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Sky Island

L >> L. Frank Baum >> Sky Island




Only a few of the Blueskins were soldiers, and these all belonged to
the King's bodyguard, but the citizens realized that they must
indeed fight bravely to save themselves from getting hurt, so they
promised the Boolooroo to do all they could. They armed themselves
with long cords having weights fastened to the ends and practiced
throwing these weights in such a manner that the cords would wind
around their enemies. Also, they assembled in the streets in small
groups and told each other in frightened whispers that all their
trouble was due to the Boolooroo's cruel treatment of the Earth
people. If he had received them as friends instead of making them
slaves, they would never have escaped to the Pinkies and brought an
army into the Blue Country that they might be revenged. The
Blueskins had not liked their Boolooroo before this, and now they
began to hate him, forgetting they had also treated the strangers in
a very disagreeable manner.

Meantime, the Six Snubnosed Princesses had seen from their rooms in
a tower of the palace the army of the Pinkies marching upon them,
and the sight had served to excite them greatly. They had been
quarreling bitterly among themselves all morning, and strangely
enough this quarrel was all about which of them should marry
Ghip-Ghisizzle. They knew that some day the Majordomo would become
Boolooroo, and each one of the six had determined to marry him so as
to be Queen and thus force her sisters to obey her commands. They
paid no attention to the fact that Ghip-Ghisizzle did not want to
marry any of them, for they had determined that when it was agreed
who should have him, they would ask their father to force the man to
marry.

While they quarreled in one room of the palace, Ghip-Ghisizzle was
in danger of being patched in another room; but the Six Snubnosed
Princesses did not know that. The arrival of the Pinkies gave them
something new to talk about, so they hurried downstairs and along
the corridors so as to gain the courtyard and take part in the
exciting scenes. But as they passed the closed doors of the Room of
the Great Knife, they heard a low moan and stopped to listen. The
moan was repeated, and being curious, they unlocked the door--the
key having been left on the outside--and entered the room.

At once, the Pinkies were forgotten, for there upon the floor,
tightly bound, lay Ghip-Ghisizzle, and beside him poor Tiggle, who
had uttered the moans.

The six Princesses sat down in a circle facing the captives, and
Cerulia said, "Ghip, my dear, we will release you on one condition:
That you choose a wife from among us and promise to marry the one
selected 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 I would 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
by the roots!"

"If I am to be your wife," screamed Azure, "I'll mark your obstinate
face with my fingernails!"

"And I," said Turquoise passionately, "will pound your head with a
broomstick!"

"I'll shake him till his teeth rattle!" shrieked Sapphire.

"The best way to manage a husband," observed Cerulia angrily, "is to
pull his nose."

"Ladies," said Ghip-Ghisizzle when he had a chance to speak, "do not
anticipate these pleasures, I beg of you, for I shall choose none
among you 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 Boolooroo
returns," said Ghip-Ghisizzle, "and it's against the law for a
patched man 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
from that fate, girls, and force him to decide among us. Otherwise,
none of us can ever be the Queen."

This being evident, they proceeded to unbind the long legs of
Ghip-Ghisizzle, leaving his body and arms, however, tied fast
together. Then between them they got him upon his feet and led him
away, paying no attention to poor Tiggle, who whined to be released
so he could fight in the war. After a hurried consultation, the Six
Snubnosed Princesses decided to hide the Majordomo in one of their
boudoirs, so they dragged him up the stairs to their reception room
and fell to quarreling as to whose boudoir should be occupied by
their captive. Not being able to settle the question, they finally
locked him up in a vacant room across the hall and told him he must
stay there until he had decided to marry one of the Princesses and
could make a choice among them.






THE CAPTURE OF CAP'N BILL

CHAPTER 21





While this was transpiring in the palace, Cap'n Bill and the Pinkies
had encamped before the principal gate of the City and a tent had
been pitched for Trot and Button-Bright and Rosalie. The army had
been very fearful and weak-kneed when it first entered the Blue
Country, but perceiving that the Boolooroo and his people were
afraid of them and had locked themselves up in the City, the Pinkies
grew bolder and longed to make an attack.

One of them, in his curiosity to examine the Blue City, got a little
too 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 the weight hit him in the eye and made him howl lustily as he
trotted back to this comrades at full speed. After this experience,
the invaders were careful to keep a safe distance from the wall.

The Boolooroo, having made all preparations to receive the enemy,
was annoyed because they held back. He was himself so nervous and
excited that he became desperate, and after an hour of tedious
waiting, during which time he pranced around impatiently, he decided
to attack the hated 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
drive them back into the Fog Bank. But take all the prisoners you
can, my brave men, and tomorrow we will have a jolly time patching
them. Don't be afraid; those pink creatures have no blue blood in
their veins, and they'll run like rabbits when they see us coming."

Then he ordered the gate thrown open, and immediately the Blueskins
poured out into the open plain and began to run toward the Pinkies.
The Boolooroo 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 an
attack. The Pinkies did not run like rabbits, but formed a solid
line and knelt down with their long, sharp sticks pointed directly
toward the Blueskins, the other ends being set firmly upon the
ground. Of course, the Blueskins couldn't run against these sharp
points, so they halted a few feet away and began swinging their
cord-and-weights. But the Pinkies were too close together to be
caught in this manner, and now by command of Cap'n Bill they
suddenly rose to their feet and began jabbing their sticks at the
foe. The Blueskins hesitated until a few got pricked and began to
yell with terror, when the whole of the Boolooroo'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 the Blueskins, who
quickly gained the gate and shut themselves up in the City again.

"It is evident," panted the Boolooroo, facing his defeated soldiers
wrathfully, "that you are a pack of cowards!"

"But we followed your own royal example in running," replied the
Captain.

"I merely ran back to the City to get a drink of water, for I was
thirsty," declared the Boolooroo.

"So did we! So did we!" cried the soldiers eagerly. "We were all
thirsty."

"Your High and Mighty Spry and Flighty Majesty," remarked the
Captain respectfully, "it occurs to me that the weapons of the
Pinkies are superior to our own. What we need in order to oppose
them successfully is a number of sharp sticks which are longer than
their own."

"True, true!" exclaimed the Boolooroo enthusiastically. "Get to work
at once and make yourselves long, sharp sticks, and then we will
attack the enemy again."

So the soldiers and citizens all set to work preparing long, sharp
sticks, and while they were doing this, Rosalie the Witch had a
vision in which she saw exactly what was going on inside the City
wall. Queen Trot and Cap'n Bill and Button-Bright saw the vision,
too, for they were all in the tent together, and the sight made them
anxious.

"What can be done?" asked the girl. "The Blueskins are bigger and
stronger than the Pinkies, and if they have sharp sticks which are
longer than ours, they will surely defeat us."

"I have one magic charm," said Rosalie thoughtfully, "that will save
our army; but I am allowed to work only one magic charm every three
days--not oftener--and perhaps I'll need the magic for other
things."

"Strikes me, ma'am," returned the sailor, "that what we need most on
this expedition is to capture the Blueskins. If we don't, we'll need
plenty of magic to help us back to the Pink Country; but if we do,
we can take care of ourselves without magic."

"Very well," replied Rosalie. "I will take your advice, Cap'n, and
enchant the weapons of the Pinkies." She then went out and had all
the Pinkies come before her, one by one, and she enchanted their
sharp sticks by muttering some cabalistic words and making queer
passes with her hands over the weapons. "Now," she said to them,
"you will be powerful enough to defeat the Blueskins whatever they
may do." The Pinkies were overjoyed at this promise, and it made
them very brave indeed, since they now believed they would surely be
victorious.

When the Boolooroo's people were armed with long, thin, lances of
bluewood all sharpened to fine points at one end, they prepared to
march once more against the invaders. Their sticks were twice as
long as those of the Pinkies, and the Boolooroo chuckled with glee
to think what fun they would have in punching holes in the round,
fat bodies of his enemies.

Out from the gate they marched very boldly and pressed on to attack
the Pinkies, who were drawn up in line of battle to receive them,
with Cap'n Bill at their head. When the opposing forces came
together, however, and the Blueskins pushed their points against the
Pinkies, the weapons which had been enchanted by Rosalie began to
whirl in swift circles--so swift that the eye could scarcely follow
the motion. The result was that the lances of the Boolooroo's people
could not touch the Pinkies, but were thrust aside with violence and
either broken in two or sent hurling through the air in all
directions. Finding themselves so suddenly disarmed, the amazed
Blueskins turned about and ran again, while Cap'n Bill, greatly
excited by his victory, shouted to his followers to pursue the
enemy, and hobbled after them as fast as he could 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
one another's way and could not make very good progress on the
retreat, so the old sailor soon caught up with them and began
jabbing at the crowd with his stick. Unfortunately, the Pinkies had
not followed their commander, being for the moment dazed by their
success, so that Cap'n Bill was all alone among the Blueskins when
he stepped his wooden leg into a hole in the ground and tumbled full
length, his sharp stick flying 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 yell
with terror, but seeing that only the sailorman was pursuing them
and that this solitary foe had tumbled flat upon the ground, he
issued a command and several of his people fell upon poor Cap'n
Bill, seized him in their long arms, and carried him struggling into
the City, where he was fast bound.

Then a panic fell upon the Pinkies at the loss of their leader, and
Trot and Button-Bright called out in vain for them to rescue Cap'n
Bill. 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 to save her friend, the gate was found to be fast barred,
and she knew it was impossible for them to force an entrance into
the City.

So she went sorrowfully back to the camp, followed by the Pinkies,
and asked Rosalie what could be done.

"I'm sure I do not know," replied the Witch. "I cannot use another
magic charm until three days have expired, but if they do not harm
Cap'n Bill during that time, I believe I can then find a way to save
him."

"Three days is a long time," remarked Trot dismally.

"The Boolooroo may decide to patch him at once," added Button-Bright
with equal sadness, for he, too, mourned the sailor's loss.

"It can't be helped," replied Rosalie. "I am not a fairy, my dears,
but merely a witch, and so my magic powers are limited. We can only
hope that the Boolooroo won't patch Cap'n Bill for three days."

When night settled down upon the camp of the Pinkies, where many
tents had now been pitched, all the invaders were filled with gloom.
The band tried to enliven them by playing the "Dead March," but it
was not a success. The Pinkies were despondent in spite of the fact
that they had repulsed the attack of the Blues, for as yet they had
not succeeded in gaining the City or finding the Magic Umbrella, and
the blue dusk of this dread country--which was so different from
their own land of sunsets--made them all very nervous. They saw the
moon rise for the first time in their lives, and its cold, silvery
radiance made them shudder and prevented them from going to sleep.
Trot tried to interest them by telling them that on the Earth the
people had both the sun and the moon and loved them both; but
nevertheless it is certain that had not the terrible Fog Bank stood
between them and the Pink Land, most of the invading army would have
promptly deserted and gone back home.

Trot couldn't sleep, either, she was so worried over Cap'n Bill. She
went back to the tent where Rosalie and Button-Bright were sitting
in the moonlight and asked the Witch if there was no way in which
she could secretly get into the City of the Blues and search for her
friend. 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
of the wall and descend into the City. But if anyone should see you,
you would be captured."

"I'll risk that," said the child, excited at the prospect of gaining
the side of Cap'n Bill in this adventurous way. "Please make the
rope ladder at once, Rosalie!"

So the Witch took some ropes and knotted together a ladder long
enough to reach the top of the wall. When it was finished, the
three--Rosalie, Trot and Button-Bright--stole out into the moonlight
and crept unobserved into the shadow of the wall. The Blueskins were
not keeping a very close watch, as they were confident the Pinkies
could not get into the City.

The hardest part of Rosalie's task was to toss up one end of the
rope ladder until it would catch on some projection on top of the
wall. There were few such projections, but after creeping along the
wall for a 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, and on 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 little
wistfully.

"No," said the girl. "You must stay to lead the army. And if you can
think of a way, you must try to rescue us. Perhaps I'll be able to
save Cap'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
the bird. "I can't take it with me, for it would be a bother, an' if
it tried to spout po'try, I'd be discovered in a jiffy."

As the beautiful Witch kissed the little girl goodbye, she slipped
upon her 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," said
she, "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 this
wonderful ring, for it will save you from being discovered by your
enemies. If at any time you wish to be seen, take the ring from your
finger; but as long as you wear it, no one can see you, not even
Earth people."

"Oh, thank you!" cried Trot. "That will be fine."

"I see you have another ring on your hand," said Rosalie, "and I
perceive it is enchanted in some way. Where did you get it?"

"The Queen of the Mermaids gave it to me," answered Trot. "But Sky
Island is so far away from the sea that the ring won't do me any
good while 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
in danger yourself. But be careful not to let any Blueskin touch
you, for while you are in contact with any person you will become
visible. Keep out 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 my witchcraft treasures, and I need it in my
business."

The Trot climbed the ladder, although neither Button-Bright nor
Rosalie could see her do so, and when she was on top the broad wall
she pulled up the knotted ropes and began to search for a place to
let it down on the other side. A little way off she found a
bluestone seat near to the inner edge, and attaching the ladder to
this, she easily descended it and found herself in the Blue City. A
guard was pacing up and down near her, but as he could not see the
girl, he of course paid no attention to her. So after marking the
place where the ladder hung that she might know how to reach it
again, Trot hurried away through the streets of the city.






TROT'S INVISIBLE ADVENTURE

CHAPTER 22





All the Blueskins except a few soldiers had gone to bed and were
sound asleep. A blue gloom hung over the city, which was scarcely
relieved by a few bluish, wavering lights here and there, but Trot
knew the general direction in which the palace lay, and she decided
to go there first. She believed the Boolooroo would surely keep so
important a prisoner as Cap'n Bill locked up in his own palace.

Once or twice the little girl lost her way, for the streets were
very puzzling to one not accustomed to them, but finally she sighted
the great palace and went up to the entrance. There she found a
double guard posted. They were sitting on a bench outside the
doorway, and both 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, Jimfred
Jonesjinks and Fredjim Jinksjones, who had been talking together
quite cheerfully. It was the first time the girl had seen them
together, and she marveled at the queer patching that had been so
strongly united here, yet so thoroughly separated them.

"You see," remarked Jimfred as they seated themselves again upon the
bench, "The Boolooroo has ordered the patching to take place
tomorrow morning after breakfast. The old Earth man is to be patched
to poor Tiggle instead of Ghip-Ghisizzle, who has in some way
managed to escape from the Room of the Great Knife--no one knows how
but Tiggle, and Tiggle won't tell."

"We're sorry for anyone who has to be patched," replied Fredjim in a
reflective tone, "for although it didn't hurt us as much as we
expected, it's a terrible mix-up to be in until we become used to
our strange combination. You and we are about alike, now, Jimfred,
although we 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
were patched."

"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
of this bench with our right arms. Whichever can pull the bench from
the others must be the strongest."

While they were tussling at the bench, dragging it first here and
then there in the trial of strength, Trot opened the door of the
palace and walked in. It was pretty dark in the hall, and only a few
dim blue lights showed at intervals down the long corridors. As the
girl walked through these passages, she could hear snores of various
degrees coming from behind some of the closed doors and knew that
all the regular inmates of the place were sound asleep. So she
mounted to the upper floor, and thinking she would be likely to find
Cap'n Bill in the Room of 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 sentry who was pacing the corridor had his back
toward her, and then she turned 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 a
light. After a moment's thought she began feeling her way to the
window, stumbling over objects as she went. Every time she made a
noise, someone groaned, and that made the child uneasy. At last she
found a window and managed to open the shutters and let the
moonlight in. It wasn't a very strong moonlight, but it enabled her
to examine the interior of the room. In the center stood the Great
Knife, which the Boolooroo used to split people in two when he
patched them, and at one side was a dark form huddled upon the floor
and securely bound.

Trot hastened to this form and knelt beside it, but was disappointed
to find it was only Tiggle. The man stirred a little and rolled
against Trot's knee, when she at once became visible to him. "Oh,
it's the Earth child," said he. "Are you condemned to be patched,
too, little one?"

"No," answered Trot. "Tell me where Cap'n Bill is."

"I can't," said Tiggle. "The Boolooroo has hidden him until tomorrow
morning, when he's to be patched to me. Ghip-Ghisizzle was to have
been my mate, but Ghip escaped, being carried away by the Six
Snubnosed Princesses."

"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?"
she asked the captive. "If I get you out of the palace, can you hide
yourself so that you won't be found?"

"Certainly!" he declared. "I know a house where I can hide so snugly
that all the Boolooroo's soldiers cannot find me."

"All right," said Trot. "I'll do it, for when you're gone, the
Boolooroo 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
knots in the cords, and presently she had unbound Tiggle, who soon
got upon his 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 the other way. Outside the palace, Jimfred and Fredjim are
on guard, but if you 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
made a friend of me, little girl, and if ever I can help you, I'll
do it with pleasure."

Then Trot started for the door, and Tiggle could no longer see her
because she was not now touching him. The man was much surprised at
her disappearance, but listened carefully, and when he heard the
girl make a noise at one end of the corridor, he opened the door and
ran in the opposite direction as he had been told to do.

Of course, the guard could not discover what made the noise, and
Trot ran little risk, as she was careful not to let him touch her.
When Tiggle had escaped, the little girl wandered through the palace
in search of Cap'n Bill, but soon decided such a quest in the dark
was likely to fail and she must wait until morning. She was tired,
too, and thought she would find a vacant room--of which there were
many in the big palace--and go to sleep until daylight. She
remembered there was a comfortable vacant room just opposite the
suite of the Six Snubnosed Princesses, so she stole softly up to it
and tried the door. It was locked, but the key was outside, as the
Blueskins seldom took a door key from its place. So she turned the
key, opened the door, and walked in.

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