The Flight of the Midgets
Cap'n Bill and Trot rode very comfortably in the sunbonnet. The motion
was quite steady, for they weighed so little that the Ork flew without
effort. Yet they were both somewhat nervous about their future fate and
could not help wishing they were safe on land and their natural size
again.
"You're terr'ble small, Trot," remarked Cap'n Bill, looking at his
companion.
"Same to you, Cap'n," she said with a laugh; "but as long as we have the
purple berries we needn't worry about our size."
"In a circus," mused the old man, "we'd be curiosities. But in a
sunbonnet--high up in the air--sailin' over a big, unknown ocean--they
ain't no word in any booktionary to describe us."
"Why, we're midgets, that's all," said the little girl.
The Ork flew silently for a long time. The slight swaying of the
sunbonnet made Cap'n Bill drowsy, and he began to doze. Trot, however,
was wide awake, and after enduring the monotonous journey as long as she
was able she called out:
"Don't you see land anywhere, Mr. Ork?"
"Not yet," he answered. "This is a big ocean and I've no idea in which
direction the nearest land to that island lies; but if I keep flying in a
straight line I'm sure to reach some place some time."
That seemed reasonable, so the little people in the sunbonnet remained as
patient as possible; that is, Cap'n Bill dozed and Trot tried to remember
her geography lessons so she could figure out what land they were likely
to arrive at.
For hours and hours the Ork flew steadily, keeping to the straight line
and searching with his eyes the horizon of the ocean for land. Cap'n Bill
was fast asleep and snoring and Trot had laid her head on his shoulder to
rest it when suddenly the Ork exclaimed:
"There! I've caught a glimpse of land, at last."
At this announcement they roused themselves. Cap'n Bill stood up and
tried to peek over the edge of the sunbonnet.
"What does it look like?" he inquired.
"Looks like another island," said the Ork; "but I can judge it better in
a minute or two."
"I don't care much for islands, since we visited that other one,"
declared Trot.
Soon the Ork made another announcement.
"It is surely an island, and a little one, too," said he. "But I won't
stop, because I see a much bigger land straight ahead of it."
"That's right," approved Cap'n Bill. "The bigger the land, the better it
will suit us."
"It's almost a continent," continued the Ork after a brief silence,
during which he did not decrease the speed of his flight. "I wonder if it
can be Orkland, the place I have been seeking so long?"
"I hope not," whispered Trot to Cap'n Bill--so softly that the Ork could
not hear her--"for I shouldn't like to be in a country where only Orks
live. This one Ork isn't a bad companion, but a lot of him wouldn't be
much fun."
After a few more minutes of flying the Ork called out in a sad voice:
"No! this is not my country. It's a place I have never seen before,
although I have wandered far and wide. It seems to be all mountains and
deserts and green valleys and queer cities and lakes and rivers--mixed up
in a very puzzling way."
"Most countries are like that," commented Cap'n Bill. "Are you going to
land?"
"Pretty soon," was the reply. "There is a mountain peak just ahead of me.
What do you say to our landing on that?"
"All right," agreed the sailor-man, for both he and Trot were getting
tired of riding in the sunbonnet and longed to set foot on solid ground
again.
So in a few minutes the Ork slowed down his speed and then came to a
stop so easily that they were scarcely jarred at all. Then the creature
squatted down until the sunbonnet rested on the ground, and began trying
to unfasten with its claws the knotted strings.
This proved a very clumsy task, because the strings were tied at the back
of the Ork's neck, just where his claws would not easily reach. After
much fumbling he said:
"I'm afraid I can't let you out, and there is no one near to help me."
This was at first discouraging, but after a little thought Cap'n Bill
said:
"If you don't mind, Trot, I can cut a slit in your sunbonnet with my
knife."
"Do," she replied. "The slit won't matter, 'cause I can sew it up again
afterward, when I am big."
So Cap'n Bill got out his knife, which was just as small, in proportion,
as he was, and after considerable trouble managed to cut a long slit in
the sunbonnet. First he squeezed through the opening himself and then
helped Trot to get out.
[Illustration]
When they stood on firm ground again their first act was to begin eating
the dark purple berries which they had brought with them. Two of these
Trot had guarded carefully during the long journey, by holding them in
her lap, for their safety meant much to the tiny people.
"I'm not very hungry," said the little girl as she handed a berry to
Cap'n Bill, "but hunger doesn't count, in this case. It's like taking
medicine to make you well, so we must manage to eat 'em, somehow or
other."
But the berries proved quite pleasant to taste and as Cap'n Bill and
Trot nibbled at their edges their forms began to grow in size--slowly
but steadily. The bigger they grew the easier it was for them to eat
the berries, which of course became smaller to them, and by the time the
fruit was eaten our friends had regained their natural size.
The little girl was greatly relieved when she found herself as large as
she had ever been, and Cap'n Bill shared her satisfaction; for, although
they had seen the effect of the berries on the Ork, they had not been
sure the magic fruit would have the same effect on human beings, or that
the magic would work in any other country than that in which the berries
grew.
"What shall we do with the other four berries?" asked Trot, as she picked
up her sunbonnet, marveling that she had ever been small enough to ride
in it. "They're no good to us now, are they, Cap'n?"
"I'm not sure as to that," he replied. "If they were eaten by one who had
never eaten the lavender berries, they might have no effect at all; but
then, contrarywise, they might. One of 'em has got badly jammed, so I'll
throw it away, but the other three I b'lieve I'll carry with me. They're
magic things, you know, and may come handy to us some time."
He now searched in his big pockets and drew out a small wooden box with
a sliding cover. The sailor had kept an assortment of nails, of various
sizes, in this box, but those he now dumped loosely into his pocket and
in the box placed the three sound purple berries.
When this important matter was attended to they found time to look about
them and see what sort of place the Ork had landed them in.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]