Sky Island
Page 24
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 in aminute.
The blue dawn was just breaking when she opened her eyes with a start offear that she might have overslept, but soon she found that no one elsein the palace was yet astir. Even the guards had gone to sleep by thistime and were adding their snores to the snores of the other inhabitantsof the Royal Palace. So the little girl got up and, finding a ewer ofwater and a basin upon the dresser, washed herself carefully and thenlooked in a big mirror to see how her hair was. To her astonishmentthere was no reflection at all; the mirror was blank so far as Trot wasconcerned. She laughed a little, at that, remembering she wore the ringof Rosalie the Witch, which rendered her invisible. Then she slippedquietly out of the room and found it was already light enough in thecorridors 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 cosily. The little blue dog came trotting out of Indigo'sboudoir and crowed like a rooster, for although he could not see Trothis keen little nose scented her presence. Thinking it time the Princessawoke, Trot leaned over and gave her snubnose a good tweak, and at onceIndigo yelled like an Indian and sat up, glaring around her to see whohad dared to pull her nose. Trot, standing back in the room, threw asofa pillow that caught the Princess on the side of her head. At onceIndigo sprang out of bed and rushed into the chamber of Cobalt, whichadjoined her own. Thinking it was this sister who had slyly attackedher, Indigo rushed at the sleeping Cobalt and slapped her 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 blue lamb came trotting into the room and Trot leaned over andpatted the pretty little animal; but as she did so she became visiblefor an instant, each pat destroying the charm of the ring while the girlwas in contact with a living creature. These flashes permitted some ofthe Princesses to see her and at once they rushed toward her withfurious cries. But the girl realized what had happened, and leaving thelamb she stepped back into a corner and her frenzied enemies failed tofind her. It was a little dangerous, though, remaining in a room wheresix girls were feeling all around for her, so she went away and leftthem to 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, so shedecided 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 some place 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 that hehad 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. Trot slowlyfollowed this cord and in the dressing room came upon Cap'n Bill, whowas lying asleep upon a lounge and snoring with great vigor. His armswere tied to his body and his body was tied fast to the lounge. Thewooden leg stuck out into the room at an angle and the shoe on his onefoot had been removed so that the end of the cord could be fastened tothe sailor's big toe.
This arrangement had been a clever thought of the Boolooroo. Fearing hisimportant prisoner might escape before he was patched, as Ghip-Ghisizzlehad done, the cruel King of the Blues had kept Cap'n Bill in his privateapartments and had tied his own big toe to the prisoner's big toe, sothat if the sailor made any attempt to get away he would pull on thecord, and that would arouse the Boolooroo.
Trot saw through this cunning scheme at once, so the first thing she didwas to untie the cord from Cap'n Bill's big toe and retie it to a leg ofthe lounge. Then she unfastened her friend's bonds and leaned over togive his leathery face a smacking kiss.
Cap'n Bill sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around the room andrubbed his eyes again, seeing no one who could have kissed him. Then hediscovered that his bonds had been removed and he rubbed his eyes oncemore to make sure he 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 you get 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 saveyou."
"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 some livingcreature. Cap'n Bill was much interested.
"I'm willing to be saved, mate," he said, "for the Boo-l'roo is set onpatchin' me right after breakfas', which I hope the cook'll be latewith."
"Who are you to be patched with?" 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'Bool'roo's sure to find some one else. What's to be done, mate?"
Trot thought about it for a moment. Then she remembered how some unknownman had escaped from the palace the night before, by means of the wall,which he had reached from the window of the very chamber in which shehad slept. Cap'n Bill might easily do the same. And the rope ladder shehad used would help the sailor down from the top of the wall.
"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 she quietlyled the sailor through the room of the sleeping Boolooroo and throughseveral other rooms until they came to the passage. Here a soldier wason guard, but he had fallen asleep for a moment, in order to resthimself. They passed this 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'tyou 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.
"Good-bye, mate," said Cap'n Bill, prep
aring to descend; "don't getreckless."
"I won't, Cap'n. Don't worry."
Then he grasped the sheet with both hands and easily let himself down tothe wall. Trot had told him where to find the rope ladder she had leftand how to fasten it to the broken flagstaff so he could climb down intothe field outside the City.
As soon as he was safe on the wall Cap'n Bill began to hobble along thebroad top toward the connecting wall that surrounded the entireCity--just as Ghip-Ghisizzle had done--and Trot anxiously watched himfrom 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, andpresently his eyes lit upon the huge form of Cap'n Bill hastening alongthe top of the wall. The soldier gave a yell that aroused a score of hiscomrades and brought them tumbling into the street. When they saw howthe Boolooroo's precious prisoner was escaping they instantly becamealert and wide-awake, and every one started in pursuit along the foot ofthe 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'n Billcame up, panting and all out of breath, the Blueskins seized him andheld him fast.
Cap'n Bill was terribly disappointed at being recaptured, and so wasTrot, who had eagerly followed his every movement from her window in thepalace. The little girl could have cried with vexation, and I think shedid weep a few tears before she recovered her courage; but Cap'n Billwas a philosopher, in his way, and had learned to accept ill fortunecheerfully. Knowing he was helpless, he made no protest when they againbound him and carried him down the ladder like a bale of goods.
Others were also disappointed by his capture. Button-Bright had heardthe parrot squawking:
"Oh, there's Cap'n Bill! There's =Cap'n Bill=! I see him still--up on that hill! It's Cap'n Bill!"
So the boy ran out of his tent to find the sailor hurrying along the topof the wall as fast as he could go. At once Button-Bright arousedCoralie, who got her Pinkies together and quickly marched them towardthe wall to assist in the escape of her Commander in Chief.
But they were too late. Before they could reach the wall the Blueskinshad captured Trot's old friend and lugged him down into the City, soCoralie and Button-Bright were forced to return to their campdiscomfited. There Ghip-Ghisizzle and Rosalie were awaiting them andthey all went into the Witch's tent and held a council of war.
"Tell me," said Ghip-Ghisizzle to Button-Bright, "did you not take theRoyal Record Book from 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 presented thelittle blue book to the Majordomo, the only friend the adventurers hadfound 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. The wickedBoolooroo had already reigned over the Blue Country three hundred yearslast Thursday, so that now he has no right to rule at all. I, myself,have been the rightful Ruler of the Blues since Thursday, and yet thiscruel and deceitful man has not only deprived me of my right to succeedhim, but he has tried to have me patched, so that I could never becomethe Boolooroo."
"Does the book tell how old he is?" asked Button-Bright.
"Yes; he is now five hundred years old, and has yet another hundredyears to live. He planned to rule the Blue Country until the last, but Inow know the deception he has practiced and have the Royal Record Bookto prove it. With this I shall be able to force him to resign, that Imay take his place, for all the people will support me and abide by theLaw. The tyrant will perhaps fight me and my cause desperately, but I amsure 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."