Although Trot and her comrades were still prisoners they were far more
comfortable than they had been in the Blue Country. Coralie took them to
her own home, where she lived in great luxury, being one of the
prominent women of the Pinkies. In this country the women seemed fully
as important as the men, and instead of being coddled and petted they
performed their share of the work, both in public and private affairs,
and were expected to fight in the wars exactly as the men did.
Our friends learned considerable about the Pinkies during that afternoon
and evening, for their hostess proved kind and agreeable and frankly
answered all their questions. Although this half of Sky Island was no
larger than the Blue Country, being no more than two miles square, it
had several hundred inhabitants. These were divided into two tribes,
which were called the Sunrise Tribe and the Sunset Tribe. The Sunrise
Tribe lived in the eastern half of the Pink Country and the Sunset Tribe
in the west half, and there was great rivalry between them and,
sometimes, wars.
It was all a question of social importance. The Sunrise Tribe claimed
that every day the sun greeted them first of all, which proved they were
the most important; but, on the other hand, the Sunset Tribe claimed
that the sun always deserted the other tribe and came to them, which was
evidence that they were the most attractive people. On Sky Island--at
least on the Pink side--the sun arose in wonderful splendor, but also it
set in a blaze of glory, and so there were arguments on both sides and
for want of something better to argue about, the Pinkies took this queer
subject as a cause of dispute.
Both Tribes acknowledged Tourmaline their Queen and obeyed the laws of
the country, and just at this time there was peace in the land and all
the inhabitants of the east and west were friendly. But they had been
known, Coralie said, to fight one another fiercely with the sharp
sticks, at which times a good many were sure to get hurt.
"Why do they call this an Island?" asked Button-Bright. "There isn't any
water around it, is there?"
"No, but there is sky all around it," answered Coralie; "and, if one
should step off the edge, he would go tumbling into the great sky and
never be heard of again."
"Is there a fence around the edge?" asked Trot.
"Only a few places are fenced," was the reply. "Usually there are rows
of thick bushes set close to the edge, to prevent people from falling
off. Once there was a King of the Pinkies who was cruel and overbearing
and imagined he was superior to the people he ruled, so one day his
subjects carried him to the edge of the island and threw him over the
bushes."
"Goodness me!" said Trot. "He might have hit some one on the Earth."
"Guess he skipped it, though," added Cap'n Bill, "for I never heard of a
Pinky till I came here."
"And I have never heard of the Earth," retorted Coralie. "Of course
there must be such a place, because you came from there, but the Earth
is never visible in our sky."
"No," said Button-Bright, "'cause it's _under_ your island. But it's
there, all right, and it's a pretty good place to live. I wish I could
get back to it."
"So do I, Button-Bright!" exclaimed Trot.
"Let's fly!" cried the parrot, turning his head so that one bright
little eye looked directly into the girl's eye. "Say good-bye and let's
fly through the sky, far and high!"
"If we only had my umbrella, we'd fly in a minute," sighed
Button-Bright. "But the Boolooroo stole it."
"Naugh-ty, naugh-ty Boo-loo-roo;
What a wicked thing to do!"
wailed the parrot; and they all agreed with him.
[Illustration]
Coralie belonged to the Sunset Tribe, as she lived west of the queen's
palace, which was the center of the Pink Country. A servant came to the
room where they were conversing, to state that the sun was about to set,
and at once Coralie arose and took the strangers to an upper balcony,
where all the household had assembled.
The neighboring houses also had their balconies and roofs filled with
people, for it seemed all the Sunset Tribe came out every night to
witness the setting of the sun. It was really a magnificent sight and
Trot scarcely breathed as the great golden ball sank low in the sky and
colored all the clouds with gorgeous tints of orange, red and yellow.
Never on the Earth was there visible such splendor, and as the little
girl watched the ever-changing scene she decided the Sunset Tribe was
amply justified in claiming that the West was the favored country of the
sun.
"You see," said Cap'n Bill, "the sky is all around us, an' we're high
up; so the sun really loses itself in the clouds an' leaves a trail of
beauty behind him."
"He does that!" agreed Trot. "This is almost worth comin' for, Cap'n."
"But not quite," said Button-Bright, sadly. "I'd get along without the
sunset if only we could go home."
They went in to dinner, after this, and sat at Coralie's own table, with
her husband and children, and found the meal very good. After a pleasant
evening, during which no reference was made to their being prisoners,
they were shown to prettily furnished rooms--all in pink--and slept
soundly in the soft beds provided for them.
Trot wakened early the next morning and went out on the balcony to see
the sunrise. The little girl was well repaid, for the splendor of the
rising sun was almost equal to that of the setting sun. Surely this was
a wonderful country and much more delightful than the Blue side of the
island, where the sun was hidden by the great Fog Bank and only the moon
was visible.
When she went in she found that both Button-Bright and Cap'n Bill were
up and dressed, so they decided to take a walk before breakfast. No one
restrained them or interfered with them in any way.
"They know we can't get away," observed the sailor, "so they don't need
to watch us."
"We could go into the Fog Bank again," suggested Trot.
"We could, mate, but we won't," answered Cap'n Bill. "If there's no way
for us to get clean off'n Sky Island, I'd rather stay with the Pinkies
than with the Blues."
"I wonder what they'll do with us," said Button-Bright. "The Queen seems
like a nice girl and I don't think she'll hurt us, whatever happens."
They walked freely along the circular street, seeing such sights as the
Pink City afforded, and then returned to Coralie's house for breakfast.
Coralie herself was not there, as she had been summoned to the Queen's
palace, but her husband looked after the guests and when breakfast was
finished he said to them:
"I am to take you to Tourmaline, who has promised to decide your fate
this morning. I am curious to know what she will do with you, for in all
our history we have never before had strangers intrude upon us."
"We're curious, too," said Trot; "but we'll soon find out."
As they walked down the street they observed that the sky was now
covered with dark clouds, which entirely hid the sun.
"Does it ever rain here?" inquired Button-Bright.
"Certainly," answered Coralie's husband; "that is the one drawback of
our country; it rains quite often, and although it makes the flowers and
the grass grow I think rain is very disagreeable. I am always glad to
see the rainbow, which is a sign that the sun will shine again."
"Looks like rain now," remarked Cap'n Bill.
"It does," said the man, glancing at the sky. "We must hurry, or we may
get wet."
"Haven't you any umbrellas?" asked Button-Bright.
"No; we don't know what umbrellas are," replied the Pinky man.
It did not rain at once and they reached Tourmaline's wretched hut in
safety. There they found quite a number of Pinkies assembled, and a
spirited discussion was taking place when they arrived.
"Come in, please," said Tourmaline, opening the door for them, and when
they had entered she placed a pinkwood bench for them to sit upon and
went back to her throne, which was a common rocking-chair.
At her right were seated six men and women of the Sunrise Tribe and on
her left six men and women of the Sunset Tribe, among the latter being
Coralie. The contrast between the plain, simple dress of the Queen and
the gorgeous apparel of her Counselors was quite remarkable, yet her
beauty far surpassed that of any of her people and her demeanor was so
modest and unassuming that it was difficult for the prisoners to believe
that her word could decree life or death and that all the others were
subservient to her. Tourmaline's eyes were so deep a shade of pink that
they were almost hazel, and her hair was darker than that of the others,
being a golden-red in color. These points, taken with her light pink
skin and slender form, rendered her distinctive among the Pinkies,
whatever gown she might wear.
When the strangers were seated she turned to them and said:
"I have searched through the Great Book of Laws and found nothing about
foreign people entering our land. There is a law that if any of the
Blueskins break through the Fog Bank they shall be driven back with
sharp sticks; but you are not Blueskins, so this Law does not apply to
you. Therefore, in order to decide your fate, I have summoned a Council
of twelve of my people, who will vote as to whether you shall be
permitted to remain here or not. They wanted to see you before they cast
their final vote, that they may examine you carefully and discover if
you are worthy to become inhabitants of the Pink Country."
"The rose is red, the violet's blue,
But Trot is sweeter than the two!"
declared the parrot in a loud voice. It was a little verse Cap'n Bill
had taught the bird that very morning, while Trot was seeing the sun
rise.
The Pinkies were startled and seemed a little frightened at hearing a
bird speak so clearly. Trot laughed and patted the bird's head in return
for the compliment.
"Is the Monster Man whose legs are part wood a dangerous creature?"
asked one of the Sunrise Tribe.
"Not to my friends," replied Cap'n Bill, much amused. "I s'pose I could
fight your whole crowd o' Pinkies, if I had to, an' make you run for
your lives; but bein' as you're friendly to us you ain't in any danger."
The sailor thought this speech was diplomatic and might "head off any
trouble," but the Pinkies seemed uneasy and several of them picked up
their slender, pointed sticks and held them in their hands. They were
not cowardly, but it was evident they mistrusted the big man, who on
Earth was not considered big at all, but rather undersized.
"What we'd like," said Trot, "is to stay here, cosy an' peaceable, till
we can find a way to get home to the Earth again. Your country is much
nicer than the Blue Country, and we like you pretty well, from what
we've seen of you; so, if you'll let us stay, we won't be any more
trouble to you than we can help."
They all gazed upon the little girl curiously, and one of them said:
"How strangely light her color is! And it is pink, too, which is in her
favor. But her eyes are of that dreadful blue tint which prevails in the
other half of Sky Island, while her hair is a queer color all unknown to
us. She is not like our people and would not harmonize with the
universal color here."
"That's true," said another; "the three strangers are all inharmonious.
If allowed to remain here they would ruin the color scheme of the
country, where all is now pink."
"In spite of that," said Coralie, "they are harmless creatures and have
done us no wrong."
"Yes, they have," replied a nervous little Sunrise man; "they wronged us
by coming here."
"They could not help doing that," argued Coralie, "and it is their
misfortune that they are here on Sky Island at all. Perhaps, if we keep
them with us for awhile, they may find a way to return safely to their
own country."
"We'll fly through the sky by-and-by--ki-yi!" yelled the parrot with
startling suddenness.
"It that true?" asked a Pinky, seriously.
"Why, we would if we could," answered Trot. "We flew to this island,
anyhow."
"Perhaps," said another, "if we pushed them off the edge they could fly
down again. Who knows?"
"We know," answered Cap'n Bill hastily. "We'd tumble, but we wouldn't
fly."
"They'd take a fall--
And that is all!"
observed the parrot, fluttering its wings.
There was silence for a moment, while all the Pinkies seemed to think
deeply. Then the Queen asked the strangers to step outside while they
counseled together. Our friends obeyed, and leaving the room they
entered the courtyard and examined the rows of pink marble statues for
nearly an hour before they were summoned to return to the little room in
Tourmaline's palace.
"We are now ready to vote as to your fate," said the pretty Queen to
them. "We have decided there are but two things for us to do: either
permit you to remain here as honored guests or take you to an edge of
the island and throw you over the bushes into the sky."
They were silent at hearing this dreadful alternative, but the parrot
screamed shrilly:
"Oh, what a dump! Oh, what a jump!
Won't we all thump when we land with a bump?"
"If we do," said Cap'n Bill, thoughtfully, "we'll none of us know it."
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
ROSALIE THE WITCH