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[Illustration: This Book Belongs To]
SKY ISLAND
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THE FAMOUS OZ BOOKS
By L. Frank Baum:
THE WIZARD OF OZ
THE LAND OF OZ
OZMA OF OZ
DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ
THE ROAD TO OZ
THE EMERALD CITY OF OZ
THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ
TIK-TOK OF OZ
THE SCARECROW OF OZ
RINKITINK IN OZ
THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZ
THE TIN WOODMAN OF OZ
THE MAGIC OF OZ
GLINDA OF OZ
CHICAGO THE REILLY & LEE CO. _Publishers_
SKY ISLAND
_Being the Further Exciting Adventures
of Trot and Cap'n Bill after Their
Visit to the Sea Fairies_
By
L. FRANK BAUM
AUTHOR OF THE SEA FAIRIES, THE EMERALD CITY OF OZ,
DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ, OZMA OF OZ,
THE ROAD TO OZ, THE LAND OF OZ, ETC.
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ILLUSTRATED BY
JOHN R. NEILL
The Reilly & Lee Co.
Chicago
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COPYRIGHT 1912. BY L. FRANK BAUM
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG
CARD NO. 78-125373
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To
MY SISTER
MARY LOUISE BREWSTER
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A LITTLE TALK TO MY READERS
With "The Sea Fairies," my book for 1911, I ventured into a new field of
fairy literature and to my delight the book was received with much
approval by my former readers, many of whom have written me that they
like Trot "almost as well as Dorothy." As Dorothy was an old, old friend
and Trot a new one, I think this is very high praise for Cap'n Bill's
little companion. Cap'n Bill is also a new character who seems to have
won approval, and so both Trot and the old sailor are again introduced
in the present story, which may be called the second of the series of
adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill.
But you will recognize some other acquaintances in "Sky Island." Here,
for instance, is Button-Bright, who once had an adventure with Dorothy
in Oz, and without Button-Bright and his Magic Umbrella you will see
that the story of "Sky Island" could never have been written. As
Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, lives in the sky, it is natural that
Trot and Button-Bright meet her during their adventures there.
This story of Sky Island has astonished me considerably, and I think it
will also astonish you. The sky country is certainly a remarkable
fairyland, but after reading about it I am sure you will agree with me
that our old Mother Earth is a very good place to live upon and that
Trot and Button-Bright and Cap'n Bill were fortunate to get back to it
again.
By the way, one of my little correspondents has suggested that I print
my address in this book, so that the children may know where letters
will reach me. I am doing this, as you see, and hope that many will
write to me and tell me how they like "Sky Island." My greatest
treasures are these letters from my readers and I am always delighted to
receive them.
L. FRANK BAUM.
"OZCOT"
at HOLLYWOOD
in CALIFORNIA
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LIST OF CHAPTERS
CHAPTER
1--A MYSTERIOUS ARRIVAL 13
2--THE MAGIC UMBRELLA 23
3--A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE 37
4--THE ISLAND IN THE SKY 48
5--THE BOOLOOROO OF THE BLUES 55
6--THE SIX SNUBNOSED PRINCESSES 65
7--GHIP-GHISIZZLE PROVES FRIENDLY 74
8--THE BLUE CITY 80
9--THE TRIBULATION OF TROT 91
10--THE KING'S TREASURE CHAMBER 101
11--BUTTON-BRIGHT ENCOUNTERS THE BLUE WOLF 112
12--THROUGH THE FOG BANK 119
13--THE PINK COUNTRY 130
14--TOURMALINE THE POVERTY QUEEN 138
15--THE SUNRISE TRIBE AND THE SUNSET TRIBE 147
16--ROSALIE THE WITCH 160
17--THE ARRIVAL OF POLYCHROME 168
18--MAYRE, QUEEN OF THE PINK COUNTRY 179
19--THE WAR OF THE PINKS AND BLUES 187
20--GHIP-GHISIZZLE HAS A BAD TIME 193
21--THE CAPTURE OF CAP'N BILL 201
22--TROT'S INVISIBLE ADVENTURE 214
23--THE GIRL AND THE BOOLOOROO 222
24--THE AMAZING CONQUEST OF THE BLUES 233
25--THE RULER OF SKY ISLAND 245
26--TROT CELEBRATES HER VICTORY 252
27--THE FATE OF THE MAGIC UMBRELLA 263
28--THE ELEPHANT'S HEAD COMES TO LIFE 270
29--TROT REGULATES THE PINKIES 275
30--THE JOURNEY HOME 280
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A MYSTERIOUS ARRIVAL
CHAPTER 1.
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"Hello," said the boy.
"Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised. "Where did you come from?"
"Philadelphia," said he.
"Dear me," said Trot; "you're a long way from home, then."
"'Bout as far as I can get, in this country," the boy replied, gazing
out over the water. "Isn't this the Pacific Ocean?"
"Of course."
"Why of course?" he asked.
"Because it's the biggest lot of water in all the world."
"How do you know?"
"Cap'n Bill told me," she said.
"Who's Cap'n Bill?"
"An old sailorman who's a friend of mine. He lives at my house, too--the
white house you see over there on the bluff."
"Oh; is that your home?"
"Yes," said Trot, proudly. "Isn't it pretty?"
"It's pretty small, seems to me," answered the boy.
"But it's big enough for mother and me, an' for Cap'n Bill," said Trot.
"Haven't you any father?"
"Yes, 'ndeed; Cap'n Griffith is my father; but he's gone, most of the
time, sailin' on his ship. You mus' be a stranger in these parts, little
boy, not to know 'bout Cap'n Griffith," she added, looking at her new
acquaintance intently.
Trot wasn't very big herself, but the boy was not quite as big as Trot.
He was thin, with a rather pale complexion and his blue eyes were round
and earnest. He wore a blouse waist, a short jacket and knickerbockers.
Under his arm he held an old umbrella that was as tall as he was. Its
covering had once been of thick brown cloth, but the color had faded to
a dull drab, except in the creases, and Trot thought it looked very
old-fashioned and common. The handle, though, was really curious. It was
of wood and carved to resemble an elephant's head. The long trunk of the
elephant was curved to make a crook for the handle. The eyes of the
beast were small red stones, and it had two tiny tusks of ivory.
The boy's dress was rich and expensive, even to his fine silk stockings
and tan shoes; but the umbrella looked old and disreputable.
"It isn't the rainy season now," remarked Trot, with a smile.
The boy glanced at his umbrella and hugged it tighter.
"No," he said; "but umbrellas are good for other things 'sides rain."
"'Fraid of gett'n' sun-struck?" asked Trot.
He shook his head, still gazing far out over the water.
"I don't b'lieve this is bigger than any other ocean," said he. "I can't
see any more of it than I can of the Atlantic."
"You'd find out, if you had to sail across it," she declared.
"When I was in Chicago I saw Lake Michigan," he went on dreamily, "and
it looked just as big as this water does."
"Looks don't count, with oceans," she asserted. "Your eyes can only see
jus' so far, whether you're lookin' at a pond or a great sea."
"Then it doesn't make any difference how big an ocean is," he replied.
"What are those buildings over there?" pointing to the right, along the
shore of the bay.
"That's the town," said Trot. "Most of the people earn their living by
fishing. The town is half a mile from here an' my house is almost a half
mile the other way; so it's 'bout a mile from my house to the town."
The boy sat down beside her on the flat rock.
"Do you like girls?" asked Trot, making room for him.
"Not very well," the boy replied. "Some of 'em are pretty good fellows,
but not many. The girls with brothers are bossy, an' the girls without
brothers haven't any 'go' to 'em. But the world's full o' both kinds,
and so I try to take 'em as they come. They can't help being girls, of
course. Do you like boys?"
"When they don't put on airs, or get rough-house," replied Trot. "My
'sperience with boys is that they don't know much, but think they do."
"That's true," he answered. "I don't like boys much better than I do
girls; but some are all right, and--you seem to be one of 'em."
"Much obliged," laughed Trot. "You aren't so bad, either, an' if we
don't both turn out worse than we seem we ought to be friends."
He nodded, rather absently, and tossed a pebble into the water.
"Been to town?" he asked.
"Yes. Mother wanted some yarn from the store. She's knittin' Cap'n Bill
a stocking."
"Doesn't he wear but one?"
"That's all. Cap'n Bill has one wooden leg," she explained. "That's why
he don't sailor any more. I'm glad of it, 'cause Cap'n Bill knows
ev'rything. I s'pose he knows more than anyone else in all the world."
"Whew!" said the boy; "that's taking a good deal for granted. A
one-legged sailor can't know much."
"Why not?" asked Trot, a little indignantly. "Folks don't learn things
with their legs, do they?"
"No; but they can't get around, without legs, to find out things."
"Cap'n Bill got 'round lively 'nough once, when he had two meat legs,"
she said. "He's sailed to 'most ev'ry country on the earth, an' found
out all that the people in 'em knew, and a lot besides. He was
shipwrecked on a desert island, once, and another time a cannibal king
tried to boil him for dinner, an' one day a shark chased him seven
leagues through the water, an'--"
"What's a league?" asked the boy.
"It's a--a distance, like a mile is; but a league isn't a mile, you
know."
"What is it, then?"
"You'll have to ask Cap'n Bill; he knows ever'thing."
"Not ever'thing," objected the boy. "I know some things Cap'n Bill don't
know."
"If you do you're pretty smart," said Trot.
"No; I'm not smart. Some folks think I'm stupid. I guess I am. But I
know a few things that are wonderful. Cap'n Bill may know more'n I do--a
good deal more--but I'm sure he can't know the same things. Say, what's
your name?"
"I'm Mayre Griffith; but ever'body calls me 'Trot.' It's a nickname I
got when I was a baby, 'cause I trotted so fast when I walked, an' it
seems to stick. What's _your_ name?"
"Button-Bright."
"How did it happen?"
"How did what happen?"
"Such a funny name."
The boy scowled a little.
"Just like your own nickname happened," he answered gloomily. "My father
once said I was bright as a button, an' it made ever'body laugh. So they
always call me Button-Bright."
"What's your real name?" she inquired.
"Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith."
"Guess I'll call you Button-Bright," said Trot, sighing. "The only other
thing would be 'Salad,' an' I don't like salads. Don't you find it hard
work to 'member all of your name?"
"I don't try to," he said. "There's a lot more of it, but I've forgotten
the rest."
"Thank you," said Trot. "Oh, here comes Cap'n Bill!" as she glanced over
her shoulder.
Button-Bright turned also and looked solemnly at the old sailor who came
stumping along the path toward them. Cap'n Bill wasn't a very handsome
man. He was old, not very tall, somewhat stout and chubby, with a round
face, a bald head and a scraggly fringe of reddish whisker underneath
his chin. But his blue eyes were frank and merry and his smile like a
ray of sunshine. He wore a sailor shirt with a broad collar, a short
peajacket and wide-bottomed sailor trousers, one leg of which covered
his wooden limb but did not hide it. As he came "pegging" along the
path, as he himself described his hobbling walk, his hands were pushed
into his coat pockets, a pipe was in his mouth and his black neckscarf
was fluttering behind him in the breeze like a sable banner.
Button-Bright liked the sailor's looks. There was something very
winning--something jolly and care-free and honest and sociable--about
the ancient seaman that made him everybody's friend; so the strange boy
was glad to meet him.
"Well, well, Trot," he said, coming up, "is this the way you hurry to
town?"
"No, for I'm on my way back," said she. "I did hurry when I was going,
Cap'n Bill, but on my way home I sat down here to rest an' watch the
gulls--the gulls seem awful busy to-day, Cap'n Bill--an' then I found
this boy."
Cap'n Bill looked at the boy curiously.
"Don't think as ever I sawr him at the village," he remarked. "Guess as
you're a stranger, my lad."
Button-Bright nodded.
"Hain't walked the nine mile from the railroad station, hev ye?" asked
Cap'n Bill.
"No," said Button-Bright.
The sailor glanced around him.
"Don't see no waggin, er no autymob'l'," he added.
"No," said Button-Bright.
"Catch a ride wi' some one?"
Button-Bright shook his head.
"A boat can't land here; the rocks is too thick an' too sharp,"
continued Cap'n Bill, peering down toward the foot of the bluff on which
they sat and against which the waves broke in foam.
"No," said Button-Bright; "I didn't come by water."
Trot laughed.
"He must 'a' dropped from the sky, Cap'n Bill!" she exclaimed.
Button-Bright nodded, very seriously.
"That's it," he said.
"Oh; a airship, eh?" cried Cap'n Bill, in surprise. "I've hearn tell o'
them sky keeridges; someth'n' like flyin' autymob'l's, ain't they?"
"I don't know," said Button-Bright; "I've never seen one."
Both Trot and Cap'n Bill now looked at the boy in astonishment.
"Now, then, lemme think a minute," said the sailor, reflectively.
"Here's a riddle for us to guess, Trot. He dropped from the sky, he
says, an' yet he did'nt come in a airship!
"'Riddlecum, riddlecum ree;
What can the answer be?'"
Trot looked the boy over carefully. She didn't see any wings on him. The
only queer thing about him was his big umbrella.
"Oh!" she said suddenly, clapping her hands together; "I know now."
"Do you?" asked Cap'n Bill, doubtfully. "Then you're some smarter ner I
am, mate."
"He sailed down with the umbrel!" she cried. "He used his umbrel as a
para--para--"
"Shoot," said Cap'n Bill. "They're called parashoots, mate; but why, I
can't say. Did you drop down in that way, my lad?" he asked the boy.
"Yes," said Button-Bright; "that was the way."
"But how did you get up there?" asked Trot. "You had to get up in the
air before you could drop down, an'--oh, Cap'n Bill! he says he's from
Phillydelfy, which is a big city way at the other end of America."
"Are you?" asked the sailor, surprised.
Button-Bright nodded again.
"I ought to tell you my story," he said, "and then you'd understand. But
I'm afraid you won't believe me, and--" he suddenly broke off and looked
toward the white house in the distance--"Didn't you say you lived over
there?" he inquired.
"Yes," said Trot. "Won't you come home with us?"
"I'd like to," replied Button-Bright.
"All right; let's go, then," said the girl, jumping up.
The three walked silently along the path. The old sailorman had refilled
his pipe and lighted it again, and he smoked thoughtfully as he pegged
along beside the children.
"Know anyone around here?" he asked Button-Bright.
"No one but you two," said the boy, following after Trot, with his
umbrella tucked carefully underneath his arm.
"And you don't know us very well," remarked Cap'n Bill. "Seems to me
you're pretty young to be travelin' so far from home, an' among
strangers; but I won't say anything more till we've heard your story.
Then, if you need my advice, or Trot's advice--she's a wise little girl,
fer her size, Trot is--we'll freely give it an' be glad to help you."
"Thank you," replied Button-Bright; "I need a lot of things, I'm sure,
and p'raps advice is one of 'em."
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THE MAGIC UMBRELLA