So the cavalcade came to the palace, which was thronged with courtiers and ladies in waiting.
Zixi and the sailorman were ushered into the great throne room, where King Bud, wearing his ermine robe and jeweled crown, sat gravely upon his throne, with Princess Fluff beside him.
“Your Majesty,” began the witch-queen, bowing prettily, “I have brought you the sailorman at last. He has just returned from his voyage, and my soldiers captured him at his mother’s cottage by the mill. But he refuses to give the necktie to any one except the Princess Fluff.”
“I am the Princess Fluff,” said Meg to the sailor; “and your necktie is part of my magic cloak. So please give it back to me.”
The sailor shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.
“My mother told me,” he finally said, “that King Bud would give me fifty gold pieces for it, and the Queen of Ix would give me another fifty gold pieces, and that your Highness would give me fifty neckties.”
“That is all true,” returned Fluff; “so here are the fifty neckties.”
Tillydib, the lord high purse-bearer, counted out fifty gold pieces, and Zixi’s treasurer counted out another fifty, and all were given to the sailorman.
Then the miller’s son unfastened the necktie from about his collar and handed it to Fluff.
During the murmur of satisfaction that followed, the girl unlocked her silver chest, which Jikki had brought, and drew out the magic cloak. Lifting the skirt of the garment, she attempted to fit the sailor’s necktie into the place it should go; and then, while every one looked on with breathless interest, the girl lifted a white face to the sailorman and exclaimed:
“This is not the necktie your mother gave you!”
[Illustration: “‘THIS IS NOT THE NECKTIE YOUR MOTHER GAVE YOU!’”]
For a moment there was silence, while the assemblage glared angrily upon the sailor. Then the king, rising from his seat, demanded:
“Are you sure, Fluff? Are you sure of that?”
“Of course I’m sure,” said the girl; “it is neither the shape nor the color of the missing patch.”
“Why have you tried to deceive us?” he asked sternly.
“Oh, your Majesty!” returned the man, wringing his hands miserably, “I lost the necktie in a gale at sea, for I knew nothing of its value. And when I came home my mother told me of all the gold you had offered for its return, and advised me to deceive you by wearing another necktie. She said you would never know the difference.”