof the six had determined to marry him so as to be Queen and thus forceher sisters to obey her commands. They paid no attention to the factthat Ghip-Ghisizzle did not want to marry any of them, for they haddetermined that when it was agreed who should have him, they would asktheir father to force the man to marry. 

While they quarreled in one room of the palace, Ghip-Ghisizzle was indanger of being patched in another room; but the Six SnubnosedPrincesses did not know that. The arrival of the Pinkies gave themsomething new to talk about, so they hurried downstairs and along thecorridors so as to gain the courtyard and take part in the excitingscenes. But as they passed the closed doors of the Room of the GreatKnife, they heard a low moan and stopped to listen. The moan wasrepeated, and being curious, they unlocked the door--the key havingbeen left on the outside--and entered the room. 

At once, the Pinkies were forgotten, for there upon the floor, tightlybound, lay Ghip-Ghisizzle, and beside him poor Tiggle, who had utteredthe moans. 

The six Princesses sat down in a circle facing the captives, andCerulia said, "Ghip, my dear, we will release you on one condition:That you choose a wife from among us and promise to marry the oneselected as soon as the Pinkies are driven back into the Fog Bank. "

Ghip-Ghisizzle managed to shake his head. Then he said, "Really, ladies, you must excuse me. I'd rather be patched than mismatched, as Iwould be with a lovely, snub-nosed wife. You are too beautiful for me;go seek your husbands elsewhere. "

"Monster!" cried Indigo. "If you choose me, I'll scratch your eyes out!"

"If you choose me, " said Cobalt in a rage, "I'll tear out your hair bythe roots!"

"If I am to be your wife, " screamed Azure, "I'll mark your obstinateface with my fingernails!"

"And I, " said Turquoise passionately, "will pound your head with abroomstick!"

"I'll shake him till his teeth rattle!" shrieked Sapphire. 

"The best way to manage a husband, " observed Cerulia angrily, "is topull his nose. "

"Ladies, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle when he had a chance to speak, "do notanticipate these pleasures, I beg of you, for I shall choose none amongyou for a wife. "

"We'll see about that, " said Indigo. 

"I think you will soon change your mind, " added Azure. 

"I'm going to be patched to Tingle, here, as soon as the Booloorooreturns, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle, "and it's against the law for a patchedman to marry anyone. It's regarded as half-bigamy. "

"Dear me!" cried Cerulia. "If he's patched, he never can be Boolooroo. "

"Then he musn't be patched, " declared Sapphire. "We must save him fromthat fate, girls, and force him to decide among us. Otherwise, none ofus can ever be the Queen. "

This being evident, they proceeded to unbind the long legs ofGhip-Ghisizzle, leaving his body and arms, however, tied fast together. Then between them they got him upon his feet and led him away, payingno attention to poor Tiggle, who whined to be released so he couldfight in the war. After a hurried consultation, the Six SnubnosedPrincesses decided to hide the Majordomo in one of their boudoirs, sothey dragged him up the stairs to their reception room and fell toquarreling as to whose boudoir should be occupied by their captive. Notbeing able to settle the question, they finally locked him up in avacant room across the hall and told him he must stay there until hehad decided to marry one of the Princesses and could make a choiceamong them. 

THE CAPTURE OF CAP'N BILL

CHAPTER 21

While this was transpiring in the palace, Cap'n Bill and the Pinkieshad encamped before the principal gate of the City and a tent had beenpitched for Trot and Button-Bright and Rosalie. The army had been veryfearful and weak-kneed when it first entered the Blue Country, butperceiving that the Boolooroo and his people were afraid of them andhad locked themselves up in the City, the Pinkies grew bolder andlonged to make an attack. 

One of them, in his curiosity to examine the Blue City, got a littletoo near the wall, and a blue soldier threw his cord-and-weight at him. The cord didn't wind around the Pinkie, as he was too far off, but theweight hit him in the eye and made him howl lustily as he trotted backto this comrades at full speed. After this experience, the invaderswere careful to keep a safe distance from the wall. 

The Boolooroo, having made all preparations to receive the enemy, wasannoyed because they held back. He was himself so nervous and excitedthat he became desperate, and after an hour of tedious waiting, duringwhich time he pranced around impatiently, he decided to attack thehated Pinkies and rid the country of them. 

"Their dreadful color makes me hysterical, " he said to his soldiers, "so if I am to have any peace of mind, we must charge the foe and drivethem back into the Fog Bank. But take all the prisoners you can, mybrave men, and tomorrow we will have a jolly time patching them. Don'tbe afraid; those pink creatures have no blue blood in their veins, andthey'll run like rabbits when they see us coming. "

Then he ordered the gate thrown open, and immediately the Blueskinspoured out into the open plain and began to run toward the Pinkies. TheBoolooroo went out, too, but he kept well behind his people, remembering the sharp sticks with which the enemy were armed. 

Cap'n Bill was alert and had told his army what to do in case of anattack. The Pinkies did not run like rabbits, but formed a solid lineand knelt down with their long, sharp sticks pointed directly towardthe Blueskins, the other ends being set firmly upon the ground. Ofcourse, the Blueskins couldn't run against these sharp points, so theyhalted a few feet away and began swinging their cord-and-weights. Butthe Pinkies were too close together to be caught in this manner, andnow by command of Cap'n Bill they suddenly rose to their feet and beganjabbing their sticks at the foe. The Blueskins hesitated until a fewgot pricked and began to yell with terror, when the whole of theBoolooroo's attacking party turned around and ran back to the gate, their Ruler reaching it first of all. The Pinkies tried to chase them, but their round, fat legs were no match for the long, thin legs of theBlueskins, who quickly gained the gate and shut themselves up in theCity again. 

"It is evident, " panted the Boolooroo, facing his defeated soldierswrathfully, "that you are a pack of cowards!"

"But we followed your own royal example in running, " replied theCaptain. 

"I merely ran back to the City to get a drink of water, for I wasthirsty, " declared the Boolooroo. 

"So did we! So did we!" cried the soldiers eagerly. "We were allthirsty. "

"Your High and Mighty Spry and Flighty Majesty, " remarked the Captainrespectfully, "it occurs to me that the weapons of the Pinkies aresuperior to our own. What we need in order to oppose them successfullyis a number of sharp sticks which are longer than their own. "

"True, true!" exclaimed the Boolooroo enthusiastically. "Get to work atonce and make yourselves long, sharp sticks, and then we will attackthe enemy again. "

So the soldiers and citizens all set to work preparing long, sharpsticks, and while they were doing this, Rosalie the Witch had a visionin which she saw exactly what was going on inside the City wall. QueenTrot and Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright saw the vision, too, for theywere all in the tent together, and the sight made them anxious. 

"What can be done?" asked the girl. "The Blueskins are bigger andstronger than the Pinkies, and if they have sharp sticks which arelonger than ours, they will surely defeat us. "

"I have one magic charm, " said Rosalie thoughtfully, "that will saveour army; but I am allowed to work only one magic charm every threedays--not oftener--and perhaps I'll need the magic for other things. "

"Strikes me, ma'am, " returned the sailor, "that what we need most onthis expedition is to capture the Blueskins. If we don't, we'll needplenty of magic to help us back to the Pink Country; but if we do, wecan take care of ourselves without magic. "

"Very well, " replied Rosalie. "I will take your advice, Cap'n, andenchant the weapons of the Pinkies. " She then went out and had all thePinkies come before her, one by one, and she enchanted their sharpsticks by muttering some cabalistic words and making queer passes withher hands over the weapons. "Now, " she said to them, "you will bepowerful enough to defeat the Blueskins whatever they may do. " ThePinkies were overjoyed at this promise, and it made them very braveindeed, since they now believed they would surely be victorious. 

When the Boolooroo's people were armed with long, thin, lances ofbluewood all sharpened to fine points at one end, they prepared tomarch once more against the invaders. Their sticks were twice as longas those of the Pinkies, and the Boolooroo chuckled with glee to thinkwhat fun they would have in punching holes in the round, fat bodies ofhis enemies. 

Out from the gate they marched very boldly and pressed on to attack thePinkies, who were drawn up in line of battle to receive them, withCap'n Bill at their head. When the opposing forces came together, however, and the Blueskins pushed their points against the Pinkies, theweapons which had been enchanted by Rosalie began to whirl in swiftcircles--so swift that the eye could scarcely follow the motion. Theresult was that the lances of the Boolooroo's people could not touchthe Pinkies, but were thrust aside with violence and either broken intwo or sent hurling through the air in all directions. Findingthemselves so suddenly disarmed, the amazed Blueskins turned about andran again, while Cap'n Bill, greatly excited by his victory, shouted tohis followers to pursue the enemy, and hobbled after them as fast as hecould make his wooden leg go, swinging his sharp stick as he advanced. 

The Blues were in such a frightened, confused mass that they got in oneanother's way and could not make very good progress on the retreat, sothe old sailor soon caught up with them and began jabbing at the crowdwith his stick. Unfortunately, the Pinkies had not followed theircommander, being for the moment dazed by their success, so that Cap'nBill was all alone among the Blueskins when he stepped his wooden leginto a hole in the ground and tumbled full length, his sharp stickflying from his hand and pricking the Boolooroo in the leg as it fell. 

At this, the Ruler of the Blues stopped short in his flight to yellwith terror, but seeing that only the sailorman was pursuing them andthat this solitary foe had tumbled flat upon the ground, he issued acommand and several of his people fell upon poor Cap'n Bill, seized himin their long arms, and carried him struggling into the City, where hewas fast bound. 

Then a panic fell upon the Pinkies at the loss of their leader, andTrot and Button-Bright called out in vain for them to rescue Cap'nBill. By the time the army recovered their wits and prepared to obey, it was too late. And although Trot ran with them in her eagerness tosave her friend, the gate was found to be fast barred, and she knew itwas impossible for them to force an entrance into the City. 

So she went sorrowfully back to the camp, followed by the Pinkies, andasked Rosalie what could be done. 

"I'm sure I do not know, " replied the Witch. "I cannot use anothermagic charm until three days have expired, but if they do not harmCap'n Bill during that time, I believe I can then find a way to savehim. "

"Three days is a long time, " remarked Trot dismally. 

"The Boolooroo may decide to patch him at once, " added Button-Brightwith equal sadness, for he, too, mourned the sailor's loss. 

"It can't be helped, " replied Rosalie. "I am not a fairy, my dears, butmerely a witch, and so my magic powers are limited. We can only hopethat the Boolooroo won't patch Cap'n Bill for three days. "

When night settled down upon the camp of the Pinkies, where many tentshad now been pitched, all the invaders were filled with gloom. The bandtried to enliven them by playing the "Dead March, " but it was not asuccess. The Pinkies were despondent in spite of the fact that they hadrepulsed the attack of the Blues, for as yet they had not succeeded ingaining the City or finding the Magic Umbrella, and the blue dusk ofthis dread country--which was so different from their own land ofsunsets--made them all very nervous. They saw the moon rise for thefirst time in their lives, and its cold, silvery radiance made themshudder and prevented them from going to sleep. Trot tried to interestthem by telling them that on the Earth the people had both the sun andthe moon and loved them both; but nevertheless it is certain that hadnot the terrible Fog Bank stood between them and the Pink Land, most ofthe invading army would have promptly deserted and gone back home. 

Trot couldn't sleep, either, she was so worried over Cap'n Bill. Shewent back to the tent where Rosalie and Button-Bright were sitting inthe moonlight and asked the Witch if there was no way in which shecould secretly get into the City of the Blues and search for herfriend. Rosalie thought it over for some time and then replied:

"We can make a rope ladder that will enable you to climb to the top ofthe wall and descend into the City. But if anyone should see you, youwould be captured. "

"I'll risk that, " said the child, excited at the prospect of gainingthe side of Cap'n Bill in this adventurous way. "Please make the ropeladder at once, Rosalie!"

So the Witch took some ropes and knotted together a ladder long enoughto reach the top of the wall. When it was finished, the three--Rosalie, Trot and Button-Bright--stole out into the moonlight and creptunobserved into the shadow of the wall. The Blueskins were not keepinga very close watch, as they were confident the Pinkies could not getinto the City. 

The hardest part of Rosalie's task was to toss up one end of the ropeladder until it would catch on some projection on top of the wall. There were few such projections, but after creeping along the wall fora distance, they saw the end of a broken flagstaff near the top edge. The Witch tossed up the ladder, trying to catch it upon this point, andon the seventh attempt she succeeded. 

"Good!" cried Trot. "Now I can climb up. "

"Don't you want me to go with you?" asked Button-Bright a littlewistfully. 

"No, " said the girl. "You must stay to lead the army. And if you canthink of a way, you must try to rescue us. Perhaps I'll be able to saveCap'n Bill by myself; but if I don't, it's all up to you, Button-Bright. "

"I'll do my best, " he promised. 

"And here, keep my polly till I come back, " added Trot, giving him thebird. "I can't take it with me, for it would be a bother, an' if ittried to spout po'try, I'd be discovered in a jiffy. "

As the beautiful Witch kissed the little girl goodbye, she slipped uponher finger a curious ring. At once, Button-Bright exclaimed, "Why, where has she gone?"

"I'm right here, " said Trot's voice by his side. "Can't you see me?"

"No, " replied the boy, mystified. 

Rosalie laughed. "It's a magic ring I've loaned you, my dear, " saidshe, "and as long as you wear it, you will be invisible to all eyes, those of Blueskins and Pinkies alike. I'm going to let you wear thiswonderful ring, for it will save you from being discovered by yourenemies. If at any time you wish to be seen, take the ring from yourfinger; but as long as you wear it, no one can see you, not even Earthpeople. "

"Oh, thank you!" cried Trot. "That will be fine. "

"I see you have another ring on your hand, " said Rosalie, "and Iperceive it is enchanted in some way. Where did you get it?"

"The Queen of the Mermaids gave it to me, " answered Trot. "But SkyIsland is so far away from the sea that the ring won't do me any goodwhile I'm here. It's only to call the mermaids to me if I need them, and they can't swim in the sky, you see. "

Rosalie smiled and kissed her again. "Be brave, my dear, " she said, "and I am sure you will be able to find Cap'n Bill without getting indanger yourself. But be careful not to let any Blueskin touch you, forwhile you are in contact with any person you will become visible. Keepout of their way, and you will be perfectly safe. Don't lose the ring, for you must give it back to me when you return. It is one of mywitchcraft treasures, and I need it in my business. "

The Trot climbed the ladder, although neither Button-Bright nor Rosaliecould see her do so, and when she was on top the broad wall she pulledup the knotted ropes and began to search for a place to let it down onthe other side. A little way off she found a bluestone seat near to theinner edge, and attaching the ladder to this, she easily descended itand found herself in the Blue City. A guard was pacing up and down nearher, but as he could not see the girl, he of course paid no attentionto her. So after marking the place where the ladder hung that she mightknow how to reach it again, Trot hurried away through the streets ofthe city. 

TROT'S INVISIBLE ADVENTURE

CHAPTER 22

All the Blueskins except a few soldiers had gone to bed and were soundasleep. A blue gloom hung over the city, which was scarcely relieved bya few bluish, wavering lights here and there, but Trot knew the generaldirection in which the palace lay, and she decided to go there first. She believed the Boolooroo would surely keep so important a prisoner asCap'n Bill locked up in his own palace. 

Once or twice the little girl lost her way, for the streets were verypuzzling to one not accustomed to them, but finally she sighted thegreat palace and went up to the entrance. There she found a doubleguard posted. They were sitting on a bench outside the doorway, andboth stood up as she approached. 

"We thought we heard footsteps, " said one. 

"So did we, " replied the other, "yet there is no one in sight. "

Trot then saw that the guards were the two patched men, JimfredJonesjinks and Fredjim Jinksjones, who had been talking together quitecheerfully. It was the first time the girl had seen them together, andshe marveled at the queer patching that had been so strongly unitedhere, yet so thoroughly separated them. 

"You see, " remarked Jimfred as they seated themselves again upon thebench, "The Boolooroo has ordered the patching to take place tomorrowmorning after breakfast. The old Earth man is to be patched to poorTiggle instead of Ghip-Ghisizzle, who has in some way managed to escapefrom the Room of the Great Knife--no one knows how but Tiggle, andTiggle won't tell. "

"We're sorry for anyone who has to be patched, " replied Fredjim in areflective tone, "for although it didn't hurt us as much as weexpected, it's a terrible mix-up to be in until we become used to ourstrange combination. You and we are about alike, now, Jimfred, althoughwe were so different before. "

"Not so, " said Jimfred. "We are really more intelligent than you are, for the left side of our brain was always the keenest before we werepatched. "

"That may be, " admitted Fredjim, "but we are much the strongest, because our right arm was by far the best before we were patched. "

"We are not sure of that, " responded Jimfred, "for we have a right arm, too, and it is pretty strong. "

"We will test it, " suggested the other, "by all pulling upon one end ofthis bench with our right arms. Whichever can pull the bench from theothers must be the strongest. "

While they were tussling at the bench, dragging it first here and thenthere in the trial of strength, Trot opened the door of the palace andwalked in. It was pretty dark in the hall, and only a few dim bluelights showed at intervals down the long corridors. As the girl walkedthrough these passages, she could hear snores of various degrees comingfrom behind some of the closed doors and knew that all the regularinmates of the place were sound asleep. So she mounted to the upperfloor, and thinking she would be likely to find Cap'n Bill in the Roomof the Great Knife, she went there and tried the door. It was locked, but the key had been left on the outside. She waited until the sentrywho was pacing the corridor had his back toward her, and then sheturned the key and slipped within, softly closing the door behind her. 

It was pitch dark in the room, and Trot didn't know how to make alight. After a moment's thought she began feeling her way to thewindow, stumbling over objects as she went. Every time she made anoise, someone groaned, and that made the child uneasy. At last shefound a window and managed to open the shutters and let the moonlightin. It wasn't a very strong moonlight, but it enabled her to examinethe interior of the room. In the center stood the Great Knife, whichthe Boolooroo used to split people in two when he patched them, and atone side was a dark form huddled upon the floor and securely bound. 

Trot hastened to this form and knelt beside it, but was disappointed tofind it was only Tiggle. The man stirred a little and rolled againstTrot's knee, when she at once became visible to him. "Oh, it's theEarth child, " said he. "Are you condemned to be patched, too, littleone?"

"No, " answered Trot. "Tell me where Cap'n Bill is. "

"I can't, " said Tiggle. "The Boolooroo has hidden him until tomorrowmorning, when he's to be patched to me. Ghip-Ghisizzle was to have beenmy mate, but Ghip escaped, being carried away by the Six SnubnosedPrincesses. "

"Why?" she asked. 

"One of them means to marry him, " explained Tiggle. 

"Oh, that's worse than being patched!" cried Trot. 

"Much worse, " said Tiggle with a groan. 

But now an idea occurred to the girl. "Would you like to escape?" sheasked the captive. "If I get you out of the palace, can you hideyourself so that you won't be found?"

"Certainly!" he declared. "I know a house where I can hide so snuglythat all the Boolooroo's soldiers cannot find me. "

"All right, " said Trot. "I'll do it, for when you're gone, theBoolooroo will have no one to patch Cap'n Bill to. "

"He may find someone else, " suggested the prisoner. 

"But it will take him time to do that, and time is all I want, "answered the child. Even while she spoke, Trot was busy with the knotsin the cords, and presently she had unbound Tiggle, who soon got uponhis feet. "Now I'll go to one end of the passage and make a noise, "said she, "and when the guard runs to see what it is, you must run theother way. Outside the palace, Jimfred and Fredjim are on guard, but ifyou tip over the bench they are seated on, you can easily escape them. "

"I'll do that, all right, " promised the delighted Tiggle. "You've madea friend of me, little girl, and if ever I can help you, I'll do itwith pleasure. "

Then Trot started for the door, and Tiggle could no longer see herbecause she was not now touching him. The man was much surprised at herdisappearance, but listened carefully, and when he heard the girl makea noise at one end of the corridor, he opened the door and ran in theopposite direction as he had been told to do. 

Of course, the guard could not discover what made the noise, and Trotran little risk, as she was careful not to let him touch her. WhenTiggle had escaped, the little girl wandered through the palace insearch of Cap'n Bill, but soon decided such a quest in the dark waslikely to fail and she must wait until morning. She was tired, too, andthought she would find a vacant room--of which there were many in thebig palace--and go to sleep until daylight. She remembered there was acomfortable vacant room just opposite the suite of the Six SnubnosedPrincesses, so she stole softly up to it and tried the door. It waslocked, but the key was outside, as the Blueskins seldom took a doorkey from its place. So she turned the key, opened the door, and walkedin. 

Now this was the chamber in which Ghip-Ghisizzle had been confined bythe Princesses, his arms being bound tight to his body, but his legsleft free. The Boolooroo in his search had failed to discover what hadbecome of Ghip Ghisizzle, but the poor man had been worried everyminute for fear his retreat would be discovered or that the terriblePrincesses would come for him and nag him until he went crazy. Therewas one window in his room, and the prisoner had managed to push openthe sash with his knees. Looking out, he found that a few feet belowthe window was the broad wall that ran all around the palace gardens. Alittle way to the right the wall joined the wall of the City, being onthe same level with it. 

Ghip-Ghisizzle had been thinking deeply upon this discovery, and hedecided that if anyone entered his room, he would get through thewindow, leap down upon the wall, and try in this way to escape. Itwould be a dangerous leap, for as his arms were bound, he might toppleoff the wall into the garden; but he resolved to take this chance. Therefore, when Trot rattled at the door of his room, Ghip-Ghisizzleran and seated himself upon the window sill, dangling his long legsover the edge. When she finally opened the door, he slipped off and lethimself fall to the wall, where he doubled up in a heap. The nextminute, however, he had scrambled to his knees and was running swiftlyalong the garden wall. 

Trot, finding the window open, came and looked out, and she saw theMajordomo's tall form hastening along the top of the wall. The guardssaw him, too, outlined against the sky in the moonlight, and they beganyelling at him to stop, but Ghip-Ghisizzle kept right on until hereached the city Wall, when he began to follow that. More guards wereyelling now, running along the foot of the wall to keep the fugitive insight, and people began to pour out of the houses and join in the chase. 

Poor Ghip realized that if he kept on the wall, he would merely circlethe city and finally be caught. If he leaped down into the City, hewould be seized at once. Just then he came opposite the camp of thePinkies and decided to trust himself to the mercies of his Earthfriends rather than be made a prisoner by his own people, who wouldobey the commands of their detested but greatly feared Boolooroo. Sosuddenly he gave a mighty leap and came down into the field outside thecity. Again he fell in a heap and rolled over and over, for it was ahigh wall and the jump a dangerous one; but finally he recovered andgot upon his feet, delighted to find he had broken none of his bones. 

Some of the Blueskins had by now opened a gate, and out rushed a crowdto capture the fugitive; but Ghip-Ghisizzle made straight for the campof the Pinkies, and his pursuers did not dare follow him far in thatdirection. They soon gave up the chase and returned to the City, whilethe runaway Majordomo was captured by Captain Coralie and marched awayto the tent of Rosalie the Witch, a prisoner of the Pinkies. 

THE GIRL AND THE BOOLOOROO

CHAPTER 23

Trot watched from the window the escape of Ghip-Ghisizzle but did notknow, of course, who it was. Then, after the City had quieted downagain, she lay upon the bed without undressing and was sound asleep ina minute. 

The blue dawn was just breaking when she opened her eyes with a startof fear that she might have overslept, but soon she found that no oneelse in the palace was yet astir. Even the guards had gone to sleep bythis time and were adding their snores to the snores of the otherinhabitants of the Royal Palace. So the little girl got up and, findinga ewer of water and a basin upon the dresser, washed herself carefullyand then looked in a big mirror to see how her hair was. To herastonishment, there was no reflection at all; the mirror was blank sofar as Trot was concerned. She laughed a little at that, rememberingshe wore the ring of Rosalie the Witch, which rendered her invisible. Then she slipped quietly out of the room and found it was already lightenough in the corridors for her to see all objects distinctly. 

After hesitating a moment which way to turn, she decided to visit theSnubnosed Princesses and passed through the big reception room to thesleeping room of Indigo. There this Princess, the crossest and mostdisagreeable of all the disagreeable six, was curled up in bed andslumbering cozily. The little blue dog came trotting out of Indigo'sboudoir and crowed like a rooster, for although he could not see Trot, his keen little nose scented her presence. Thinking it time thePrincess awoke, Trot leaned over and gave her snub nose a good tweak, and at once Indigo sprang out of her bed and rushed into the chamber ofCobalt, which adjoined her own. Thinking it was this sister who hadslyly attacked her, Indigo rushed at the sleeping Cobalt and slappedher face. 

At once there was war. The other four Princesses, hearing the screamsand cries of rage, came running into Cobalt's room, and as fast as theyappeared, Trot threw pillows at them, so that presently all six wereindulging in a free-for-all battle and snarling like tigers. The bluelamb came trotting into the room, and Trot leaned over and patted thepretty little animal, but as she did so, she became visible for aninstant, each pat destroying the charm of the ring while the girl wasin contact with a living creature. These flashes permitted some of thePrincesses to see her, and at once they rushed toward her with furiouscries. But the girl realized what had happened, and leaving the lamb, she stepped back into a corner and her frenzied enemies failed to findher. It was a little dangerous, though, remaining in a room where sixgirls were feeling all around for her, so she went away and left themto their vain search while she renewed her hunt for Cap'n Bill. 

The sailorman did not seem to be in any of the rooms she entered, soshe decided to visit the Boolooroo's own apartments. In the room whereRosalie's vision had shown them the Magic Umbrella lying under acabinet, Trot attempted to find it, for she considered that next torescuing Cap'n Bill this was the most important task to accomplish; butthe umbrella had been taken away and was no longer beneath the cabinet. This was a severe disappointment to the child, but she reflected thatthe umbrella was surely someplace in the Blue city, so there was noneed to despair. 

Finally, she entered the King's own sleeping chamber and found theBoolooroo in bed and asleep, with a funny nightcap tied over hisegg-shaped head. As Trot looked at him, she was surprised to see thathe had one foot out of bed and that to his big toe was tied a cord thatled out of the bedchamber into a small dressing room beyond. Trotslowly followed this cord and in the dressing room came upon Cap'nBill, who was lying asleep upon a lounge and snoring with great vigor. His arms were tied to his body, and his body was tied fast to thelounge. The wooden leg stuck out into the room at an angle, and theshoe on his one foot had been removed so that the end of the cord couldbe fastened to the sailor's big toe. 

This arrangement had been a clever thought of the Boolooroo. Fearinghis important prisoner might escape before he was patched asGhip-Ghisizzle had done, the cruel King of the Blues had kept Cap'nBill in his private apartments and had tied his own big toe to theprisoner's big toe, so that if the sailor made any attempt to get away, he would pull on the cord, and that would arouse the Boolooroo. 

Trot saw through this cunning scheme at once, so the first thing shedid was to untie the cord from Cap'n Bill's big toe and retie it to theleg of the lounge. Then she unfastened her friend's hands and leanedover to give his leathery face a smacking kiss. Cap'n Bill sat up andrubbed his eyes. He looked around the room and rubbed his eyes again, seeing no one who could have kissed him. Then he discovered that hisbonds had been removed, and he rubbed his eyes once more to make surehe was not dreaming. The little girl laughed softly. 

"Trot!" exclaimed the sailor, recognizing her voice. 

Then Trot came up and took his hand, the touch at once rendering hervisible to him. "Dear me!" said the bewildered sailor. "However did youget here, mate, in the Boolooroo's own den? Is the Blue City captured?"

"Not yet, " she replied, "but YOU are, Cap'n, and I've come to save you. "

"All alone, Trot?"

"All alone, Cap'n Bill. But it's got to be done, jus' the same. " Andthen she explained about the magic ring Rosalie had lent her, whichrendered her invisible while she wore it--unless she touched someliving creature. Cap'n Bill was much interested. 

"I'm willing to be saved, mate, " he said, "for the Boolooroo is set onpatchin' me right after breakfas', which I hope the cook'll be latewith. "

"Who are you to be patched to?" she asked. 

"A feller named Tiggle, who's in disgrace 'cause he mixed the royalnecktie for me. "

"That was nectar, not necktie, " corrected Trot. "But you needn't be'fraid of bein' patched with Tiggle, 'cause I've set him loose. By thistime he's in hiding, where he can't be found. "

"That's good, " said Cap'n Bill, nodding approval, "but the blamed ol'Boolooroo's sure to find someone else. What's to be done, mate?"

Trot thought about it for a moment. Then she remembered how someunknown man had escaped from the palace the night before by means ofthe wall, which he had reached from the window of the very chamber inwhich she had slept. Cap'n Bill might easily do the same. And the ropeladder she had used would help the sailor down from the top of thewall. "Could you climb down a rope ladder, Cap'n?" she asked. 

"Like enough, " said he. "I've done it many a time on shipboard. "

"But you hadn't a wooden leg then, " she reminded him. 

"The wooden leg won't bother much, " he assured her. 

So Trot tied a small sofa cushion around the end of his wooden leg soit wouldn't make any noise pounding upon the floor, and then shequietly led the sailor through the room of the sleeping Boolooroo andthrough several other rooms until they came to the passage. Here asoldier was on guard, but he had fallen asleep for a moment in order torest himself. They passed the Blueskin without disturbing him and soonreached the chamber opposite the suite of the Six Snubnosed Princesses, whom they could hear still quarreling loudly among themselves. 

Trot locked the door from the inside so no one could disturb them, andthen led the sailor to the window. The garden was just below. 

"But good gracious me! It's a drop o' ten feet, Trot, " he exclaimed. 

"And you've only one foot to drop, Cap'n, " she said, laughing. "Couldn't you let yourself down with one of the sheets from the bed?"

"I'll try, " he rejoined. "But can YOU do that circus act, Trot?"

"Oh, I'm goin' to stay here an' find the Magic Umbrella, " she replied. "Bein' invis'ble, Cap'n, I'm safe enough. What I want to do is to seeyou safe back with the Pinkies, an' then I'll manage to hold my own allright, never fear. "

So they brought a blue sheet and tied one end to a post of the blue bedand let the other end dangle out the blue window. "Goodbye, mate, " saidCap'n Bill, preparing to descend. "Don't get reckless. "

"I won't, Cap'n. Don't worry. "

Then he grasped the sheet with both hands and easily let himself downto the wall. Trot had told him where to find the rope ladder she hadleft and how to fasten it to the broken flagstaff so he could climbdown into the field outside the City. As soon as he was safe on thewall, Cap'n Bill began to hobble along the broad top toward theconnecting wall that surrounded the entire City--just as Ghip-Ghisizzlehad done--and Trot anxiously watched him from the window. 

But the Blue City was now beginning to waken to life. One of thesoldiers came from a house, sleepily yawning and stretching himself, and presently his eyes lit upon the huge form of Cap'n Bill hasteningalong the top of the wall. The soldier gave a yell that aroused a scoreof his comrades and brought them tumbling into the street. When theysaw how the Boolooroo's precious prisoner was escaping, they instantlybecame alert and wide-awake, and every one started in pursuit along thefoot of the wall. 

Of course, the long-legged Blueskins could run faster than poor Cap'nBill. Some of them soon got ahead of the old sailorman and came to therope ladder which Trot had left dangling from the stone bench, where ithung down inside the City. The Blue soldiers promptly mounted thisladder and so gained the wall, heading off the fugitive. When Cap'nBill came up, panting and all out of breath, the Blueskins seized himand held him fast. 

Cap'n Bill was terribly disappointed at being recaptured, and so wasTrot, who had eagerly followed his every movement from her window inthe palace. The little girl would have cried with vexation, and I thinkshe did weep a few tears before she recovered her courage; but Cap'nBill was a philosopher, in his way, and had learned to accept illfortune cheerfully. Knowing he was helpless, he made no protest whenthey again bound him and carried him down the ladder like a bale ofgoods. 

Others were also disappointed by his capture. Button-Bright had heardthe parrot squawking, "Oh, there's Cap'n Bill! There's Cap'n Bill! Isee him still, up on that hill! It's Cap'n Bill!" So the boy ran out ofhis tent to find the sailor scurrying along the top of the wall as fastas he could go. At once Button-Bright aroused Coralie, who got herPinkies together and quickly marched them toward the wall to assist inthe escape of her Commander in Chief. But they were too late. Beforethey could reach the wall, the Blueskins had captured Trot's old friendand lugged him down in to the City, so Coralie and Button-Bright wereforced to return to their camp discomfited. There Ghip-Ghisizzle andRosalie were awaiting them, and they all went into the Witch's tent andheld a council of war. 

"Tell me, " said Ghip-Ghisizzle, "did you not take the Royal Record Bookfrom the Treasure Chamber of the Boolooroo?"

"I did, " replied the boy. "I remember that you wanted it, and so I havekept it with me ever since that night. Here it is. " And he presentedthe little blue book to the Majordomo, the only friend the adventurershad found among all the Blueskins. 

Ghip-Ghisizzle took the book eagerly and at once began turning over itsleaves. "Ah!" he exclaimed presently. "It is just as I suspected. Thewicked Boolooroo had already reigned over the Blue Country threehundred years last Thursday, so that now he has no right to rule atall. I myself have been the rightful Ruler of the Blues since Thursday, and yet this cruel and deceitful man has not only deprived me of myright to succeed him, but he has tried to have me patched so that Icould never become the Boolooroo. "

"Does the book tell how old he is?" asked Button-Bright. 

"Yes. He is not five hundred years old, and has yet another hundredyears to live. He planned to rule the Blue Country until the last, butI now know the deception he has practiced and have the Royal RecordBook to prove it. With this I shall be able to force him to resign thatI may take his place, for all the people will support me and abide bythe Law. The tyrant will perhaps fight me and my cause desperately, butI am sure to win in the end. "

"If we can help you, " said Button-Bright, "the whole Pink Army willfight for you. Only, if you win, you must promise to give me back myMagic Umbrella and let us fly away to our own homes again. "

"I will do that most willingly, " agreed Ghip-Ghisizzle. "And now let usconsult together how best to take the Blue City and capture theBoolooroo. As I know my own country much better than you or the Pinkiesdo, I think I can find a way to accomplish our purpose. "

THE AMAZING CONQUEST OF THE BLUES

CHAPTER 24

The shouting and excitement in the City following upon the recapture ofCap'n Bill aroused the sleeping Boolooroo. He found the cord still tiedto his big toe and at first imagined his prisoner safe in the dressingroom. While he put on his clothes, the king occasionally gave the corda sudden pull, hoping to hurt Cap'n Bill's big toe and make him yell;but as no response came to this mean action, the Boolooroo finallylooked into the room only to find he had been pulling on a leg of thecouch and that his prisoner had escaped. 

Then he flew into a mighty rage, and running out into the hall he aimeda blow at the unfaithful guard, knocking the fellow off his feet. Thenhe rushed downstairs into the courtyard, shouting loudly for hissoldiers and threatening to patch everybody in his dominions if thesailorman was not recaptured. 

While the Boolooroo stormed and raged, a band of soldiers and citizenscame marching in, surrounding Cap'n Bill, who was again firmly bound. 

"So-ho!" roared the monarch. "You thought you could defy me, EarthClod, did you? But you were mistaken. No one can resist the MightyBoolooroo of the Blues, so it is folly for you to rebel against mycommands. Hold him fast, my men, and as soon as I've had my coffee andoatmeal I'll take him to the Room of the Great Knife and patch him. "

"I wouldn't mind a cup o' coffee myself, " said Cap'n Bill. "I've hadconsid'ble exercise this mornin', and I'm all ready for breakfas'. "

"Very well, " replied the Boolooroo, "you shall eat with me, for then Ican keep an eye on you. My guards are not to be trusted, and I don'tmean to let you out of my sight again until you are patched. "

So Cap'n Bill and the Boolooroo had breakfast together, six Blueskinsstanding in a row back of the sailorman to grab him if he attempted toescape. But Cap'n Bill made no such attempt, knowing it would beuseless. 

Trot was in the room, too, standing in a corner and listening to allthat was said while she racked her little brain for an idea that wouldenable her to save Cap'n Bill from being patched. No one could see her, so no one--not even Cap'n Bill--knew she was there. 

After breakfast was over, a procession was formed, headed by theBoolooroo, and they marched the prisoner through the palace until theycame to the Room of the Great Knife. Invisible Trot followed soberlyafter them, still wondering what she could do to save her friend. 

As soon as they entered the Room of the great Knife, the Boolooroo gavea yell of disappointment. 

"What's become of Tiggle?" he shouted. "Where's Tiggle? Who hasreleased Tiggle? Go at once, you dummies, and find him, or it will gohard with you!"

The frightened soldiers hurried away to find Tiggle, and Trot was wellpleased because she knew Tiggle was by this time safely hidden. 

The Boolooroo stamped up and down the room, muttering threats anddeclaring Cap'n Bill should be punished whether Tiggle was found ornot, and while they waited, Trot took time to make an inspection of theplace, which she now saw for the first time in broad daylight. 

The Room of the Great Knife was high and big, and around it ran rows ofbenches for the spectators to sit upon. In one place at the head of theroom was a raised platform for the royal family, with elegantthrone-chairs for the King and Queen and six smaller but richlyupholstered chairs for the Snubnosed Princesses. The poor Queen, by theway, was seldom seen, as she passed all her time playing solitaire witha deck that was one card short, hoping that before she had lived herentire six hundred years she would win the game. Therefore, her Majestypaid no attention to anyone and no one paid any attention to her. 

In the center of the room stood the terrible knife that gave the placeits name, a name dreaded by every inhabitant of the Blue City. Theknife was built into a huge framework like a derrick, that reached tothe ceiling, and it was so arranged that when the Boolooroo pulled acord the great blade would drop down in its frame and neatly cut in twothe person who stood under it. And in order that the slicing would beaccurate, there was another frame to which the prisoner was tied sothat he couldn't wiggle either way. This frame was on rollers so thatit could be placed directly underneath the knife. 

While Trot was observing this dreadful machine, the door opened and inwalked the Six Snubnosed Princesses, all in a row and with their chinsup as if they disdained everyone but themselves. They weremagnificently dressed, and their blue hair was carefully arranged inhuge towers upon their heads, with blue plumes stuck into the tops. These plumes waved gracefully in the air with every mincing step thePrincesses took. Rich jewels of blue stones glittered upon theirpersons, and the royal ladies were fully as gorgeous as they werehaughty and overbearing. They marched to their chairs and seatedthemselves to enjoy the cruel scene their father was about to enact, and Cap'n Bill bowed to them politely and said:

"Mornin', girls. Hope ye feel as well as ye look. "

"Papa, " exclaimed Turquoise angrily, "can you not prevent this vileEarth Being from addressing us? It is an insult to be spoken to by oneabout to be patched. "

"Control yourselves, my dears, " replied the Boolooroo. "The worstpunishment I know how to inflict on anyone this prisoner is about tosuffer. You'll see a very pretty patching, my royal daughters. "

"When?" inquired Cobalt. 

"When? As soon as the soldiers return with Tiggle, " said he. 

But just then in came the soldiers to say that Tiggle could not befound anywhere in the City; he had disappeared as mysteriously as hadGhip-Ghisizzle. Immediately, the Boolooroo flew into another toweringrage. 

"Villains!" he shouted. "Go out and arrest the first living thing youmeet, and whoever it proves to be will be instantly patched to Cap'nBill. "

The Captain of the Guards hesitated to obey this order. "Suppose it's afriend?" he suggested. 

"Friend!" roared the Boolooroo. "I haven't a friend in the country. Tell me, sir, do you know of anyone who is my friend?"

The Captain shook his head. "I can't think of anyone just now, yourSpry and Flighty High and Mighty Majesty, " he answered. 

"Of course not, " said the Boolooroo. "Everyone hates me, and I don'tobject to that because I hate everybody. But I'm the Ruler here, andI'll do as I please. Go and capture the first living creature you seeand bring him here to be patched to Cap'n Bill. "

So the Captain took a file of soldiers and went away very sorrowful, for he did not know who would be the victim, and if the Boolooroo hadno friends, the Captain had plenty and did not wish to see them patched. 

Meanwhile, Trot, being invisible to all, was roaming around the room, and behind a bench she found a small end of rope, which she picked up. Then she seated herself in an out-of-the-way place and quietly waited. 

Suddenly there was a noise in the corridor and evidence of scufflingand struggling. Then the door flew open and in came the soldiersdragging a great blue billygoat, which was desperately striving to getfree. 

"Villains!" howled the Boolooroo. "What does this mean?"

"Why, you said to fetch the first living creature we met, and that wasthis billygoat, " replied the Captain, panting hard as he held fast toone of the goat's horns. 

The Boolooroo stared a moment, and then he fell back to his throne, laughing boisterously. The idea of patching Cap'n Bill to a goat wasvastly amusing to him, and the more he thought of it the more he roaredwith laughter. Some of the soldiers laughed, too, being tickled withthe absurd notion, and the Six Snubnosed Princesses all sat up straightand permitted themselves to smile contemptuously. This would indeed bea severe punishment, therefore the Princesses were pleased at thethought of Cap'n Bill's becoming half a billygoat, and the billygoat'sbeing half Cap'n Bill. 

"They look something alike, you know, " suggested the Captain of theGuards, looking from one to the other doubtfully, "and they're nearlythe same size if you stand the goat on his hind legs. They've both gotthe same style of whiskers, and they're both of 'em obstinate anddangerous, so they ought to make a good patch. "

"Splendid! Fine! Glorious!" cried the Boolooroo, wiping the tears ofmerriment from his eyes. "We will proceed with the Ceremony of Patchingat once. "

Cap'n Bill regarded the billygoat with distinct disfavor, and thebillygoat glared evilly upon Cap'n Bill. Trot was horrified, and wrungher little hands in sore perplexity, for this was a most horrible fatethat awaited her dear friend. 

"First, bind the Earth Man in the frame, " commanded the Boolooroo. "We'll slice him in two before we do the same to the billygoat. "

So they seized Cap'n Bill and tied him into the frame so that hecouldn't move a jot in any direction. Then they rolled the frameunderneath the Great Knife and handed the Boolooroo the cord thatreleased the blade. But while this was going on, Trot had crept up andfastened one end of her rope to the frame in which Cap'n Bill wasconfined. Then she stood back and watched the Boolooroo, and just as hepulled the cord, she pulled on her rope and dragged the frame on itsrollers away, so that the Great Knife fell with a crash and slicednothing but the air. 

"Huh!" exclaimed the Boolooroo. "That's queer. Roll him up again, soldiers. "

The soldiers again rolled the frame in position, having first pulledthe Great Knife once more to the top of the derrick. The immense bladewas so heavy that it took the strength of seven Blueskins to raise it. When all was in readiness, the King pulled the cord a second time, andTrot at the same instant pulled upon her rope. The same thing happenedas before. Cap'n Bill rolled away in his frame, and the knife fellharmlessly. 

Now, indeed, the Boolooroo was as angry as he was amazed. He jumpeddown from the platform and commanded the soldiers to raise the GreatKnife into position. When this was accomplished, the Boolooroo leanedover to try to discover why the frame rolled away--seemingly of its ownaccord--and he was the more puzzled because it had never done such athing before. 

As he stood, bent nearly double, his back was toward the billygoat, which in their interest and excitement the soldiers were holding in acareless manner. Before any could stop him, he butted his Majesty sofuriously that the King soared far into the air and tumbled in a heapamong the benches, where he lay moaning and groaning. 

The goat's warlike spirit was roused by this successful attack. Findinghimself free, he turned and assaulted the soldiers, butting them sofiercely that they tumbled down in bunches, and as soon as they couldrise again ran frantically from the room and along the corridors as ifa fiend was after them. By this time the goat was so animated by thespirit of conquest that he rushed at the Six Snubnosed Princesses, whohad all climbed upon their chairs and were screaming in a panic offear. Six times the goat butted, and each time he tipped over a chairand sent a haughty Princess groveling upon the floor, where the ladiesgot mixed up in their long, blue trains and flounces and laces andstruggled wildly until they recovered their footing. Then they sped ingreat haste for the door, and the goat gave a final butt that sent therow of royal ladies all diving into the corridor in another tangle, whereupon they shrieked in a manner that terrified everyone withinsound of their voices. 

As the Room of the Great Knife was now cleared of all but Cap'n Bill, who was tied in his frame, and of Trot and the moaning Boolooroo, wholay hidden behind the benches, the goat gave a victorious bleat andstood in the doorway to face any enemy that might appear. Trot had beenas surprised as anyone at this sudden change of conditions, but she wasquick to take advantage of the opportunities it afforded. First she ranwith her rope to the goat, and as the animal could not see her, sheeasily succeeded in tying the rope around its horns and fastening theloose end to a pillar of the doorway. Next she hurried to Cap'n Billand began to unbind him, and as she touched the sailor she becamevisible. He nodded cheerfully, then, and said, "I had a notion it wasyou, mate, as saved me from the knife. But it were a pretty close call, an' I hope it won't happen again. I couldn't shiver much, bein' boundso tight, but when I'm loose I mean to have jus' one good shiver torelieve my feelin's. "

"Shiver all you want to, Cap'n, " she said as she removed the lastbonds. "But first you've got to help me save us both. "

"As how?" he asked, stepping from the frame. 

"Come and get the Boolooroo, " she said, going toward the benches. Thesailor followed and pulled out the Boolooroo, who, when he saw theterrible goat was captured and tied fast, quickly recovered hiscourage. "Hi, there!" he cried. "Where are my soldiers? What do youmean, prisoner, by daring to lay hands upon me? Let me go this minuteor I'll--I'll have you patched TWICE!"

"Don't mind him, Cap'n, " said Trot, "but fetch him along to the frame. "The Boolooroo looked around to see where the voice came from, and Cap'nBill grinned joyfully and caught up the king in both his strong arms, dragging the struggling Monarch of the Blues to the frame. 

"Stop it! How dare you?" roared the frightened Boolooroo. "I'll haverevenge! I'll--I'll--"

"You'll take it easy, 'cause you can't help yourself, " said Cap'n Bill. "What next, Queen Trot?"

"Hold him steady in the frame, and I'll tie him up, " she replied. SoCap'n Bill held the Boolooroo, and the girl tied him fast in positionas Cap'n Bill had been tied, so that his Majesty couldn't wiggle atall. Then they rolled the frame in position underneath the Great Knifeand Trot held in her hand the cord which would release it. 

"All right, Cap'n, " she said in a satisfied tone. "I guess we can runthis Blue Country ourselves after this. " The Boolooroo was terrified tofind himself in danger of being sliced by the same knife he had sooften wickedly employed to slice others. Like Cap'n Bill, he had noroom to shiver, but he groaned very dismally and was so full of fearthat his blue hair nearly stood on end. 

THE RULER OF SKY ISLAND

CHAPTER 25

The girl now took off Rosalie's ring and put it carefully away in herpocket. "It won't matter who sees me now, " she remarked, "an' I want'em to know that you an' me, Cap'n, are running this kingdom. I'm Queeno' the Pinkies an' Booloorooess o' the Blues, an'--"

"What's that?" asked the sailor. "You're--you're WHAT, Trot?"

"Booloorooess. Isn't that right, Cap'n?"

"I dunno, mate. It sounds bigger ner you are, an' I don't like theword, anyhow. S'pose you jus' call yourself the Boss? That fills thebill an' don't need pernouncin'. "

"All right, " she said. "Queen o' the Pinkies an' Boss o' the Blues. Seems funny, don't it, Cap'n Bill?"

Just then they heard a sound of footsteps in the corridor. The soldiershad recovered their courage, and fearful of the anger of their dreadedBoolooroo, whom the Princesses declared would punish them severely, hadventured to return to the room. They came rather haltingly, though, andthe Captain of the Guards first put his head cautiously through thedoorway to see if the coast was clear. The goat discovered him andtried to make a rush, but the rope held the animal back, and when theCaptain saw this, he came forward more boldly. 

"Halt!" cried Trot. The Captain halted, his soldiers peering curiouslyover his shoulders and the Six Snubnosed Princesses looking on frombehind, where they considered themselves safe. "If anyone dares enterthis room without my permission, " said Trot, "I'll pull this cord andslice your master that once was the Boolooroo. "

"Don't come in! Don't come in!" yelled the Boolooroo in a terrifiedvoice. 

Then they saw that the sailor was free and the Boolooroo bound in hisplace. The soldiers were secretly glad to observe this, but thePrincesses were highly indignant. "Release his Majesty at once!" criedIndigo from the corridor. "You shall be severely punished for thisrebellion. "

"Don't worry, " replied Trot. "His Majesty isn't his Majesty any longer. He's jus' a common Blueskin. Cap'n Bill and I perpose runnin' thisIsland ourselves, after this. You've all got to obey ME, for I'm theBooloorooess--no, I mean the Boss--o' the Blues, and I've a notion torun things my own way. "

"You can't, " said Turquoise scornfully. "The Law says--"

"Bother the Law!" exclaimed Trot. "I'll make the Laws myself from nowon, and I'll unmake every Law you ever had before I conquered you. "

"Oh, have you conquered us, then?" asked the Captain of the Guards in asurprised tone. 

"Of course, " said Trot. "Can't you see?"

"It looks like it, " admitted the Captain. 

"Cap'n Bill is goin' to be my General o' the Army an' the Royal Managero' the Blue Country, " continued Trot, "so you'll mind what he says. "

"Nonsense!" shouted Indigo. "March in and capture them, Captain! Nevermind if they do slice the Boolooroo. I'm his daughter, and I'LL rulethe kingdom. "

"You won't!" screamed Cobalt. "I'll rule it!"

"I'll rule it myself!" cried Cerulia. 

"No, no!" yelled Turquoise. "I'll be the Ruler. "

"That shall be MY privilege!" shouted Sapphire. Cobalt began to say, "I'm the--"

"Be quiet!" said Trot sternly. "Would you have your own father slicedso that you could rule in his place?"

"Yes, yes, of course!" rejoined the six Princesses without a second'shesitation. 

"Well, well! What d' ye think o' that, Mr. Boolooroo?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"They're undutiful daughters. Don't pay any attention to them, " repliedthe frightened Boolooroo. 

"We're not goin' to, " said Trot. "Now, you Blue Cap'n, who are you andyour soldiers going to obey, me or the snubnosed ones?"

"You!" declared the Captain of the Guards positively, for he hated thePrincesses, as did all the Blueskins. 

"Then escort those girls to their rooms, lock 'em in, an' put a guardbefore the door. "

At once the soldiers seized the Princesses and notwithstanding theirsnarls and struggles marched them to their rooms and locked them in. While they were gone on this errand, the Boolooroo begged to bereleased, whining and wailing for fear the knife would fall upon him. But Trot did not think it safe to unbind him just then. When thesoldiers returned, she told their leader to put a strong guard beforethe palace and to admit no one unless either she or Cap'n Bill gave theorder to do so. The soldiers obeyed readily, and when Trot and Cap'nBill were left alone, they turned the goat loose in the Room of theGreat Knife and then locked the animal in with the Boolooroo. 

"The billygoat is the very best guard we could have, for ever'body's'fraid o' him, " remarked Cap'n Bill as he put the key of the room inhis pocket. "So now, Queen Trot, what's next on the program?"

"Next, " said Trot, "we're goin' to hunt for that umbrel, Cap'n. I don'tmean to stay in this dismal Blue Country long, even if I am the Queen. Let's find the umbrel and go home as soon as we can. "

"That suits me, " the sailor joyfully exclaimed, and then the two begana careful search through the palace. They went into every room andlooked behind the furniture and underneath the beds and in every crackand corner, but no place could they spy the Magic Umbrella. Cap'n Billeven ventured to enter the rooms of the Six Snubnosed Princesses, whowere by this time so thoroughly alarmed that they had become meek andmild as could be. But the umbrella wasn't there, either. 

Finally, they returned to the great throne room of the palace, wherethey seated themselves on the throne and tried to think what couldpossibly have become of the precious umbrella. While they were sittingand talking together, the Captain of the Guards entered and bowedrespectfully. "Beg pardon, your Small-Sized Majesty, " said he to Trot, "but it is my duty to report that the Pinkies are preparing to attackthe City. "

"Oh! I'd forgotten the Pinkies!" exclaimed the girl. "Tell me, Captain, have you such a thing as a Brass Band in this City?"

"We have two fine bands, but they are not brass, " replied the Captain. "Their instruments are made of blue metal. "

"Well, order 'em out, " commanded Trot. "And say, get all the soldierstogether and tell all the people there's going to be a high time in theBlue City tonight. We'll have music and dancing and eating and--"

"An' neckties to drink, Trot. Don't forget the royal neckties, " urgedCap'n Bill. 

"We'll have all the fun there is going, " continued the girl, "for weare to entertain the Army of the Pinkies. "

"The Pinkies!" exclaimed the Captain of the Guards. "Why, they're ourenemies, your Short Highness. "

"Not any more, " replied Trot. "I'm Queen of the Pinkies, an' I'm alsoQueen of the Blues, so I won't have my people quarreling. Tell the Bluepeople we are to throw open the gates and welcome the Pinkies to theCity, where everybody will join in a grand celebration. And jus' assoon as you've spread the news an' got the bands tuned up and thesoldiers ready to march, you let us know, and we'll head theprocession. "

"Your Microscopic Majesty shall be obeyed, " said the Captain, and wentaway to carry out these commands. 

TROT CELEBRATES THE VICTORY

CHAPTER 26

The Blue people were by this time dazed with wonder at all the eventsthat had transpired that eventful day, but they still had wit enough tobe glad the war was over, for in war someone is likely to get hurt, andit is foolish to take such chances when one can remain quietly at home. The Blues did not especially admire the Pinkies, but it was easier toentertain them than to fight them, and above all, the Blueskins weregreatly rejoiced that their wicked Boolooroo had been conquered andcould no longer abuse them. So they were quite willing to obey theorders of their girl Queen and in a short time the blasts of trumpetsand roll of drums and clashing of cymbals told Trot and Cap'n Bill thatthe Blue Bands had assembled before the palace. 

So they went down and found that a great crowd of people had gathered, and these cheered Trot with much enthusiasm--which was very differentfrom the scowls and surly looks with which they had formerly greetedtheir strange visitors from the Earth. 

The soldiers wore their best blue uniforms and were formed before thepalace in marching order, so Trot and Cap'n Bill headed the procession, and then came the soldiers--all keeping step--and then the bands, playing very loud noises on their instruments, and finally the crowd ofBlue citizens waving flags and banners and shouting joyfully. In thisorder they proceeded to the main gate, which Trot ordered the guards tothrow wide open. Then they all marched out a little way into the fieldsand found that the Army of Pinkies had already formed and was advancingsteadily toward them. 

At the head of the Pinkies were Ghip-Ghisizzle and Button-Bright, whohad the parrot on his shoulder, and they were supported by CaptainCoralie and Captain Tintint and Rosalie the Witch. They had decided tocapture the Blue City at all hazards, that they might rescue Trot andCap'n Bill and conquer the Boolooroo, so when from a distance they sawthe Blueskins march from the gate with banners flying and bandsplaying, they supposed a most terrible fight was about to take place. 

However, as the two forces came nearer together, Button-Bright spiedTrot and Cap'n Bill standing before the enemy, and the sight astonishedhim considerably. 

"Welcome, friends!" shouted Cap'n Bill in a loud voice; and "Welcome!"cried Trot; and "Welcome!" roared the Blue soldiers and the people ofthe Blue City. 

"Hooray!" yelled the parrot, "Welcome to our happy home From which no longer will we roam!"

And then he flapped his wings and barked like a dog with pure delight, and added as fast as his bird's tongue could speak, "One army's pink and one is blue, But neither one is in a stew Because the naughty Boolooroo Is out of sight, so what we'll do Is try to be a jolly crew And dance and sing our too-ral-loo And to our friends be ever true And to our foes--"

"Stop it!" said Button-Bright, "I can't hear myself think. "

The Pinkies were amazed at the strange reception of the Blues andhesitated to advance, but Trot now ran up in front of them and made alittle speech. "Pinkies, " said she, "your Queen has conquered theBoolooroo and is now the Queen of the Blues. All of Sky Island exceptthe Fog Bank is now my kingdom, so I welcome my faithful Pinkies to myBlue City, where you are to be royally entertained and have a goodtime. The war is over an' ever'body must be sociable an' happy or I'llknow the reason why!"

Now, indeed, the Pinkies raised a great shout of joy, and the Bluesresponded with another joyful shout, and Rosalie kissed the little girland said she had performed wonders, and everybody shook hands withCap'n Bill and congratulated him upon his escape, and the parrot flewto Trot's shoulder and screeched, "The Pinkies are pink, the Blues are blue, But Trot's the Queen, so too-ral-loo!"

When the Blueskins saw Ghip-Ghisizzle, they raised another great shout, for he was the favorite of the soldiers and very popular with all thepeople. But Ghip-Ghisizzle did not heed the shouting. He was lookingdowncast and sad, and it was easy to see he was disappointed because hehad not conquered the Boolooroo himself. But the people called upon himfor a speech, so he faced the Blueskins and said, "I escaped from theCity because the Boolooroo tried to patch me as you all know, and theSix Snubnosed Princesses tried to marry me, which would have been a fargreater misfortune. But I have recovered the Book of Royal Records, which has long been hidden in the Treasure Chamber, and by reading it Ifind that the Boolooroo is not your lawful Boolooroo at all, havingreigned more than his three hundred years. Since last Thursday, I, Ghip-Ghisizzle, have been the lawful Boolooroo of the Blue Country, butnow that you are conquered by Queen Trot, I suppose I am conquered, too, and you have no Boolooroo at all. "

"Hooray!" cried the parrot. 

 "Here's a pretty howdy-do-- You haven't any Boolooroo!"

Trot had listened carefully to the Majordomo's speech. When hefinished, she said cheerfully, "Don't worry, Sizzle dear, it'll allcome right pretty soon. Now then, let's enter the City an' enjoy thegrand feast that's being cooked. I'm nearly starved, myself, for thisconquerin' kingdoms is hard work. "

So the Pinkies and the Blues marched side by side into the City, andthere was great rejoicing and music and dancing and feasting and gamesand merrymaking that lasted for three full days. Trot carried Rosalieand Captain Coralie and Ghip-Ghisizzle to the palace, and of courseButton-Bright and Cap'n Bill were with her. They had the Royal chefserve dinner at once, and they ate in great state, seated in the RoyalBanquet Hall, where they were waited on by a hundred servants. Theparrot perched upon the back of Queen Trot's chair, and the girl fed itherself, being glad to have the jolly bird with her again. 

After they had eaten all they could and the servants had been sentaway, Trot related her adventures, telling how with the assistance ofthe billygoat she had turned the tables on the wicked Boolooroo. Thenshe gave Rosalie back her magic ring, thanking the kind Witch for allshe had done for them. "And now, " said she, "I want to say toGhip-'Sizzle that jus' as soon as we can find Button-Bright's umbrelwe're going to fly home again. I'll always be Queen of Sky Island, butthe Pink and Blue Countries must each have a Ruler. I think I'll make'Sizzle the Boolooroo of the Blues, but I want you to promise me, Ghip, that you'll destroy the Great Knife and its frame and clean up the roomand turn it into a skating rink an' never patch anyone as long as yourule the Blueskins. "

Ghip-Ghisizzle was overjoyed at the prospect of being Boolooroo of theBlues, but he looked solemn at the promise Trot exacted. "I'm notcruel, " he said, "and I don't approve of patching in general, so I'llwillingly destroy the Great Knife. But before I do that, I want theprivilege of patching the Snubnosed Princesses to each other--mixingthe six as much as possible--and then I want to patch the formerBoolooroo to the billygoat, which is the same punishment he was goingto inflict upon Cap'n Bill. "

"No, " said Trot positively. "There's been enough patching in thiscountry, and I won't have any more of it. The old Boolooroo and the sixstuck-up Princesses will be punished enough by being put out of thepalace. The people don't like 'em a bit, so they'll be outcasts andwanderers, and that will make 'em sorry they were so wicked an' cruelwhen they were powerful. Am I right, Cap'n Bill?"

"You are, mate, " replied the sailor. 

"Please, Queen Trot, " begged Ghip-Ghisizzle, "let me patch just theBoolooroo. It will be such a satisfaction. "

"I have said no, an' I mean it, " answered the girl. "You let the poorold Boolooroo alone. There's nothing that hurts so much as a come-downin life, an' I 'spect the old rascal's goin' to be pretty miser'bleby'm'by. "

"What does he say to his reversal of fortune?" asked Rosalie. 

"Why, I don't b'lieve he knows about it, " said Trot. "Guess I'd bettersend for him an' tell him what's happened. "

So the Captain of the Guards was given the key and told to fetch theBoolooroo from the Room of the Great Knife. The guards had a terriblestruggle with the goat, which was loose in the room and still wanted tofight, but finally they subdued the animal, and then they took theBoolooroo out of the frame he was tied in and brought both him and thegoat before Queen Trot, who awaited them in the throne room of thepalace. When the courtiers and the people assembled saw the goat, theygave a great cheer, for the beast had helped to dethrone their wickedRuler. 

"What's goin' to happen to this tough ol' warrior, Trot?" asked Cap'nBill. "It's my idee as he's braver than the whole Blue Army puttogether. "

"You're right, Cap'n, " she returned. "I'll have 'Sizzle make a fineyard for the goat, where he'll have plenty of blue grass to eat. An'I'll have a pretty fence put around it an' make all the people honoran' respec' him jus' as long as he lives. "

"I'll gladly do that, " promised the new Boolooroo, "and I'll feed thehonorable goat all the shavings and leather and tin cans he can eat, besides the grass. He'll be the happiest goat in Sky Island, I assureyou. "

As they led the now-famous animal from the room, the Booloorooshuddered and said, "How dare you people give orders in my palace? I'mthe Boolooroo!"

"'Scuse me, " said Trot. "I neglected to tell you that you're not theBoolooroo any more. We've got the Royal Record Book, an' it provesyou've already ruled this country longer than you had any right to. 'Sides all that, I'm the Queen o' Sky Island--which means Queen o' thePinkies an' Queen o' the Blues, both of 'em. So things are run as Isay, an' I've made Ghip-Ghisizzle Boolooroo in your place. He'll lookafter this end of the Island hereafter, an' unless I'm much mistaken, he'll do it a heap better than you did. "

The former Boolooroo groaned. "What's going to become of me, then?" heasked. "Am I to be patched, or what?"

"You won't be hurt, " answered the girl, "but you'll have to find someother place to stay besides this palace, an' perhaps you'll enjoyworkin' for a livin' by way of variety. "

"Can't I take any of the treasure with me?" he pleaded. 

"Not even a bird cage, " said she. "Ever'thing in the palace now belongsto Ghip-Ghisizzle. "

"Except the Six Snubnosed Princesses, " exclaimed the new Booloorooearnestly. "Won't you please get rid of them, too, your Majesty? Can'tthey be discharged?"

"Of course, " said Trot. "They must go with their dear father an'mother. Isn't there some house in the City they can all live in, Ghip?"

"Why, I own a little cabin at the end of the town, " saidGhip-Ghisizzle, "and I'll let them use that, as I won't need it anylonger. It isn't a very pretty cabin, and the furniture is cheap andcommon, but I'm sure it is good enough for this wicked man and hisfamily. "

"I'll not be wicked any more, " sighed the old Boolooroo. "I'll reform. It's always best to reform when it is no longer safe to remain wicked. As a private citizen, I shall be a model of deportment, because itwould be dangerous to be otherwise. "

Trot now sent for the Princesses, who had been weeping and wailing andfighting among themselves ever since they learned that their father hadbeen conquered. When first they entered the throne room, they tried tobe as haughty and scornful as ever, but the Blues who were assembledthere all laughed at them and jeered them, for there was not a singleperson in all the Blue Country who loved the Princesses the leastlittle bit. 

Trot told the girls that they must go with their father to live inGhip-Ghisizzle's little old cabin, and when they heard this dreadfuldecree, the six snubnosed ones began to scream and have hysterics, andbetween them they managed to make so much noise that no one could hearanything else. So Ghip-Ghisizzle ordered the Captain to take a file ofsoldiers and escort the raving beauties to their new home. 

This was done, the once-royal family departing from the palace withshamed and downcast looks. Then the Room of the Great Knife was clearedof its awful furniture. The frames were split into small pieces ofbluewood and the benches chopped into kindling and the immense sharpknife broken into bits. All the rubbish was piled into the squarebefore the palace and a bonfire made of it, while the Blue peopleclustered around and danced and sang with joy as the blue flamesdevoured the dreadful instrument that had once caused them so muchunhappiness. 

That evening Trot gave a grand ball in her palace, to which the mostimportant of the Pinkies and the Blueskins were invited. The combinedbands of both the countries played the music, and a fine supper wasserved. The Pinkies would not dance with the Blues, however, nor wouldthe Blues dance with the Pinkies. The two nations were so different inall ways that they were unable to agree at all, and several timesduring the evening quarrels arose and there was fighting between them, which Trot promptly checked. 

"I think it would be best for us to go back to our own country as soonas possible, " suggested Rosalie the Witch, "for if we stay here verylong, the Blueskins may rise against us and cause the Pinkies muchtrouble. "

"Jus' as soon as we find that umbrel, " promised Trot, "we'll dive intothe Fog Bank an' make tracks for the Land of Sunrise an' Sunset. "

THE FATE OF THE MAGIC UMBRELLA

CHAPTER 27

Next morning the search for the Magic Umbrella began in earnest. Withmany to hunt for it and the liberty of the whole palace to aid them, every inch of the great building was carefully examined. But no traceof the umbrella could be found. Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright went downto the cabin of the former Boolooroo and tried to find out what he haddone with the umbrella, but the old Boolooroo said, "I had it brought from the Treasure Chamber and tried to make it work, but there was no magic about the thing. So I threw it away. I haven'tany idea what became of it. "

The six former Princesses were sitting upon a rude bench, looking quitebedraggled and untidy. Said Indigo:

"If you will make Ghip-Ghisizzle marry me, I'll find your old umbrella. "

"Where is it?" asked Button-Bright eagerly. 

"Make Ghip-Ghisizzle marry me, and I'll tell you, " repeated Indigo. "But I won't say another word about it until after I am married. "

So they went back to the palace and proposed to the new Boolooroo tomarry Indigo so they could get their Magic Umbrella. But Ghip-Ghisizzlepositively refused. 

"I'd like to help you, " said he, "but nothing will ever induce me tomarry one of those snubnoses. "

"They're very pretty--for Blueskins, " said Trot. 

"But when you marry a girl, you marry the inside as well as theoutside, " declared Ghip-Ghisizzle, "and inside these Princesses thereare wicked hearts and evil thoughts. I'd rather be patched than marrythe best of them. "

"Which IS the best?" asked Button-Bright. 

"I don't know, I'm sure, " was the reply. "Judging from their actions inthe past, there is no best. "

Rosalie the Witch now went to the cabin and put Indigo into a deepsleep by means of a powerful charm. Then, while the Princess slept, theWitch made her tell all she knew, which wasn't a great deal, to besure; but it was soon discovered that Indigo had been deceiving themand knew nothing at all about the umbrella. She had hoped to marryGhip-Ghisizzle and become Queen, after which she could afford to laughat their reproaches. So the Witch woke her up and went back to thepalace to tell Trot of her failure. 

The girl and Button-bright and Cap'n Bill were all rather discouragedby this time, for they had searched high and low and had not found atrace of the all-important umbrella. That night none of them sleptmuch, for they all lay awake wondering how they could ever return tothe Earth and to their homes. 

In the morning of the third day after Trot's conquest of the Blues, thelittle girl conceived another idea. She called all the servants of thepalace to her and questioned them closely. But not one could rememberhaving seen anything that looked like an umbrella. 

"Are all the servants of the old Boolooroo here?" inquired Cap'n Bill, who was sorry to see Trot looking so sad and downcast. 

"All but one, " was the reply. "Tiggle used to be a servant, but heescaped and ran away. "

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Trot. "Tiggle is in hiding somewhere. Perhaps hedoesn't know there's been a revolution and a new Boolooroo rules thecountry. If he did, there's no need for him to hide any longer, for heis now in no danger. "

She now dispatched messengers all through the City and the surroundingcountry, who cried aloud for Tiggle, saying that the new Boolooroowanted him. Tiggle, hiding in the cellar of a deserted house in a backstreet, at last heard these cries and joyfully came forth to confrontthe messengers. Having heard of the old Boolooroo's downfall anddisgrace, the old man consented to go to the palace again, and as soonas Trot saw him she asked about the umbrella. 

Tiggle thought hard for a minute and then said he remembered sweepingthe King's rooms and finding a queer thing--that might have been anumbrella--lying beneath a cabinet. It had ropes and two wooden seatsand a wicker basket all attached to the handle. 

"That's it!" cried Button-Bright excitedly, and "That's it! That's it!"cried both Trot and Cap'n Bill. 

"But what did you do with it?" asked Ghip-Ghisizzle. 

"I dragged it out and threw it on the rubbish heap in an alley back ofthe palace, " said Tiggle. At once they all rushed out to the alley andbegan digging in the rubbish heap. By and by Cap'n Bill uncovered thelunch basket, and pulling on this he soon drew up the two seats, andfinally the Magic Umbrella. 

"Hurrah!" shouted Button-Bright, grabbing the umbrella and hugging ittight in his arms. 

"Hooray!" shrieked the parrot. 

 "Cap'n Bill's a lucky fellah, 'Cause he found the old umbrella!"

Trot's face was wreathed in smiles. "This is jus' the best luck thatcould have happened to us, " she exclaimed, "'cause now we can go homewhenever we please. "

"Let's go now--this minute--before we lose the umbrella again, " saidButton-Bright. 

But Trot shook her head. "Not yet, " she replied. "We've got tostraighten out things in Sky Island first of all. A Queen has someduties, you know, and as long as I'm Queen here, I've got to live up tothe part. "

"What has to be did, mate?" inquired Cap'n Bill. 

"Well, we've fixed the Blue Country pretty well by makin' 'Sizzle theBoolooroo of it; but the Pinkies mus' be looked after, too, 'causethey've stood by us an' helped us to win. We must take 'em home againsafe an' sound and get a new Queen to rule over 'em. When that's done, we can go home any time we want to. "

"Quite right, Trot, " said the sailor approvingly. "When do we march?"

"Right away, " she replied. "I've had enough of the Blue Country, haven't you?"

"We have, mate. "

"We've had plenty of it, " observed Button-Bright. 

"And the Pinkies are anxious to get home, " added Rosalie, who waspresent. 

So Cap'n Bill unhooked the seats from the handle of the umbrella andwound the ropes around the two boards and made a package of them, whichhe carried under his arm. Trot took the empty lunch basket, andButton-Bright held fast to the precious umbrella. Then they returned tothe palace to bid goodbye to Ghip-Ghisizzle and the Blues. 

The new Boolooroo seemed rather sorry to lose his friends, but thepeople were secretly glad to get rid of the strangers, especially ofthe Pinkies. They maintained a sullen silence while Coralie and CaptainTintint formed their ranks in marching order, and they did not evencheer when Trot said to them in a final speech:

"I'm the Queen of Sky Island, you know, and the new Boolooroo has tocarry out my orders and treat you all nicely while I'm away. I don'tknow when I'll come back, but you'd better watch out an' not make anytrouble, or I'll find a way to make you sorry for it. So now, goodbye!"

"And good riddance!" screamed the Six Snubnosed Girls who had once beenPrincesses and who were now in the crowd that watched the departure. 

But Trot paid no attention to them. She made a signal to the PinkieBand, which struck up a fine Pink March, and then the Army stepped outwith the left foot first, and away went the conquerors down the streetsof the Blue City, out of the blue-barred gateway and across the countrytoward the Fog Bank. 

THE ELEPHANT'S HEAD COMES TO LIFE

CHAPTER 28

When they reached the edge of the Fog Bank, the Pinkies all halted toput on their raincoats, and Button-Bright put up his umbrella and heldit over himself and Trot. Then, when everybody was ready, they enteredthe Fog and Rosalie the Witch made a signal to call the Frog King andhis subjects to aid them as they had done before. 

Pretty soon the great frogs appeared, a long line of them facing Trotand her Pink Army and sitting upon their haunches close together. 

"Turn around so we can get upon your backs, " said Rosalie. 

"Not yet, " answered the Frog King in a gruff, deep voice. "You mustfirst take that insulting umbrella out of my dominions. "

"Why, what is there about my umbrella that seems insulting?" askedButton-Bright in surprise. 

"It is an intimation that you don't like our glorious climate andobject to our delightful fog and are trying to ward off its soulful, clinging kisses, " replied the Frog King in an agitated voice. "Therehas never been an umbrella in my kingdom before, and I'll not allow onein it now. Take it away at once!"

"But we can't, " explained Trot. "We've got to take the umbrella with usto the Pink Country. We'll put it down if you like, an' cross the bankin this drizzle--which may be clingin' an' soulful, but is too wet tobe comfort'ble. But the umbrella's got to go with us. "

"It can't go another inch, " cried the obstinate frog with an angrycroak, "nor shall any of your people advance another step while thatinsulting umbrella is with you. "

Trot turned to Rosalie. "What shall we do?" she asked. 

"I really do not know, " replied the Witch, greatly perplexed. 

"Can't you MAKE the frogs let us through?" inquired the boy. 

"No, I have no power over the frogs, " Rosalie answered. "They carriedus before as a favor, but if the king now insists that we cannot passwith the umbrella, we must go back to the Blue Country or leave yourumbrella behind us. "

"We won't do that!" said Button-Bright indignantly. "Can't we fight thefrogs?"

"Fight!" cried Trot. "Why, see how big they are. They could eat up ourwhole army if they wanted to. "

But just then, while they stood dismayed at this unfortunate position, a queer thing happened. The umbrella in Button-Bright's hand began totremble and shake. He looked down at the handle and saw that the redeyes of the carved elephant's head were rolling fiercely and sendingout red sparks of anger in all directions. The trunk swayed from sideto side, and the entire head began to swell and grow larger. 

In his fright, the boy sprang backward a step and dropped the umbrellato the ground, and as he did so, it took the form of a completeelephant, growing rapidly to a monstrous size. Then, flapping its earsand wagging its tail--which was merely the covered frame of theumbrella--the huge elephant lifted its trunk and charged the line ofastonished frogs. 

In a twinkling the frogs all turned and made the longest leaps theirpowerful legs enabled them to. The King jumped first of all, and in apanic of fear the others followed his example. They were out of sightin an instant, and then the elephant turned its head and looked atButton-Bright and at once trotted into the depths of the fog. 

"He wants us to follow, " said the boy, gasping in amazement at thiswonderful transformation. So immediately they began marching throughthe fog behind the elephant, and as the great beast advanced the frogsscrambled out of his way and hid themselves in the moist banks until hehad passed them by. 

Cap'n Bill had to mind his wooden leg carefully, and the old sailor wasso excited that he mumbled queer sentences about "Araby Ann Knights"and "ding-donged magic" and the "fool foolishness of fussin' withwitches an' sich, " until Trot wondered whether her old friend had gonecrazy or was only badly scared. 

It was a long journey, and all the Pinkies were dripping water fromtheir raincoats, and their fat little legs were tired and aching whenthe pink glow showing through the fog at last announced that they werenearing the Pink Country. 

At the very edge of the Fog Bank the elephant halted, winked atButton-Bright, lowered its head and began to shrink in size and dwindleaway. By the time the boy came up to it, closely followed by Trot andCap'n Bill, the thing was only the well-known Magic Umbrella, with thecarved elephant's head for a handle, and it lay motionless upon theground. Button-Bright picked it up, and as he examined it he thoughtthe tiny eyes still twinkled a little, as if with triumph and pride. 

Trot drew a long breath. 

"That was SOME magic, I guess!" she exclaimed. "Don't you think so, Rosalie?"

"It was the most wonderful thing I ever saw, " admitted the Witch. "Thefairies who control Button-Bright's umbrella must be very powerfulindeed!"

TROT REGULATES THE PINKIES

CHAPTER 29

The Pinkies were rejoiced to find themselves again in their belovedland of sunrises and sunsets. They sang and shouted with glee, and theBand uncovered its pink instruments and played the National PinkAnthem, while the parrot flew from Trot's shoulder to Cap'n Bill'sshoulder and back again, screaming ecstatically, "Hooray! We're through the wetful fogs Where the elephant scared the fretful frogs!"

There was a magnificent sunset in the sky just then, and it cheered thePinkies and gave them renewed strength. Away they hastened across thepink fields to the Pink City, where all the Pink people who had beenleft behind ran out to welcome them home again. 

Trot and Button-Bright, with Cap'n Bill and Rosalie the Witch, went tothe humble palace, where they had a simple supper of coarse food andslept upon hard beds. In the houses of the City, however, there wasmuch feasting and merrymaking, and it seemed to Trot that the laws ofthe country which forbade the Queen from enjoying all the good thingsthe people did were decidedly wrong and needed changing. 

The next morning Rosalie said to the little girl, "Will you makeTourmaline the Queen again when you go away?"

"I'll send for her and see about it, " replied Trot. 

But when Tourmaline arrived at the palace, dressed all in lovely, fluffy robes and with a dainty pink plume in her pink hair, she beggedmost earnestly not to be made the Queen again. 

"I'm having a good time just now after years of worry and uncomfortableliving in this uncomfortable old hut of a palace, " said the poor girl, "so it would be cruel for you to make me the servant of the peopleagain and condemn me to want and misery. "

"That seems reason'ble, " replied Trot thoughtfully. 

"Rosalie's skin is just as light a pink as my own, " continuedTourmaline. "Why don't you make her the Queen?"

"I hadn't thought of that, " said Trot. Then she turned to Rosalie andasked, "How would you like to rule the Pinkies?"

"I wouldn't like it, " replied the Witch with a smile. "The Queen is thepoorest and most miserable creature in all the kingdom, and I'm sure Idon't deserve such a fate. I've always tried to be a good witch and todo my duty. "

Trot thought this over quite seriously for a time. Then one of herquaint ideas came to her--so quaint that it was entirely sensible. "I'mthe Queen of the Pinkies just now, am I not?" she asked. 

"Of course, " answered Rosalie. "None can dispute that. "

"Then I've the right to make new laws, haven't I?"

"I believe so. "

"In that case, " said the girl, "I'm goin' to make a law that the Queenshall have the same food an' the same dresses an' the same good timesthat her people have; and she shall live in a house jus' as good as thehouses of any of her people, an' have as much money to spend asanybody. But no more. The Queen can have her share of ever'thing'cordin' to the new law, but if she tries to get more than her share, I'll have the law say she shall be taken to the edge an' pushed off. What do you think of THAT law, Rosalie?"

"It's a good law and a just one, " replied the Witch approvingly. 

So Trot sent for the Royal Scribbler, who was a very fat Pinky withlarge, pink eyes and curly pink hair, and had him carefully write thenew law into the Great Book of Laws. The Royal Scribbler wrote it verynicely in pink ink, with a big capital letter at the beginning and afine flourish at the end. After Trot had signed her name to it asQueen, she called all of the important people of the land to assemblein the Court of the Statues and ordered the Royal Declaimer to read tothem the new law. The Pinkies seemed to think it was a just law andmuch better than the old one, and Rosalie said:

"Now no one can object to becoming Queen, since the Ruler of thePinkies will no longer be obliged to endure suffering and hardships. "

"All right, " said Trot. "In that case, I'll make you the Queen, Rosalie, for you've got more sense than Tourmaline has and your powersas a witch will help you protect the people. "

At once she made the announcement, telling the assembled Pinkies thatby virtue of her high office as Queen of Sky Island she would leaveRosalie the Witch to rule over the Pink Country while she returned tothe Earth with her friends. As Rosalie was greatly loved and respected, the people joyfully accepted her as their Queen, and Trot ordered themto tear down the old hut and build a new palace for Rosalie--one whichwould be just as good as any other house in the City, but no better. She further ordered a pink statue of Tourmaline to be set up in theCourt, and also a pink statue of herself, so that the record of all therulers of the Pinkies should be complete. 

The people agreed to do all this as soon as possible, and some of theleaders whispered together and then asked Coralie to be their spokesmanin replying to Queen Trot's speech. 

Coralie stood on a chair and made a bow, after which she thanked Trotin the name of the Pinkies for leading them safely into the BlueCountry and out again, and for giving them so good a Queen as Rosalie. The Pinkies would be sorry to have their new friends, the Earth people, leave them, but asked the Queen of Sky Island to carry with her theroyal band of pink gold which she now wore upon her brow, together withthe glistening pink jewel set in its center. It would remind her, Coralie declared, of the Beautiful Land of Sunset and Sunrise and ofthe fact that the Pinkies would always be glad to welcome her back. 

Trot knew she would never return to Sky Island, but she did not tellthem that. She merely thanked Coralie and the Pinkies and said theymight all come to the Court after dinner and see her and her comradesfly away through the sky. 

THE JOURNEY HOME

CHAPTER 30

After the Pinkies had been dismissed, their new Queen Rosalie, by meansof a clever charm, conjured up a dinner table set with very nice thingsto eat. They all enjoyed a hearty meal and afterward sat and talkedover their adventures. 

"Will you take the parrot home with you, Trot?" asked Cap'n Bill. 

"Guess not, Cap'n, " she answered. "Mother wouldn't like to have himhangin' 'round an' screechin' bad po'try ev'ry minute. I'll give him toRosalie, for I'm sure she'll take good care of him. "

Rosalie accepted the gift with pleasure, but the parrot looked soberfor a while and then said, "This looks to me like a giveaway; But here I am, and here I'll stay. The country's pink, but we'll all be blue When Trot goes home as she says she'll do. "

They now packed the lunchbasket with the remains of the feast, for theyknew a long journey was before them and feared they might be hungrybefore they landed again. Cap'n Bill straightened out the ropes andadjusted the seats, while Button-Bright examined the umbrella to see ifit had been injured in any way when the elephant tramped through theFog Bank. 

The boy looked into the small red eyes of the carved elephant's-headhandle with some misgivings, but as seen in the strong sunshine theeyes were merely red stones, while the handle plainly showed the marksof the tool that had carved it. 

When all was ready, they went into the Court of the Statues, where allthe Pinkies were assembled--together with their Pink Band--and Cap'nBill hooked the swinging seats onto the handle of the Magic Umbrella. 

Trot kissed Rosalie and Coralie and Tourmaline goodbye and said to them:

"If you ever happen to come to Earth, you must be sure to visit me, andI'll try to give you a good time. But p'raps you'll stay here all yourlives. "

"I think we shall, " replied Rosalie, laughing, "for in all Sky Islandthere will be no Magic Umbrella for us to fly with. "

"And when you see Polychrome, " added Trot, "jus' give her my love. "

Then she and Button-Bright seated themselves in the double seat, whichwas flat upon the pink ground, and Cap'n Bill sat before them on hisown seat, to which the lunch basket had been fastened by means of astout cord. 

"Hold fast!" said the sailor man, and they all held fast to the ropeswhile the boy, glancing up toward the open umbrella he held, saidsolemnly and distinctly:

"Take us to Trot's house on the Earth. " The umbrella obeyed, at oncemounting into the air. It moved slowly at first, but graduallyincreased its speed. First it lifted the seat of the boy and the girl, then Cap'n Bill's seat, and finally the lunch basket. 

 "Fly high!--Mind your eye! Don't cry!--Bye-bye!"

shouted the parrot from the Pink Witch's shoulder. 

Trot leaned over and waved her hand. The Pink Band played as loud as itcould--in order that the travelers might hear it as long aspossible--and Rosalie and Coralie and Tourmaline threw kisses to theirvanishing friends as long as they remained in sight. 

 * * * * *

"Seems good to be on the way home again, " remarked Trot as the umbrellabumped into a big, black cloud. 

"It reely does, mate, " answered the sailorman joyously. 

Fast through the cloud the umbrella swept, and then suddenly it sailedinto a clear, blue sky, across which a great and gorgeous Rainbowspread its radiant arch. Upon the bow danced the dainty Daughters ofthe Rainbow, and the umbrella passed near enough to it for thepassengers to observe Polychrome merrily leading her sisters, herfleecy robes waving prettily in the gentle breeze. 

"Goodbye, Polly!" cried Button-Bright, and Trot and Cap'n Bill bothcalled out, "Goodbye!"

Polychrome heard and nodded to them smilingly, never halting in hergraceful dance. Then the umbrella dropped far below the arch, whichpresently faded from view. 

It was an exciting ride. Scenes presented themselves entirely differentfrom those they had seen on their former voyage, for the sky changescontinually, and the clouds of a moment ago are not the clouds of anhour ago. Once they passed between two small stars as brilliant asdiamonds, and once an enormous bird whose wings spread so wide thatthey shadowed the sun soared directly over them and lost itself in thevague distance of the limitless sky. 

They rode quite comfortably, however, and were full of eager interestin what they saw. The rush of air past them made them hungry, so Cap'nBill drew up the lunchbasket and held it so that Button-Bright and Trotcould help themselves to the pink food, which tasted very good. Andfinally a dark rim appeared below them, which the sailor declared mustbe the Earth. He proved to be correct, and when they came nearer, theyfound themselves flying over the waves of the ocean. Pretty soon asmall island appeared, and Trot exclaimed, "That's the Sky Island we thought we were goin' to--only we didn't. "

"Yes, an' there's the mainland, mate!" cried Cap'n Bill excitedly, pointing toward a distant coast. 

On swept the Magic Umbrella. Then its speed gradually slackened; thehouses and trees on the coast could be seen, and presently--almostbefore they realized it--they were set down gently upon the high bluffnear the giant acacia. A little way off stood the white cottage whereTrot lived. 

It was growing dusk as Cap'n Bill unhooked the seats and Button-Brightfolded up the umbrella and tucked it under his arm. Trot seized thelunchbasket and ran to the house, where she found her mother busy inthe kitchen. 

"Well, I'm back again, " said the little girl. "Is supper ready, mama?"

Button-Bright stayed all night with them, but next morning, bright andearly, he hooked one of the seats to his Magic Umbrella, said goodbyeto Trot and Cap'n Bill, and flew into the air to begin his journey toPhiladelphia. Just before he started, Trot said:

"Let me know if you get home safe, Button-Bright, an' come an' see meagain as quick as you can. "

"I'll try to come again, " said the boy. "We've had a good time, haven'twe, Trot?"

"The bes' time I EVER had!" she replied enthusiastically. Then sheasked, "Didn't you like it, too, Cap'n Bill?"

"Parts o' it, mate, " the sailor answered as he thoughtfully made marksin the sand with the end of his wooden leg, "but seems to me the bes'part of all was gett'n' home again. "

After several days Trot received a postal card from Button-Bright. Itwas awkwardly scrawled, for the boy was not much of a writer, but Trotmanaged to make out the words. It read as follows:

"Got home safe, Trot, and the folks were so worried they forgot toscold me. Father has taken the Magic Umbrella and locked it up in thebig, strong chest in the attic. He put the key in his own pocket, so Idon't know as I'll ever be able to see you again. But I'll never forgetthe Queen of Sky Island, and I send my love to you and Cap'n Bill. 

"Your friend, "Button-Bright. "

THE END