TROT'S INVISIBLE ADVENTURE
CHAPTER 22.
All the Blueskins except a few sentries 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. Shebelieved 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 double guardposted. They were sitting on a bench outside the doorway and both stoodup 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 so strongly united them, yetso thoroughly separated them.
"You see," remarked Jimfred, as they seated themselves again upon thebench, "the Boolooroo has ordered the patching to take place to-morrowmorning 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 we expected,it's a terrible mix-up to be in--until we become used to our strangecombination. You and we are about alike now, Jimfred, although we wereso 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, becauseour 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 stronger."
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 blue lightsshowed at intervals down the long corridors. As the girl walked throughthese passages she could hear snores of various degrees coming frombehind some of the closed doors and knew that all the regular inmates ofthe place were sound asleep. So she mounted to the upper floor, andthinking she would be likely to find Cap'n Bill in the Room of the GreatKnife she went there and tried the door. It was locked, but the key hadbeen left on the outside. She waited until the sentry who was pacing thecorridor had his back toward her and then she turned the key and slippedwithin, softly closing the door behind her.
It was dark as pitch in the room and Trot didn't know how to make alight. 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 some onegroaned, and that made the child uneasy.
At last she found a window and managed to open the shutters and let themoonlight in. It wasn't a very strong moonlight but it enabled her toexamine the interior of the room. In the center stood the Great Knifewhich 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 securelybound.
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 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 to-morrowmorning, 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?" she asked the captive.
"I would, indeed!" said he.
"If I get you out of the palace, can you hide yourself so that you won'tbe 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 the Boolooroowill have no one to patch Cap'n Bill to."
"He may find some one else," suggested the prisoner.
"But it will take him time to do that, and time is all I want," answeredthe child. Even while she spoke Trot was busy with the knots in thecords, 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 overthe bench they are seated on you can easily escape them."
"I'll do that, all right," promised the delighted Tiggle. "You've made afriend of me, little girl, and if ever I can help you I'll do it withpleasure."
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 make anoise 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 Trot ranlittle risk, as she was careful not to let him touch her. When Tigglehad safely 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 door-keyaway 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 legs leftfree. The Boolooroo in his search had failed to discover what had becomeof Ghip-Ghisizzle, but the poor man had been worried every minute forfear his retreat would be discovered or that the terrible Princesseswould come for him and nag him until he went crazy. There was one windowin his room and the prisoner had managed to push open the sash with hisknees. Looking out, he found that a few feet below the window was thebroad wall that ran all around the palace gardens. A little way to theright the wall joined the wall of the City, being on the same level withit.
Ghip-Ghisizzle had been thinking deeply upon this discovery, and hedecided that if anyone entered his room he would get through the window,leap down upon the wall and try in this way to escape. It would be adangerous leap, for as his arms were bound he might topple off the wallinto the garden; but he resolved to take this chance.
Therefore, when Trot rattled at the door of his room Ghip-Ghisizzle ranand seated himself upon the window-sill, dangling his long legs over theedge. When she finally opened the door he slipped off and let himselffall to the wall, where he doubled up in a heap. The next minute,however, he had scrambled to his feet and was running swiftly along thegarden 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 hi
m, 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 he wouldbe seized at once. Just then he came opposite the camp of the Pinkiesand decided to trust himself to the mercies of his Earth friends ratherthan be made a prisoner by his own people, who would obey the commandsof their detested but greatly feared Boolooroo. So, suddenly he gave amighty leap and came down into the field outside the City. Again he fellin a heap and rolled over and over, for it was a high wall and the jumpa dangerous one; but finally he recovered and got 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.