"You are ugly enough as you are," said he. "Were you any larger you
might be dangerous."
"Oh, no," Trot assured him; "the Ork has been our good friend. Please
take us to the tree."
Then Pessim consented, although rather reluctantly. He led them to the
right, which was the east side of the island, and in a few minutes
brought them near to the edge of the grove which faced the shore of the
ocean. Here stood a small tree bearing berries of a deep purple color.
The fruit looked very enticing and Cap'n Bill reached up and selected
one that seemed especially plump and ripe.
The Ork had remained perched upon Trot's shoulder but now it flew down
to the ground. It was so difficult for Cap'n Bill to kneel down, with
his wooden leg, that the little girl took the berry from him and held
it close to the Ork's head.
"It's too big to go into my mouth," said the little creature, looking
at the fruit sidewise.
"You'll have to make sev'ral mouthfuls of it, I guess," said Trot; and
that is what the Ork did. He pecked at the soft, ripe fruit with his
bill and ate it up very quickly, because it was good.
Even before he had finished the berry they could see the Ork begin to
grow. In a few minutes he had regained his natural size and was
strutting before them, quite delighted with his transformation.
"Well, well! What do you think of me now?" he asked proudly.
"You are very skinny and remarkably ugly," declared Pessim.
"You are a poor judge of Orks," was the reply. "Anyone can see that I'm
much handsomer than those dreadful things called birds, which are all
fluff and feathers."
"Their feathers make soft beds," asserted Pessim. "And my skin would
make excellent drumheads," retorted the Ork. "Nevertheless, a plucked
bird or a skinned Ork would be of no value to himself, so we needn't
brag of our usefulness after we are dead. But for the sake of argument,
friend Pessim, I'd like to know what good you would be, were you not
alive?"
"Never mind that," said Cap'n Bill. "He isn't much good as he is."
"I am King of this Island, allow me to say, and you're intruding on my
property," declared the little man, scowling upon them. "If you don't
like me--and I'm sure you don't, for no one else does--why don't you go
away and leave me to myself?"
"Well, the Ork can fly, but we can't," explained Trot, in answer. "We
don't want to stay here a bit, but I don't see how we can get away."
"You can go back into the hole you came from."
Cap'n Bill shook his head; Trot shuddered at the thought; the Ork
laughed aloud.
"You may be King here," the creature said to Pessim, "but we intend to
run this island to suit ourselves, for we are three and you are one,
and the balance of power lies with us."
The little man made no reply to this, although as they walked back to
the shed his face wore its fiercest scowl. Cap'n Bill gathered a lot of
leaves and, assisted by Trot, prepared two nice beds in opposite
corners of the shed. Pessim slept in a hammock which he swung between
two trees.
They required no dishes, as all their food consisted of fruits and nuts
picked from the trees; they made no fire, for the weather was warm and
there was nothing to cook; the shed had no furniture other than the
rude stool which the little man was accustomed to sit upon. He called
it his "throne" and they let him keep it.
So they lived upon the island for three days, and rested and ate to
their hearts' content. Still, they were not at all happy in this life
because of Pessim. He continually found fault with them, and all that
they did, and all their surroundings. He could see nothing good or
admirable in all the world and Trot soon came to understand why the
little man's former neighbors had brought him to this island and left
him there, all alone, so he could not annoy anyone. It was their
misfortune that they had been led to this place by their adventures,
for often they would have preferred the company of a wild beast to that
of Pessim.
On the fourth day a happy thought came to the Ork. They had all been
racking their brains for a possible way to leave the island, and
discussing this or that method, without finding a plan that was
practical. Cap'n Bill had said he could make a raft of the trees, big
enough to float them all, but he had no tools except those two
pocketknives and it was not possible to chop down tree with such small
blades.
"And s'pose we got afloat on the ocean," said Trot, "where would we
drift to, and how long would it take us to get there?"
Cap'n Bill was forced to admit he didn't know. The Ork could fly away
from the island any time it wished to, but the queer creature was loyal
to his new friends and refused to leave them in such a lonely, forsaken
place.
It was when Trot urged him to go, on this fourth morning, that the Ork
had his happy thought.
"I will go," said he, "if you two will agree to ride upon my back."
"We are too heavy; you might drop us," objected Cap'n Bill.
"Yes, you are rather heavy for a long journey," acknowledged the Ork,
"but you might eat of those lavender berries and become so small that I
could carry you with ease."
This quaint suggestion startled Trot and she looked gravely at the
speaker while she considered it, but Cap'n Bill gave a scornful snort
and asked:
"What would become of us afterward? We wouldn't be much good if we were
some two or three inches high. No, Mr. Ork, I'd rather stay here, as I
am, than be a hop-o'-my-thumb somewhere else."
"Why couldn't you take some of the dark purple berries along with you,
to eat after we had reached our destination?" inquired the Ork. "Then
you could grow big again whenever you pleased."
Trot clapped her hands with delight.
"That's it!" she exclaimed. "Let's do it, Cap'n Bill."
The old sailor did not like the idea at first, but he thought it over
carefully and the more he thought the better it seemed.
"How could you manage to carry us, if we were so small?" he asked.
"I could put you in a paper bag, and tie the bag around my neck."
"But we haven't a paper bag," objected Trot.
The Ork looked at her.
"There's your sunbonnet," it said presently, "which is hollow in the
middle and has two strings that you could tie around my neck."
Trot took off her sunbonnet and regarded it critically. Yes, it might
easily hold both her and Cap'n Bill, after they had eaten the lavender
berries and been reduced in size. She tied the strings around the Ork's
neck and the sunbonnet made a bag in which two tiny people might ride
without danger of falling out. So she said:
"I b'lieve we'll do it that way, Cap'n."
Cap'n Bill groaned but could make no logical objection except that the
plan seemed to him quite dangerous--and dangerous in more ways than one.
"I think so, myself," said Trot soberly. "But nobody can stay alive
without getting into danger sometimes, and danger doesn't mean getting
hurt, Cap'n; it only means we might get hurt. So I guess we'll have to
take the risk."
"Let's go and find the berries," said the Ork.
They said nothing to Pessim, who was sitting on his stool and scowling
dismally as he stared at the ocean, but started at once to seek the
trees that bore the magic fruits. The Ork remembered very well where
the lavender berries grew and led his companions quickly to the spot.
Cap'n Bill gathered two berries and placed them carefully in his
pocket. Then they went around to the east side of the island and found
the tree that bore the dark purple berries.
"I guess I'll take four of these," said the sailor-man, "so in case one
doesn't make us grow big we can eat another."
"Better take six," advised the Ork. "It's well to be on the safe side,
and I'm sure these trees grow nowhere else in all the world."
So Cap'n Bill gathered six of the purple berries and with their
precious fruit they returned to the shed to big good-bye to Pessim.
Perhaps they would not have granted the surly little man this courtesy
had they not wished to use him to tie the sunbonnet around the Ork's
neck.
When Pessim learned they were about to leave him he at first looked
greatly pleased, but he suddenly recollected that nothing ought to
please him and so began to grumble about being left alone.
"We knew it wouldn't suit you," remarked Cap'n Bill. "It didn't suit
you to have us here, and it won't suit you to have us go away."
"That is quite true," admitted Pessim. "I haven't been suited since I
can remember; so it doesn't matter to me in the least whether you go or
stay."
He was interested in their experiment, however, and willingly agreed to
assist, although he prophesied they would fall out of the sunbonnet on
their way and be either drowned in the ocean or crushed upon some rocky
shore. This uncheerful prospect did not daunt Trot, but it made Cap'n
Bill quite nervous.
"I will eat my berry first," said Trot, as she placed her sunbonnet on
the ground, in such manner that they could get into it.
Then she ate the lavender berry and in a few seconds became so small
that Cap'n Bill picked her up gently with his thumb and one finger and
placed her in the middle of the sunbonnet. Then he placed beside her
the six purple berries--each one being about as big as the tiny Trot's
head--and all preparations being now made the old sailor ate his
lavender berry and became very small--wooden leg and all!
Cap'n Bill stumbled sadly in trying to climb over the edge of the
sunbonnet and pitched in beside Trot headfirst, which caused the
unhappy Pessim to laugh with glee. Then the King of the Island picked
up the sunbonnet--so rudely that he shook its occupants like peas in a
pod--and tied it, by means of its strings, securely around the Ork's
neck.
"I hope, Trot, you sewed those strings on tight," said Cap'n Bill
anxiously.
"Why, we are not very heavy, you know," she replied, "so I think the
stitches will hold. But be careful and not crush the berries, Cap'n."
"One is jammed already," he said, looking at them.
"All ready?" asked the Ork.
"Yes!" they cried together, and Pessim came close to the sunbonnet and
called out to them: "You'll be smashed or drowned, I'm sure you will!
But farewell, and good riddance to you."
The Ork was provoked by this unkind speech, so he turned his tail
toward the little man and made it revolve so fast that the rush of air
tumbled Pessim over backward and he rolled several times upon the
ground before he could stop himself and sit up. By that time the Ork
was high in the air and speeding swiftly over the ocean.