They had early breakfasts at Trot's house, because they all went to bed
early and it is possible to sleep only a certain number of hours if one
is healthy in body and mind. And right after breakfast Trot claimed
Button-Bright's promise to take her to town with the Magic Umbrella.
"Any time suits me," said the boy. He had taken his precious umbrella to
bed with him and even carried it to the breakfast table, where he stood
it between his knees as he ate; so now he held it close to him and said
he was ready to fly at a moment's notice. This confidence impressed
Cap'n Bill, who said with a sigh:
"Well, if you _must_ go, Trot, I've pervided a machine that'll carry you
both comf'table. I'm summat of an inventor myself, though there ain't
any magic about me."
Then he brought from the shed the contrivance he had made the night
before. It was merely a swing seat. He had taken a wide board that was
just long enough for both the boy and girl to sit upon, and had bored
six holes in it--two holes at each end and two in the middle. Through
these holes he had run stout ropes in such a way that the seat could not
turn and the occupants could hold on to the ropes on either side of
them. The ropes were all knotted together at the top, where there was a
loop that could be hooked upon the crooked handle of the umbrella.
[Illustration]
Button-Bright and Trot both thought Cap'n Bill's invention very clever.
The sailor placed the board upon the ground while they sat in their
places, Button-Bright at the right of Trot, and then the boy hooked the
rope loop to the handle of the umbrella, which he spread wide open.
"I want to go to the town over yonder," he said, pointing with his
finger to the roofs of the houses that showed around the bend in the
cliff.
At once the umbrella rose into the air; slowly, at first, but quickly
gathering speed. Trot and Button-Bright held fast to the ropes and were
carried along very easily and comfortably. It seemed scarcely a minute
before they were in the town, and when the umbrella set them down just
in front of the store--for it seemed to know just where they wanted to
go--a wondering crowd gathered around them. Trot ran in and changed the
yarn, while Button-Bright stayed outside and stared at the people who
stared at him. They asked questions, too, wanting to know what sort of
an aëroplane this was, and where his power was stored, and lots of other
things; but the boy answered not a word. When the little girl came back
and took her seat Button-Bright said:
"I want to go to Trot's house."
The simple villagers could not understand how the umbrella suddenly
lifted the two children into the air and carried them away. They had
read of airships, but here was something wholly beyond their
comprehension.
Cap'n Bill had stood in front of the house, watching with a feeling akin
to bewilderment the flight of the Magic Umbrella. He could follow its
course until it descended in the village and he was so amazed and
absorbed that his pipe went out. He had not moved from his position when
the umbrella started back. The sailor's big blue eyes watched it draw
near and settle down with its passengers upon just the spot it had
started from.
Trot was joyous and greatly excited.
"Oh, Cap'n, it's gal-lor-ious!" she cried in ecstasy. "It beats ridin'
in a boat or--or--in anything else. You feel so light an' free
an'--an'--glad! I'm sorry the trip didn't last longer, though. Only
trouble is, you go too fast."
Button-Bright was smiling contentedly. He had proved to both Trot and
Cap'n Bill that he had told the truth about the Magic Umbrella, however
marvelous his tale had seemed to them.
"I'll take you on another trip, if you like," said he, "I'm in no hurry
to go home and if you will let me stay with you another day we can make
two or three little trips with the family luck."
"You mus' stay a whole week," said Trot, decidedly. "An' you mus' take
Cap'n Bill for an air-ride, too."
"Oh, Trot! I dunno as I'd like it," protested Cap'n Bill, nervously.
"Yes, you would. You're sure to like it."
"I guess I'm too heavy," he said.
"I'm sure the umbrella could carry twenty people, if they could be
fastened to the handle," said Button-Bright.
"Solid land's pretty good to hold on to," decided Cap'n Bill. "A rope
might break, you know."
"Oh, Cap'n Bill! You're scared stiff," said Trot.
"I ain't, mate; it ain't that at all. But I don't see that human
critters has any call to fly in the air, anyhow. The air were made for
the birds, an'--an' muskeeters, an'--"
"An' flyin'-fishes," added Trot. "I know all that, Cap'n; but why wasn't
it made for humans, too, if they can manage to fly in it? We breathe the
air, an' we can breathe it high up, just as well as down on the earth."
"Seein' as you like it so much, Trot, it would be cruel for me to go
with Butt'n-Bright an' leave you at home," said the sailor. "When I were
younger--which is ancient history--an' afore I had a wooden leg, I could
climb a ship's ropes with the best of 'em, an' walk out on a boom, or
stand atop a mast. So you know very well I ain't skeert about the
highupness."
"Why can't we all go together?" asked the boy. "Make another seat,
Cap'n, and swing it right under ours; then we can all three ride
anywhere we want to go."
"Yes, do!" exclaimed Trot. "And, see here, Cap'n; let's take a day off
and have a picnic. Mother is a little cross, to-day, and she wants to
finish knitting your new stockin'; so I guess she'll be glad to get rid
of us."
"Where'll we go?" he asked, shifting on his wooden leg uneasily.
"Anywhere; I don't care. There'll be the air-ride there, an' the
air-ride back, an' that's the main thing with _me_. If you say you'll
go, Cap'n, I'll run in an' pack a basket of lunch."
"How'll we carry it?"
"Swing it to the bottom of your seat."
The old sailor stood silent a moment. He really longed to take the
air-ride but was fearful of danger. However, Trot had gone safely to
town and back and had greatly enjoyed the experience.
"All right," he said; "I'll risk it, mate, although I guess I'm an old
fool for temptin' fate by tryin' to make a bird o' myself. Get the
lunch, Trot, if your mother'll let you have it, and I'll rig up the
seat."
He went into the shed and Trot went to her mother. Mrs. Griffith, busy
with her work, knew nothing of what was going on in regard to the flight
of the Magic Umbrella. She never objected when Trot wanted to go away
with Cap'n Bill for a day's picnicking. She knew the child was perfectly
safe with the old sailor, who cared for Trot even better than her mother
would have done. If she had asked any questions to-day, and had found
out they intended to fly in the air, she might have seriously objected;
but Mrs. Griffith had her mind on other things and merely told the girl
to take what she wanted from the cupboard and not bother her. So Trot,
remembering that Button-Bright would be with them and had proved himself
to be a hearty eater, loaded the basket with all the good things she
could find.
By the time she came out, lugging the basket with both hands, Cap'n Bill
appeared with the new seat he had made for his own use, which he
attached by means of ropes to the double seat of the boy and girl.
"Now, then, where'll we go?" asked Trot.
"Anywhere suits me," replied Cap'n Bill.
They had walked to the high bluff overlooking the sea, where a gigantic
acacia tree stood on the very edge. A seat had been built around the
trunk of the tree, for this was a favorite spot for Trot and Cap'n Bill
to sit and talk and watch the fleet of fishing boats sail to and from
the village.
When they came to this tree Trot was still trying to think of the most
pleasant place to picnic. She and Cap'n Bill had been every place that
was desirable and near by, but to-day they didn't want a near-by spot.
They must decide upon one far enough away to afford them a fine trip
through the air. Looking far out over the Pacific, the girl's eyes fell
upon a dim island lying on the horizon line--just where the sky and
water seemed to meet--and the sight gave her an idea.
"Oh, Cap'n Bill!" she exclaimed, "let's go to that island for our
picnic. We've never been there yet, you know."
The sailor shook his head.
"It's a good many miles away, Trot," he said; "further than it looks to
be, from here."
"That won't matter," remarked Button-Bright; "the umbrella will carry us
there in no time."
"Let's go!" repeated Trot. "We'll never have another such chance, Cap'n.
It's too far to sail or row, and I've always wanted to visit that
island."
"What's the name of it?" inquired Button-Bright, while the sailor
hesitated how to decide.
"Oh, it's got an awful hard name to pernounce," replied the girl, "so
Cap'n Bill and I jus' call it 'Sky Island,' 'cause it looks as if it was
half in the sky. We've been told it's a very pretty island, and a few
people live there and keep cows and goats, and fish for a living. There
are woods and pastures and springs of clear water, and I'm sure we would
find it a fine place for a picnic."
"If anything happened on the way," observed Cap'n Bill, "we'd drop in
the water."
"Of course," said Trot; "and if anything happened while we were flyin'
over the land we'd drop there. But nothing's goin' to happen, Cap'n.
Didn't Button-Bright come safe all the way from Philydelfy?"
"I think I'd like to go to Sky Island," said the boy. "I've always flown
above the land, so far, and it will be something new to fly over the
ocean."
"All right; I'm agree'ble," decided Cap'n Bill. "But afore we starts on
such a long journey, s'pose we make a little trial trip along the coast.
I want to see if the new seat fits me, an' make certain the umbrel will
carry all three of us."
"Very well," said Button-Bright. "Where shall we go?"
"Let's go as far as Smuggler's Cove, an' then turn 'round an' come back.
If all's right an' shipshape, then we can start for the island."
They put the broad double seat on the ground and then the boy and girl
sat in their places and Button-Bright spread open the Magic Umbrella.
Cap'n Bill sat in his seat just in front of them, all being upon the
ground.
"Don't we look funny?" said Trot, with a chuckle of glee. "But hold fast
the ropes, Cap'n, an' take care of your wooden leg."
Button-Bright addressed the umbrella, speaking to it very respectfully,
for it was a thing to inspire awe.
"I want to go as far as Smuggler's Cove, and then turn around in the air
and come back here," he said.
At once the umbrella rose into the air, lifting after it, first the seat
in which the children sat, and then Cap'n Bill's seat.
"Don't kick your heels, Trot!" cried the sailor in a voice that proved
he was excited by his novel experience; "you might bump me in the nose."
"All right," she called back; "I'll be careful."
It was really a wonderful, exhilarating ride, and Cap'n Bill wasn't long
making up his mind he liked the sensation. When about fifty feet above
the ground the umbrella began moving along the coast toward Smuggler's
Cove, which it soon reached. Looking downward, Cap'n Bill suddenly
exclaimed:
"Why, there's a boat cast loose, an' it's goin' to smash on the rocks.
Hold on a minute, Butt'n-Bright, till we can land an' drag it ashore."
"Hold on a minute, Umbrella!" cried the boy.
But the Magic Umbrella kept steadily upon its way. It made a circle over
the Cove and then started straight back the way it had come.
"It's no use, sir," said Button-Bright to the sailor. "If I once tell it
to go to a certain place, the umbrella will go there, and nowhere else.
I've found that out before this. You simply _can't_ stop it."
"Won't let you change your mind, eh?" replied Cap'n Bill. "Well, that
has its advantidges, an' its disadvantidges. If your ol' umbrel hadn't
been so obstinate we could have saved that boat."
"Never mind," said Trot, briskly; "here we are safe back again. Wasn't
it jus' the--the fascinatingest ride you ever took, Cap'n?"
"It's pretty good fun," admitted Cap'n Bill. "Beats them aëroplanes an'
things all holler, 'cause it don't need any regulatin'."
"If we're going to that island we may as well start right away," said
Button-Bright, when they had safely landed.
"All right; I'll tie on the lunch-basket," answered the sailor. He
fastened it so it would swing underneath his own seat and then they all
took their places again.
"Ready?" asked the boy.
"Let'er go, my lad."
"I want to go to Sky Island," said Button-Bright to the umbrella, using
the name Trot had given him.
The umbrella started promptly. It rose higher than before, carrying the
three voyagers with it, and then started straight away over the ocean.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE ISLAND IN THE SKY