The shouting and excitement in the City following upon the recapture
of Cap'n Bill aroused the sleeping Boolooroo. He found the cord
still tied to his big toe and at first imagined his prisoner safe in
the dressing room. While he put on his clothes, the king
occasionally gave the cord a sudden pull, hoping to hurt Cap'n
Bill's big toe and make him yell; but as no response came to this
mean action, the Boolooroo finally looked into the room only to find
he had been pulling on a leg of the couch and that his prisoner had
escaped.
Then he flew into a mighty rage, and running out into the hall he
aimed a blow at the unfaithful guard, knocking the fellow off his
feet. Then he rushed downstairs into the courtyard, shouting loudly
for his soldiers and threatening to patch everybody in his dominions
if the sailorman was not recaptured.
While the Boolooroo stormed and raged, a band of soldiers and
citizens came marching in, surrounding Cap'n Bill, who was again
firmly bound.
"So-ho!" roared the monarch. "You thought you could defy me, Earth
Clod, did you? But you were mistaken. No one can resist the Mighty
Boolooroo of the Blues, so it is folly for you to rebel against my
commands. Hold him fast, my men, and as soon as I've had my coffee
and oatmeal I'll take him to the Room of the Great Knife and patch
him."
"I wouldn't mind a cup o' coffee myself," said Cap'n Bill. "I've had
consid'ble exercise this mornin', and I'm all ready for breakfas'."
"Very well," replied the Boolooroo, "you shall eat with me, for then
I can keep an eye on you. My guards are not to be trusted, and I
don't mean to let you out of my sight again until you are patched."
So Cap'n Bill and the Boolooroo had breakfast together, six
Blueskins standing in a row back of the sailorman to grab him if he
attempted to escape. But Cap'n Bill made no such attempt, knowing it
would be useless.
Trot was in the room, too, standing in a corner and listening to all
that was said while she racked her little brain for an idea that
would enable her to save Cap'n Bill from being patched. No one could
see her, so no one--not even Cap'n Bill--knew she was there.
After breakfast was over, a procession was formed, headed by the
Boolooroo, and they marched the prisoner through the palace until
they came to the Room of the Great Knife. Invisible Trot followed
soberly after them, still wondering what she could do to save her
friend.
As soon as they entered the Room of the great Knife, the Boolooroo
gave a yell of disappointment.
"What's become of Tiggle?" he shouted. "Where's Tiggle? Who has
released Tiggle? Go at once, you dummies, and find him, or it will
go hard with you!"
The frightened soldiers hurried away to find Tiggle, and Trot was
well pleased because she knew Tiggle was by this time safely hidden.
The Boolooroo stamped up and down the room, muttering threats and
declaring Cap'n Bill should be punished whether Tiggle was found or
not, and while they waited, Trot took time to make an inspection of
the place, which she now saw for the first time in broad daylight.
The Room of the Great Knife was high and big, and around it ran rows
of benches for the spectators to sit upon. In one place at the head
of the room was a raised platform for the royal family, with elegant
throne-chairs for the King and Queen and six smaller but richly
upholstered chairs for the Snubnosed Princesses. The poor Queen, by
the way, was seldom seen, as she passed all her time playing
solitaire with a deck that was one card short, hoping that before
she had lived her entire six hundred years she would win the game. Therefore, her Majesty paid no attention to anyone and no one paid any attention to her.
In the center of the room stood the terrible knife that gave the
place its name, a name dreaded by every inhabitant of the Blue City. The knife was built into a huge framework like a derrick, that reached to the ceiling, and it was so arranged that when the Boolooroo pulled a cord the great blade would drop down in its frame and neatly cut in two the person who stood under it. And in order that the slicing would be accurate, there was another frame to which the prisoner was tied so that he couldn't wiggle either way. This frame was on rollers so that it could be placed directly underneath the knife.