But the miller’s wife must now be seen; so they all mounted the horses again, except Aunt Rivette, who grumbled that so much riding made her bones rattle and that she preferred to fly. Which she did, frightening the horses to such an extent with her wings that Bud made her keep well in advance of them.
They were all in good spirits now, for soon the magic cloak, almost as good as new, would be again in their possession; and Fluff and Bud had been greatly worried over the fate of their friends who had been left to the mercy of the terrible Roly-Rogues.
The path ran in a zigzag direction down into the valley; but at length it led the party to the mill, where old Rivette was found sitting in the doorway awaiting them.
The miller’s wife, when summoned, came to them drying her hands on her apron, for she had been washing the dishes.
“We want to get the bright-colored patch Lucy Lum gave you,” explained Fluff; “for it was part of my magic cloak, which the fairies gave to me, and this is the place where it must be sewn to complete the garment.” And she showed the woman the cloak, with the square missing.
“I see,” said the miller’s wife, nodding her head; “and I am very sorry I cannot give you the piece to complete your cloak. But the fact is, I considered it too pretty for my crazy-quilt, so I gave it to my son for a necktie.”
[Illustration: “‘AND WHERE IS YOUR SON?’ DEMANDED ZIXI.”]
“Oh, he is gone to sea, for he is a sailor. By this time he is far away upon the ocean.”
Bud, Fluff, and the witch-queen looked at one another in despair. This seemed, indeed, to destroy all their hopes; for the one portion of the cloak that they needed was far beyond their reach.
Nothing remained but for them to return to Zixi’s palace and await the time when the miller’s son should return from his voyage. But before they went the queen said to the woman:
“When he returns you may tell your son that if he will bring to me the necktie you gave him, I will give him in return fifty gold pieces.”
“And I will give him fifty more,” said Bud, promptly.
“And I will give him enough ribbon to make fifty neckties,” added Fluff.
The miller’s wife was delighted at the prospect.
“Thank you! Thank you!” she exclaimed. “My boy’s fortune is made. He can now marry Imogene Gubb and settle down on a farm, and give up the sea forever! And his neckties will be the envy of all the men in the country. As soon as he returns I will send him to you with the bit of the cloak which you need.”